20

Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature

This chapter provides literature and the results of

other related researches to which the present proposed study

was related or has some similarity or implication. This will

provide the researcher sufficient background in

understanding the study.

Chapter 2 divided into four topics, namely: (1) Agile

Learning Approach, (2) Conventional Teaching Strategy, (3)

Mathematics Performance, and (4) Synthesis.

Part One, Agile Learning Approach, presents the related

literature in both local and foreign settings on the use of

Agile Learning Strategy, its advantages, limitations, and

effects.

Part Two, Conventional Teaching Strategy presents the

discussion of its advantages, limitations, and effects on

learning.

Part Three, Mathematics performance, introduces

literatures in Mathematics performance and discusses the

different factors influencing the performance of students.

Part Four, Synthesis, summarizes some key and important

conditions and the literature reviewed in the study.

Agile Learning Approach

 21

The common theme in the use of agile across these

fields is the idea that there is value to being prepared and

responsive to an ever-changing environment. When it comes to

learning, agility speaks to the ability to quickly acquire,

assimilate and apply new knowledge. In other words, the

ability to increase productivity through learning. Agile

learners are people who can quickly respond to changing

needs by seeking out, processing and applying new

information. As with many things, some people are naturally

more agile when it comes to learning than others. However,

there is a skill set involved with agile learning that you

can learn, practice and use with great success

(https://www.itssimplyplaced.com/study-smarter agile-

learning-strategies/) Retrieved Aug. 18, 2018).

An agile learning environment is an educational

playground that is intentionally designed to be adjustable,

exchangeable and moveable. Differentiated learning awareness

is promoting a movement towards adjustment and adaptation

of, content, process, product and the learning environment.

Patrick Byrne explains ‘agile learning environments’, and

how technology supports them. The learning environment must

be highly flexible not only in terms of spatial

configuration but also in relation to structure. Rather than

 22

disciplines being taught within designated time slots, in a

fixed sequence, the school day flows through changing phases

in which the learning space transforms to reflect each new

subject and approach. Students may alternate learning in

large or small groups, project and team work, practice and

repetition. Flexibility means having a choice of learning

area possibilities, depending on the learning scenario, or

converting a space to the appropriate learning environment

without too much effort. Technology plays a vital role in an

agile learning environment as it offers a range of new

teaching and learning possibilities. The premise that

technology improves the quality of teaching and learning has

been demonstrated where technology has supported active

learning, in a way which was not possible in the traditional

lecture-style classroom. It’s therefore important that

technology is not used to replicate the traditional

schooling practices of old, but rather harnessed as part of

a modern pedagogy to provide new learning experiences.

Essentially, we should use the new tools to do different

things, not just to do old things differently (Byrne, 2016).

Role-play exercises have a rich history in information

systems education (e.g., Freeman, 2003; Mitri and Cole,

2007; Shen, Nicholson, and Nicholson, 2015) where they have

often been found to be superior to traditional methods of

 23

instruction (Kerr, Troth, and Pickering, 2003). In line with

this research, the fourth article, “A Three Cohort Study of

Role-Play Instruction for Agile Project Management” by Kurt

Schmitz, introduces and evaluates the efficacy of a role-

play exercise called “Scrummy” which aims to help students

better understand Agile project management through

experiential learning. The role-play exercise was designed

to be completed alternatively in a single 2.5-hour class,

two 75-minute classes, or three 50- minute classes.

In the development world, the agile method arose as an

alternative to the sequential, assembly line-like product

development strategy that had been commonplace in the

industry. Instead of completing a project in sequential

phases, the agile method takes a more iterative approach-

encouraging development teams to constantly “inspect and

adapt” as they move through various iterations of their

development cycle, called “sprints”. Teams stop work daily

to assess their progress and adapt on the fly. A key

component of sprints is a concluding “retrospective”, where

the team learns from their process and can reassess their

goals before a new cycle begins. Sprints, as the name

implies, are short, a few weeks at most. An entire

development project might be accomplished after one sprint,

but often a development team will take multiple sprints

 24

before producing a finished product. The agile method

emphasizes constant team collaboration, through daily self-

inspection and process adaptation (PMCDEED, 2016).

Mathematics education is incontestably a vital

ingredient in the development of all individuals because of

its links to other sciences, technology, and industry. It is

at the heart of many successful careers and successful lives

for societal development (Amirali 2010, p.27), and serves as

a critical filter that effectively screens students for

prestigious careers. Despite of its notable significance,

most individuals particularly students dislike mathematics.

