Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of a story-based, strategic intervention material named the Mathematics Enhancement Tool (MET) in improving the numeracy skill, specifically the understanding of fractions, of Osmeña Colleges Grade 4 students in the School Year 2023–2024. Precisely, it sought to: (1) measure students' numeracy at the pre- and post-test; (2) identify statistical significance and effect size of the gain scores; and (3) assess the pedagogical effectiveness of MET on student engagement and motivation. The research design used in this study is one-group pretest-posttest pre-experimental design. The participants of the study were 30 of the 33 enrolled students who participated in the three sessions of intervention (four hours per session). The quantitative data were assessed using the Mathematics Numeracy Level Test (MNLT) validated by the mathematics teachers, with items underwent through pilot phase and is analyzed for difficulty. Also, descriptive statistics and paired-sample t-test are used during the analysis phase, together with Cohen's d to measure effect size. The results showed a statistically high increase in scores (t = -13.52, p < 0.001; d = 2.47), with an increase in average of 53.00% in post-test performance. Initially, no student was at the mastery level of (≥ 96%), reflecting pre-intervention gaps. The effectiveness was seen for all levels of performance, with more identified effects for low-performing students. The intervention instrument, based on culturally familiar anime called Pokémon, integrated narrative and co-operative tasks in coherent to Bruner's spiral curriculum. Increased motivation, autonomy, and participation by students suggest that the analog nature of MET can break through digital resource constraints in Philippine schools. The results favor MET as a sustainable supplement to current numeracy interventions, consistent with DepEd's MATATAG curriculum objectives. However, the small sample, short duration of the study, and insufficiency of control group in the study limit its generalizability. Future studies should investigate randomized controlled trials (RCTs), extended implementations, and online versions of MET in order to further increase its scope and reach.