Effects of DAMATH on the Attitude of the Balabac National High School Grade Seven Students in Mathematics

This study experimented the effect of DAMATH on the attitudes of the seventh graders of Balabac National High School toward Fundamental Operations involving Integers (FOII) to aid the below average result of Filipino students in Mathematics as given by the recent Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) where the average score of Philippines is significantly lower than the average worldwide. With this, the participants completed the adaptation of a 20-item Likert Scale questionnaire of Artizuela (2008) to measure students’ attitude toward math. This research used a two-group pre-test and post-test design, comparing an experimental group to a control group. Both groups were taught FOII particularly with two-digit numbers for a week. The DAMATH comes from the traditional Filipino board game dama with fundamental operations, wanting to make math learning more fun, eventually expecting to improved the attitude. Results showed that, while both groups showed improvement in their attitudes towards FOII, the experimental group demonstrated a more positive shift. A statistically significant difference in attitude was found between the two groups after the intervention (p= 0.0007), with the experimental group demonstrating a more positive attitude. This research goal is to contribute important perceptions for students, teachers, parents, supervisors, and lawmakers looking for current plans to improve math instruction in the Philippines Education system.