Differentiating Instruction in a Mathematics Classroom: Its Effects on Senior High School Learners' Academic Performance and Engagement in Calculus

A quasi-experimental study was conducted to investigate the effects of differentiated instruction, a strategy that may cater to learners' diversity, towards their academic performance and engagement in Basic Calculus. It was participated by sixty Grade 11 learners in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) strand of Bukidnon State University Secondary School, Malaybalay City during the second semester of the school year 2017-2018. Lessons on differentiation and its applications were developed. Researcher-made academic performance test and engagement scale were evaluated by a panel of experts and underwent validity and reliability analysis. The gathered data were analyzed and interpreted using appropriate statistical techniques: mean, standard deviation, frequency, percentage, one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and paired t-test. The results revealed that the learners' academic performance when taught using differentiated instruction was Very Satisfactory; while learners taught with the conventional instruction was Fairly Satisfactory. There was a statistically significant difference in the academic performance between the two groups of learners, in favor of those taught with differentiated instruction. Moreover, the engagement level of the learners in the experimental group was Moderate before and after the intervention, and there was a statistically significant difference between them attributed to differentiated instruction.