This serves as barriers on their learning progress.

In 2012, a group in India ran a case study involving

500 ICT schools, with teachers trained in Agile practices,

and found that it was feasible to integrate Agile systems

into existing programs and in nearly all cases led to higher

student achievement. Just last year a research team in

Brazil found that Agile principles can be used to manage

distance learning courses within the context of the Open

University of Brazil, specifically to organize the flow of

activities in the construction of a distance learning

course. “Agile is something that really needs to be

implemented in schools,” says Glenn Kessinger, a middle

school teacher and instructional coach in Washington. “A big

 25

problem we have in most of public education is a lack of

focus; we have so many competing priorities. Agile could

clear that up” (Briggs, 2014).

Much like the limited exposure to Agile in other

information systems courses, May, York, and Lending (2016)

argue that most systems analysis and design textbooks

provide only cursory content on Agile, in particular Scrum.

In an attempt to provide students with a fuller experience

of the Scrum framework and its element, they implement the

“Ball Game” into their systems analysis and design course.

As the authors note, “the primary purpose of this exercise

is for students to experience for themselves the effects of

a self-organizing team” in an effort to “drive home the

various elements of the Scrum framework and how it differs

from traditional approaches”.

Also citing the theoretical nature of Agile

interspersed within information systems curricula, Weber

(2016) proposes the pairing of the systems analysis and

design course with a web-mobile programming course to allow

students to apply the concepts of Agile, not simply to read

about it – that is, to provide the students with a “real-

world” experience. As such, the use of Performance Learning

(Podeschi, 2015) affords a means to “provide a more accurate

representation and direct opportunities to practice concepts

 26

learned in the classroom” (p. 4). The goal is that “course

content is immediately applied by students utilizing new

acquired skills while working on real-world projects for

real-world third-party stakeholders with real-world risk and

rewards”.

The term “hack” suggests quick, rough, and perhaps

covert actions; but historically, hacking represents

creativity, playfulness, and perseverance. Indeed, “hacking

might be characterized as ‘an appropriate application of

ingenuity” (The Jargon File, http://www.catb.org/jargon/ ).

Retrieved: July 10, 2018).

For most, this spirit of ingenuity is the power behind

agile learning sprints. It’s the idea that teachers need to

seek out the problems worth the time rather than developing

pretty solutions that fit the average (that no student is).

That, sometimes teachers need to dive in, particularly when

the path ahead is uncertain (Durksen and Makovichuk)

(http://www.agileschools.com/storiesblog/2017/11/20/hacking-

away-diving-into-learning-sprints) Retrieved July 10, 2018).

Giving students frequent and early feedback is

crucial: research shows that students are poor judges of

their own ability, tending to overestimate their level of

competence. Most worryingly, the least competent students

are the ones most out of touch with their performance level —
 27

and hence, least likely to change behavior. The end of a

Learning Sprint is a great tool for students to “calibrate”

themselves, comparing their performance against expectations

and against their peers. Today, however, after seeing the

extraordinary results of the “Agile Classroom” — in terms of

student engagement, speed and breadth of knowledge mastered

by our students, and their growth in terms of socio-

emotional skills — we no longer see Agile as a curricula item.

It has become part of our education model. The fact is

that by embracing Agile culture we have become better

educators (Prieto, 2016).

Carleton College’s Visual Learning Conference, argues

that visual thinking tools can be used to help students

develop more complex and useful “knowledge organizations”

(Ambrose, et. al., 2010) as they arrange information

spatially according to particular heuristics.

Activities that get students out of their chairs are

generally good. The body moves around and gets blood up to

our brains. It gives them a chance to get away from the

book-fed material and internalize the lessons. All good

points, but still most often sell the benefit of game-play

short to say something like “this section of the training

material is dry, so put a game here”. Including a game or

simulation should be thought of as a “teeing up” of the

 28

learning objective. Another way to say it: the game creates

an effective canvas for painting the picture. It prepares

the learners to “get” the message. Do not force a game into

my curriculum for the sake of having a game. Do not ignore

the opportunity to reinforce the training objective with a

valid learning activity (Bonacci, 2015).

As cited in the newsletter published by Trinity Spirit

(Moala, 2016), it states that the conversations have

centered on a teaching and learning framework which captures

the head, the heart, and the hand of the students and

teachers, and revolves around creating positive

relationships with students and parents. These include

communicating with respect, using varied group strategies in

a learning environment and taking into account diversity,

whilst simultaneously fostering imagination and creativity.

