Design and implementation of performance-based assessment with metacognitive prompts in mathematics

• Main Author: Cerrado, Pamela Mae Y.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2022
• Subjects: Mathematics; Competency-based education > Evaluation
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdm_scied/29
• Institution: De La Salle University

Assessments are one of the most important tools in Mathematics education as they are one of the key indicators of students’ mathematical performance. They are also helpful for improving teaching strategies as well as students’ mathematical understanding and proficiency. Nevertheless, despite calls for contextualization, some teachers still teach mathematics in abstract notions and provide decontextualized tasks. With the concerns regarding the assessments given to students and the evaluation of their performance, the fundamental purpose of this study is to design and implement a performance task about quadratic functions, following the realistic mathematics education approach, with metacognitive prompts. This mixed-method study made use of the pre-test and post-test scores of the 30 Grade 9 students from the Jr. MAI, their responses to the metacognitive prompts incorporated on the performance task, their scores on the task, their responses on the interview questionnaire, as well as one (1) Math teacher’s scores on the students’ metacognitive knowledge and skills using a parallel Jr. MAI and his responses on the interview questionnaire, and the researcher’s scores on the students’ metacognitive knowledge and skills using a parallel Jr. MAI. Using paired-sample t-tests, the results showed that the students’ metacognitive awareness increased as the first category on the Jr. MAI, knowledge about cognition, obtained statistically significant differences between the pre-test and post-test scores. Similarly, their metacognitive skills improved as the second category in the Jr. MAI, regulation of their cognition, also obtained statistically significant differences between the pre-test and post-test scores. It also showed that the intervention made very large effects on students’ knowledge about their cognition, as well as their planning skills, and medium effects on the monitoring and evaluating skills of the students. Furthermore, the average Jr. MAI scores of students and the researcher’s average scores were compared, as well as the researcher’s average scores and the teacher’s average scores through the use of Pearson correlation coefficient. Both comparisons showed that there are strong positive correlations between variables and moderate linear correlations. Using descriptive analysis, it shows that the number of students who scored above or equal to the cut-off increased before and after the implementation of the metacognitive intervention. On the other hand, thematic analysis was used to have a deeper understanding of the overall experiences and perceptions of the participants. Students who were interviewed came from three groups: below-average, average, and above-average. Results showed the emerged themes from significant quotes and codes of the students: planning before the accomplishment of the performance task about quadratic functions, monitoring progress during the accomplishment of the performance task about quadratic functions, evaluating performance and output after the accomplishment of the performance task about quadratic functions, improving self-knowledge in accomplishing Math tasks, and improvement of mathematical performance. Furthermore, it showed that the teacher saw the positive impacts of utilizing an authentic performance task with metacognitive prompts in Mathematics.