Effectiveness of teaching styles in geometry

Thesis Bachelor of Secondary Education major in Mathematics University of Rizal System-Morong. 2017

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This study determined the effectiveness of commonly employed teaching styles in Geometry such as Inquiry method, Discovery Learning, Cooperative Learning, Tactile/Concrete Experiences and Direct Instruction as perceived by Public Secondary mathematics teacher from Talim Island. The respondents were 18 mathematics teachers from four public high schools in Talim Island: they were composed of 4 teachers from Talim Point National High School, 7 teachers from Janosa National High School and 3 teachers from Tuna-Balibago National High School. Descriptive method of research which utilized a researcher-made questionnaire-checklist and used as the instrument in data gathering and basis for finding out the effectiveness of selected teaching styles in Geometry with respect to the three domains of learning was used in the study. Different statistical tools such as frequency and percentage distribution to determine the teaching styles employed by the teachers of Geometry from different schools in Talim Island, mean to determine the level of effectiveness of the teaching styles in Geometry and One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to determine if there is significant difference on the level of effectiveness of the teaching styles were used. The study showed that the most commonly employed teaching styles in Geometry is the discovery learning method which implied that learners nowadays prefer to learn by their own and teacher acts as the facilitator of learning. Also, Direct Instruction was found to be the most effective teaching style in the acquisition of cognitive knowledge, as well as enhancing the motor skills of the learners or psychomotor domain. However, Cooperative Learning was perceived to be the most effective teaching style to ensure the development of the affective domain. The findings revealed that mathematics teachers perceived direct instruction as the most effective teaching style with respect to the development of the three domains of learning. The study also showed that the teaching styles were not significantly different when it comes to cognitive and affective domain while there is significant difference in terms of psychomotor domain. Although Direct Instruction was found to be the most effective among the teaching styles, there is still no single best method of teaching. To make sure that the teaching is effective and the learning really occurs, a combination of these different strategies is the best approach to use. Based from the summary of findings, the researchers concluded that teachers utilize method of instruction which allows the students to think critically and develop on their own pace and both Direct Instruction and Cooperative Learning can be used as teaching strategies for better teaching-learning process. The teachers must continually adapt these teaching styles according to learners' needs and interest, and develop it more to make learning more interesting. A follow-up study to provide a basis for further explanation of the findings gathered and related studies concerning the effectiveness of teaching styles across all other learning areas in Mathematics are highly recommended. Also, trainings and seminars are suggested to orient and expose teachers about the different teaching styles.