It is an exciting journey to redesign classrooms so as to

provide the kind of environment which will be creative,

innovative, and will foster deeper learning conversations

with the children. What does a flexible and agile learning

environment looks like? Usually the students do not have

their own desk, rather they have classroom furniture which

includes bean bags, desks, chairs, cushions, lounge suites,

high tables, and other creative seating options. This

immediately eliminates the need for students to have one

 29

single desk where they put their belongings. A student

belongs to the classroom and goes to the area best suited to

his/her undertaking the required learning. A formal

handwriting task will therefore be undertaken at a formal

desk and chair, but a research task which has a student

talking to a group of people about the question to be

answered may be undertaken at a high table or on a mat where

a group can sit comfortably together. The options will be

set up collaboratively by the students and the teachers as

they develop their learning

intent(https://www.tlc.qld.edu.au/newsletterarticles/flexibl

eagile-learning-in-the-junior-school?newsletterslug=,

Retrieved August 30, 2018).

Four themes – two advantages and two disadvantages –

emerged from the qualitative content analysis of students'

responses to the open-ended questions. The first major

advantage of agile learning, as perceived by the students,

is that it combines learning and application of learning. By

introducing new concepts as they are needed, and immediately

applying these concepts in practice, students are able to

decrease the time lag between learning and the application

of learning. The second major advantage of agile learning is

that it allows students to fail more and fail faster. By

going through multiple iterative projects, or sprints,

 30

students are able to recognize the shortcomings of their

understanding more often and faster than in traditional

project-based learning (Lang, 2016).

In the context of education, flexible thinking is a key

competency necessary for adapting to new learning

environments, for transferring knowledge to new situations,

and for understanding and solving unfamiliar problems (OECD,

2013; P21) Recent studies suggested modifications, calling

for a comprehensive conceptualization of ‘flexibility’ while

emphasizing a more contemporary approach (Garner, 2009,

Ionescu, 2012). Such an approach is relevant to technology-

enhanced learning environments that are supported or

facilitated by web-based technologies and mobile devices

(Barak and Ziv, 2013, Plesch et al., 2013). In the realm of

contemporary education, the need for re-conceptualization of

“flexible thinking” is reinforced in light of recent

developments in information and communication technologies.

In Mathematics learning, engagement occurs when

students enjoy learning and doing Mathematics, and they view

the learning and doing of Mathematics as a valuable,

worthwhile task, useful within and beyond the classroom

(Attard, 2011). A teacher’s pedagogical practices, including

the integration of technology was found to have a

 31

significant influence on student engagement (Attard and

Curry, 2012).

Mathematics collaboration needs to be encouraged and

supported in the classroom. Collaboration is an important

way to foster mathematical understanding and increased

confidence in mathematics (MacMath, Wallace, & Xiaohong,

2009). By providing a classroom environment where students

feel comfortable to collaborate, share, explore, and think

mathematically, mathematical confidence can improve

(Suurtamm, et al., 2015).

Conventional Teaching Strategy

Conventional strategy in teaching Mathematics is still

in the practice nowadays whereas the method being used are

lecture method, paper-pencil, deductive and inductive

teaching. The students merely memorized the routines in the

daily interaction. Due to the changes in the educational

system and numerous teaching strategies popped up, studies

were conducted.

Valencerina (2014) conducted the study to provide

empirical facts on the effect of cooperative learning method

supported by multiple intelligence theory on students’

achievement in Mathematics. The difference between the post-

 32

test mean scores of the experimental and control group is

statistically significant, which means that students’

achievement in Mathematics is greatly affected when

cooperative learning methods were used as teaching

strategies compared to the traditional method.

Based on the article of Mansell, W. & Addelman, M.

(2012), traditional teaching methods are still dominant in

Math classrooms. The trend of traditional activities being

more frequently used in classrooms and less traditional less

so was not completely uniform, however. For example, 84 per

cent of pupils said their teachers always or sometimes gave

them problems to investigate, which made it the seventh most

frequent activity. And the more traditional “we work through

exercises in textbooks” was only the 12th most frequently-

occurring activity; with 23 percent of pupils saying it

rarely or never happened.

According to (White-Clark, et. al, 2008) (as cited by

Ferguson, 2010), teachers often teach the way they were

taught during their own educational experiences. Some

veteran teachers still believe that the role of the teacher,

especially in the secondary grades, is to give information

to their students and hope they retain it for future use.

