The Use of Game-Based Learning Approach to the Literacy and Numeracy of Badjao Children

Basic Education Curriculum (BEC) was the existing curriculum before it was replaced by the K to 12 Curriculum, which is being practiced in Philippine schools nowadays. The old curriculum focuses on making use of traditional instruction, the traditional paper and pencil assessments, and the teacher being the center of the instruction. When the K to 12 Curriculum was introduced, constructivism, being one of its components, arrived at the new method, the Game-Based Learning Approach. The learning approach strives to encourage learners to see learning not as a burden, but as a pleasure by enriching them with games that will not just provide learning, but also fun and enjoyment. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of the Game-Based Learning Approach to the literacy and numeracy of the Badjao children. The study is consistent with the experimental research design. The researchers used a written test that served as a pre-test and a post-test in numeracy and literacy. There are 15 items in the literacy test, while there are 20 items in the numeracy test. Moreover, inferential statistics such as the t-test concerning two means were also used to determine whether there is a significant improvement in the scores, both in numeracy and literacy. A total of 20 Badjao children were the respondents of the study. The result of the study indicates that the differences in the scores of the respondents on literacy before and after the Game-Based Learning Approach introduced to the respondents are statistically significant (t-value:4.323, p-value:0.0003), and it significantly improved the Badjao respondents’ literacy. On the other hand, the analysis of differences in the scores of the respondents on numeracy before and after the Game-Based Learning Approach introduced to the respondents is statistically significant (t-value:4.529, p-value:0.0002), and it also shows that the Badjao respondents significantly improved in numeracy. The study signifies that the Game-Based Learning Approach was effective for the Badjao respondents, and it significantly improved their literacy and numeracy skills. Thus, it can be recommended that teachers should take into consideration the use of the Game-Based Learning Approach as one of the innovative and interactive teaching strategies.