Collaborative Teaching Strategy on the Mathematics Performance of Junior High School Students

Persistent low achievement in mathematics among Filipino junior high school students highlights the need for learner-centered instructional approaches that promote conceptual understanding and active classroom participation. This study investigated the effectiveness of a collaborative teaching strategy in improving the mathematics performance and classroom engagement of Grade 9 students learning quadratic equations at Lorenzo C. Tanza Memorial National High School during the School Year 2025–2026. A quantitative quasi-experimental research design employing a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest approach was utilized. The participants consisted of 139 Grade 9 students assigned to either an experimental group, which received collaborative teaching interventions, or a control group, which received conventional teacher-centered instruction. Data were collected using a Department of Education-aligned mathematics achievement test and a validated 20-item Likert-scale questionnaire measuring students' classroom engagement. Descriptive statistics, paired-samples t-tests, independent-samples t-tests, and nonparametric tests were performed using Jamovi at a 0.05 significance level. The findings revealed that both groups significantly improved after instruction; however, the experimental group demonstrated significantly greater learning gains than the control group. Students exposed to collaborative teaching also reported higher levels of classroom engagement, confidence, participation, and collaborative problem-solving than those taught through traditional instruction. These results indicate that collaborative teaching is a more effective instructional strategy for enhancing mathematics achievement and fostering meaningful student engagement than conventional teaching approaches. The study provides empirical evidence supporting the integration of collaborative pedagogies into junior high school mathematics instruction and offers practical implications for curriculum development, teacher professional development, and learner-centered classroom practices aimed at improving mathematics education outcomes.