Obuyes (2014) conducted a study on the reasoning

ability, attitude, and performance in Geometry of secondary

 33

students and it was found out that high school students have

“poor” level of reasoning ability. However, students who are

14 years and below, whose mothers are college graduate and

whose fathers are either college undergraduate and college

graduate have “fair” level of reasoning ability. On the

whole, students have “uncertain” attitude towards Geometry

and when classified as to age, sex, estimated monthly family

income, mothers’ and fathers’ educational attainment, and

home location. In general, students have “poor” performance

in Geometry. However, students who have an estimated monthly

family income of more than ₱10,000.00, and whose mothers and

fathers are college graduate have “average” performance in

Geometry. Mothers’ and fathers’ educational attainment make

a difference in the students’ reasoning ability in favor of

those whose parents are high school graduate, college

undergraduate and college graduate. There are no significant

differences in the students’ attitude towards Geometry when

classified as to age, sex, estimated monthly family income,

mothers’ and fathers’ educational attainment and home

location. There are significant differences in the students’

performance in Geometry when classified as to age, in favor

of younger students (14 years and below); estimated monthly

family income, in favor of those whose income fall from

₱5,000 to ₱10,000 and more than ₱10,000; and mothers’ and

 34

fathers’ educational attainment, in favor of those students

whose parents have at least finished high school.

Performance in Geometry is significantly related to the

students’ reasoning ability and their attitude. Likewise,

students’ attitude is significantly related to their

reasoning ability.

Boaler and Samuelsson (2010) as cited by Tropico(2015)

reported that students who worked in traditional classrooms

achieved higher scores regarding procedural fluency in

mathematics.

According to (White-Clark, et. al, 2008) (as cited by

Ferguson 2010), teachers often teach the way they were

taught during their own educational experiences. Some

veteran teachers still believe that the role of the teacher,

especially in the secondary grades, is to give information

to their students and hope they retain it for future use.

Based on the study conducted by Tropico (2015) about

effect of lesson study approach, the result revealed that

traditional approach in teaching Mathematics significantly

improves the students’ Mathematics performance. There is no

significant difference in the performance of pupils in

Mathematics in the pretest of the control and experimental

group. There is significant difference in the mathematics

performance of the college students in the pretest and

 35

posttest of the control group. There is a significant

difference in the mathematics performance of the College

students in the pretest and posttest of the experimental

group. There is no significant difference in the mathematics

performance of the Grade college students in the posttest of

the control and experimental groups.

In the study of Piansay (2016), it was found that Grade

six pupils have similarly “poor” Mathematics performance in

the pretests both in the control and experimental group.

While after the intervention, pupils have “excellent”

Mathematics performance in both the control and experimental

groups. There is no significant difference in the

Mathematics performance of Grade six pupils in the pretests

of the control and experimental groups. There is significant

difference in Mathematics performance of the Grade six

pupils in the pretest and posttest of the control group.

There is a significant difference in the mathematics

performance of the Grade six pupils in the pretests and

posttests of the experimental group. There is no significant

difference in the mathematics performance of the Grade six

pupils in the posttests of the control and experimental

group.

According to the study conducted by Falcis (2017), it

was found that Senior High School students have similarly

 36

“very poor” Mathematics performance in the pretests both in

the control and experimental group. While after the

intervention, students have “very good” Mathematics

performance in both the control and experimental groups.

There is no significant difference in the Mathematics

performance of Senior High School students in the pretests

of the control and experimental groups. There is significant

difference in mathematics performance of the Senior High

School students in the pretest and posttest of the control

group. There is a significant difference in the mathematics

performance of the Senior High School students in the

pretests and posttests of the experimental group. There is a

significant difference in the mathematics performance of the

Senior High School students in the posttests of the control

and experimental group.

Based on the article of Mansell, W. & Addelman, M.

(2012), traditional teaching methods are still dominant in

Math classrooms. The trend of traditional activities being

more frequently used in classrooms and less traditional less

so was not completely uniform, however. For example, 84 per

cent of pupils said their teachers always or sometimes gave

them problems to investigate, which made it the seventh most

frequent activity. And the more traditional “we work through

exercises in textbooks” was only the 12th most frequently-

 37

occurring activity; with 23 per cent of pupils saying it

rarely or never happened. Based on the study conducted by

Tropico (2015) about effect of lesson study approach, the

result revealed that traditional approach in teaching

Mathematics significantly improves the student’s Mathematics

performance. There is no significant difference in the

performance of pupils in Mathematics in the pretest of the

control and experimental group. There is significant

difference in the Mathematics performance of the College

students in the pretest and posttest of the control group.

