Contextualized Problem Solving: It's Effect on Students? Achievement, Conceptual Understanding and Mathematics Anxiety

The study determined the effect of contextualized problem solving on the students achievement, conceptual understanding and mathematics anxiety of the second year Bachelor of Elementary Education students of Western Mindanao State University Malangas Campus. It employed pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design using a 10-item teacher-made word problem to assess the achievement and conceptual understanding of the students enrolled in Advanced Algebra and Trigonometry during the 1st semester of school year 2016-2017. The school has only two sections, so one section was randomly assigned as the control group and the other as experimental group. Of the two groups, 12 participants were randomly selected for interview to validate the findings after the posttest. The one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyze the data. An analysis of students solutions was done to verify the quantitative data on students achievement and conceptual understanding. Results of the analysis revealed that the experimental group of students has significantly higher achievement, conceptual understanding and lower mathematics anxiety compared to the control group which is non-contextualized in approach. It was also found out that students achievement significantly relate to their conceptual understanding from both the control and experimental groups. Hence, the researcher concludes that contextualized problem is effective in improving and enhancing students problem solving achievement and conceptual understanding in terms of interpreting, applying and explaining algebra concepts. It has significantly reduced students anxiety towards mathematics.