UPGRADING MATHEMATICAL COMPETENCE OF PUPILS THROUGH PRACTICAL WORK APPROACH (PWA)
WILMA C. BUMAGAT
TUROD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
SOLANA NORTH DISTRICT
SOLANA, CAGAYAN
Mathematical skills are imperative for effective living and participation in the fast changing and increasingly
becoming Mathematics-oriented world. Almost all daily endeavors are influenced by Mathematics. It is needed in all
walks of life. It is for this reason that mathematical skills should be developed and strengthened among learners.
With the demands of time, our focus of Mathematics instruction should be the acquisition of learners of
adequate and effective mathematical skills that would prepare them to cope with the demands of daily life thereby
becoming productive citizens equipped with the ability to solve simple life problems that require mathematical
knowledge.
Researches show that over the last 15 years, there was an extraordinary range of uses of Mathematics in
the various field of endeavors like physical sciences, engineering, finance, economics and now in biological and
social sciences, management, linguistic and art.
This demonstrates the tremendous and growing importance of Mathematics as a practical necessity to our
society. It also illustrates the vast number and variety of professionals who use Mathematics in their work.
As the vast majority of the pupils will use Mathematics for practical utility, it should be taught at school level
primarily as a practical subject to prepare pupils for likely use.
The Practical Work Approach (PWA), as its name entails, attempts to situate Math lessons with the context
of the real-life environment. For example, word problems are formulated in such a way that pupils will more readily
perceive their practical importance, thus, they will find the subject more intellectually stimulating and they will be
motivated to solve such problems.
Giving the pupils a project in real life such as asking them to do measurements of designated areas in the
school or community can help them not only familiarize themselves with the subject matter at hand but also help
them to integrate what they are learning in the classroom to what they experience in real life. Another is to look at
how Math principles are applied in everyday activities like farming, cooking, selling, buying and the like.
There are two techniques that appear to work best for teaching Mathematics through Practical Work
Approach (PWA) that would enhance the Mathematical competence of pupils.
1. Thematic Technique
In this strategy, teachers would begin by choosing a context from real life like money, carpentry or
health. From the context, they then choose a theme like “Budgeting”, “Making a Tool Box” or “Standard
Drinks”. The topic is then a working through of the processes needed to develop a personal budget, make
toolbox or learn about drinks and alcohol.
The themes are drawn in varying proportions from the four areas of study: Space and Shape,
Patterns in Number, Handling Data and Measurement and Design. Teachers are expected to provide
exercises dealing with this concept within the overall framework of the theme before moving on.
2. The Skills Application Technique
In this strategy it starts with skill development and practice in a particular area of study and moves
toward the use of these skills in an application. For instance, the class investigates area and volume of
common two and three dimensional shapes and do an application task examining areas and volumes
contained within different buildings.
The application tasks for this model would cover fewer concepts but it is expected to be
appropriately used whenever necessary to achieve the desired learning output from the pupils.
Maximum interaction among pupils should be encouraged so that they feel the importance of learning the
concept and they will be responsible for their own learning, thus, the realization that what they are learning in classroom
is really applied in real life situation. It is along this premise that the Practical Work Approach (PWA) enhances the
pupils’ mathematical competence.
HOW TO ACE MATHEMATICS
WILMA C. BUMAGAT
TUROD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
SOLANA NORTH DISTRICT
SOLANA, CAGAYAN
Pupils of Mathematics have had and continue to have negative experiences with Mathematics but
they are still studying the subject because of pressure from the teachers, parents and the school system as
a whole. As a consequence, a negative attitude towards Mathematics prevails and it affects learning of
Mathematical concepts. Now is the right time that this attitude is changed so that Mathematics can find its
place in the hearts of pupils.
But what attitudes can make pupils succeed in Mathematics? What should pupils do in order to
cope well in Mathematics? Here are some tips:
First, pupils have to make sure that they know the basics before going to more advanced topics.
Pupils have to ensure that they know the fundamental operations on whole numbers before studying the
processes on fractions and decimals.
Second, pupils have to practice doing exercises for every topic. Pupils learn best by doing. One
reason why most pupils claim to have done well in arithmetic is the sheer repetition of topics from year to
year. For example, the four fundamental operations are introduced in the primary level, pupils still do the
same in the intermediate level. Sheer repetition enhances learning.
Third, persevere and do not lose heart. Show willingness to persist when solving problems and try
different methods to attack such problems. Repeated failures do make pupils shy away from the subject but
the reality is they cannot escape Mathematics. Not only is Elementary Mathematics the gateway to higher
Math such as Algebra, Trigonometry, Geometry, there are many word problems in Mathematics which will
help pupils solve real-life problems.
The development of positive attitudes towards Mathematics and the pupils’ involvement in it help in
the learning of the subject. Therefore, continual attention should be directed towards creating, developing,
maintaining and reinforcing positive attitudes to beat Mathematics.
In today’s world where elementary understanding of scientific processes is required of every
citizen, knowledge of Mathematics is very essential.