There is a significant difference in the Mathematics

performance of the College students in the pretest and

posttest of the experimental group. There is no significant

difference in the mathematics performance of the college

students in the posttest of the control and experimental

groups (Cited by Fina, 2017).

Based on the study conducted by Nagtalon(2016) it was

found out that pupils in the control and experimental groups

have similarly “good” Mathematics performance prior to the

conduct of the study. After the intervention, pupils in the

control group still have “good” Mathematics performance

while the experimental group have “very good” Mathematics

performance. There is no significant difference in the

Mathematics performance of the Grade-6 pupils in the pretest

 38

of the control and experimental groups. There is significant

difference in the Mathematics performance of the Grade-6

pupils in the pretest and posttest of the control group.

There is a significant difference in the Mathematics

performance of the Grade-6 pupils in the pretest and

posttest of the experimental group. There is no significant

difference in the Mathematics performance of the Grade 6

pupils in the posttest of the control and experimental

groups. The results revealed that the Singaporean Model have

a very large effect on the Mathematics performance of Grade

6 pupils.

However, Boaler (2002) and Samuelsson (2010) (as cited

by Tropico, 2015) reported that students who worked in

traditional classrooms achieved higher scores regarding

procedural fluency in Mathematics.

Mathematics Performance

Academic performance is the statement of knowledge,

skills, and abilities the individual students possesses and

can demonstrate upon completion of a learning experiences or

sequence of learning experiences(Barr, et al. as cited by

Luces, 2014).

Saileela (2012) had conducted “a self-regulation, self-

efficacy and attitude towards Mathematics of higher

 39

secondary students in relation to achievement”. The purpose

of the study was to compare self-regulation scale, self-

efficacy scale and attitude towards mathematics scale in

relation to achievement test in mathematics .Investigator

administered to a random sample of 1000 first year higher

secondary students. The result of the study revealed that

the achievement in mathematics of boys is significantly

greater than girls and there exists positive and significant

correlation between achievement and self-efficacy.

Kuar (as cited by Luces, 2014) had quoted the data on

the Philippine Mathematics Achievement. They are as follows:

“The Philippine performance in Mathematics was very low

compared to the international average performance. The

Philippines ten years of elementary and secondary schooling

age may be the factor of the poor performance of the

Filipino. The average age of the Filipino participant was

close to that of the international average age.”

Mathematics is among the most ancient of academic

subjects and had held a high place in all level of education

programs. Mathematics has retained its importance because of

its continued and increasing service in the other fields

(Marques, as cited by Majan, 2013).

According to Suan (2014), factors affecting

underachievement in Mathematics revealed that only the

 40

relationship between Mathematics performance and student

factors was significant. Furthermore, the computed chi-

square for Mathematics performance and student factors which

is 64.23 is greater than the critical values of 15.51. This

implies that there was a significant relationship between

academic performance in Mathematics and student factors. It

can be concluded that student factors such as study habits,

attitudes, and interests toward Mathematics and time

management directly affect the performance of students in

Mathematics.

The study of Tagumpay (2014) about Effect of games on

the Mathematics performance of grade VII students revealed

that most of the students had low Mathematics performance

before the intervention in both control and experimental

groups.

Based on the study conducted by Garde (2013) about

effect of computer games on the Mathematics performance of

fourth year students of Tapaz National High School, it was

found out that the Mathematics performance of the

experimental group is “good” while the control group is

“very good”. Students have better performance in the control

group than the experimental group.

Prior to the conduct of the study of Malonisio (2012)

regarding multilingual instruction, its effect on the

 41

Mathematics performance of first year high school students

was that most of the students had average Mathematics

performance in the pretest.

According to the study of Filosofo (2011), it showed

that students’ performance in Mathematics is satisfactory.

The students’ satisfactory performance in Mathematics was

visible to male and female students; whose fathers’ and

mothers’ educational attainment were elementary levels,

elementary graduates, high school levels high school

graduates, and college levels except the passing performance

of college graduates and good performance in master’s degree

units; to public schools but not to private schools where

they graduated from; and from low, average, and high monthly

family income.

Based on the study of Baranda (2010), pupils have

“satisfactory” performance in Mathematics. The pupils whose

mothers have earned post graduate degree, whose fathers have

white- collar jobs and whose monthly family income is more

than P20, 000 have “very good” performance in Mathematics.

However, pupils who do not attend preschool, whose mothers

have achieved elementary level and finished elementary and

high school, whose mothers have blue-collar job, those who

belong to medium and big family size, those who belong to

average family income, those whose teachers are 40 years old

 42

and below, those whose teachers have taught for 15 years and

below, those whose teachers have attended local Mathematics

seminars and trainings, and those pupils with disruptive

behavior have “poor” performance in Mathematics.

In the study conducted by Dapulano and Villarenas cited

by Majan (2013), it was found out that the performance in

Mathematics of students was affected primarily due to their

difficulties in understanding topics in Mathematics.

According to Tandoc, Jr. (2012) of the Philippine Daily

Inquirer, Asians are often stereotyped as natural number

crunchers but Filipino students seem to be trailing their

Asian counterparts in Mathematics and Science. In fact, a

global survey ranks the Philippines 115th out of 142

countries in perceived quality of Math and Science

education. Our tiny neighbor Singapore tops the list. These

results are based on the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global

Competitiveness Report for 2011-2012, which ranks Taiwan,

5th; Hong Kong, 11th; and South Korea, 12th. Averaging the

results of the NAT in Grade 3 on a five-year period covering

SY 2007-2008 to SY 2011-2012 reveals that among the subject

areas covered, Mathematics obtained the highest mean

percentage score of 62.9%, while Science registering the

relatively lowest mean rating with 57.4%. However, in Grade

6, Filipino registered the highest mean percentage score

 43

among the five subject areas registering an average of

71.95%, while Science registered the relatively the lowest

mean percentage score at 59.66%. In addition, for school

years 2004-2005, 2005-2006, and 2011-2012, fourth year

students, Araling Panlipunan registered the highest mean

percentage score of 50.62%, while Science obtained the

relatively lowest rating at 39.33%. The Philippine Daily

Inquirer, in its September 2011 issue reported that

according to the Department of Education (DepEd), almost

two-thirds of the country’s high schools faired poorly in SY

2009-2010 with 67.10 percent of these schools obtaining

below average scores.

Recent work on differences in Mathematics achievement

has highlighted the importance of classroom, teacher, and

school factors. This result was also confirmed by the study

conducted by Lamb & Fullarton, cited by Baranda, (2010)that

student background variables together with classroom and

school variables influence differences in achievement in

Mathematics.

According to Martin (2011), in his study about the

performance of the students in junior high school the

results indicate that with respect to the 326 items IRT-

analysis, study revealed that more competent students will

be able to solve both easier and difficult items, whereas

 44

less able students will only succeed in solving easier

items.

Edullantes (2015) revealed that the high level of

Mathematics performance of secondary students indicate that

the students may be using a correct learning approach and

effective study skills. It may be possible that they give

much importance to Mathematics compared with their other

subjects and that they are equipped in their mathematical

proficiency.

Synthesis

Mathematics is among the most ancient and most crucial

subject that must be given consideration and emphasis to

avoid misconception and to maintain retention of prior

knowledge. There is a need for students to activate and

develop their interest towards Mathematics through learning

different topics and experiencing different classroom

activities in such a noteworthy time. Engaging environment

will sharpen their agility in solving real-life problems and

develop their interpersonal skills. Through the application

of Agile Learning Approach, it will further hone, aside from

learning while having fun, the 21st century skills

especially the 4 C’s which are: Communication, Critical

Thinking, Collaboration, and Creativity which will be given

 45

emphasis. More challenging activities that is attainable and

time-bounded should be implied to further develop these

skills. Furthermore, it can help students to adapt to the

fast changing society that will turn into productive and

holistically competitive.

Most of the conducted studies revealed that the factors

frequently affecting the Mathematics performance came from

the students: their study habit, the attitudes and values,

and the time management. Some reveal that students settle

for less, do not think flexibly and collaboratively due to

the strategy that is not suited to different types of

learners with limited classroom activities and are mostly

teacher-centered type of instruction.

Even today, lots of teachers still cannot take away the

traditional approach in teaching in order to finish the

required competencies in the curriculum without knowing that

some students are left behind that needs remediation. In

addition, students lazily participate due to inappropriate

strategy that is not differentiated. The greater tendency of

not participating in the classroom discussion and activities

are because the students are not engaged physically.

Scenarios like these reveal that the teachers should pay

attention and give relevance to the teaching strategies that

 46

will make the teaching-learning process functional, time-

bounded, flexible, and worthy.