Problem-Posing Skills of Grade 9 Pupils Using a Story-Telling Enhanced Critical Mathematics Education Approach: The Case of Geometry

Final Defense

Problem-Posing Skills of Grade 9 Pupils Using a Story-Telling Enhanced Critical Mathematics Education Approach: The Case of Geometry

by Marc Helton C. Sua
MS Mathematics Education Candidate

Date: Tuesday, 05 August 2025
Time: 5:30 - 7:30 pm
Venue: SECA 321 (MJR Room)

Advisers:
Catherine P. Vistro-Yu, EdD
Ateneo de Manila University

Panelists:
Lester C. Hao, PhD (Critic Reader)
Ateneo de Manila University

Mark L. Loyola, PhD
Ateneo de Manila University

Flordeliza F. Francisco, PhD
Far Eastern University
 

Problem-posing is one of the recognized 21st Century skills that students need to develop, given the unpredictability of potentially life-changing events in the world. This study investigated the effects of a storytelling-enhanced critical mathematics education (CME) approach in teaching Ge- ometry on Grade 9 students’ problem-posing skills and critical consciousness. Rooted in Skövs- mose’s CME principles and Toh and Chu’s TSCT (Text, Story, Character, Theme) framework, the approach used a researcher-developed story centered on social justice and sustainability, with housing in Metro Manila as the context.

A mixed methods research design involving 102 students from two public schools randomly as- signed to a control group (direct problem-posing instruction) and a treatment group (storytelling- enhanced CME approach) was utilized. Both groups took a pre-test and post-test on the Geometry topic Congruent Triangles. At the 0.05 level of significance, statistical analyses using the Mann- Whitney U test on post-test scores of both groups showed significant differences in problem- posing skills favoring the treatment group, while Wilcoxon Signed-rank test revealed significant gains in problem-posing skills within both groups.

To assess critical consciousness, student interviews and evaluation responses were coded and summarized. Results showed that integration of storytelling and CME in Geometry enhanced stu- dents’ problem-posing skills and heightened their critical consciousness. It is recommended that teaching approaches that integrate story-telling revolving around themes of social justice in real life conditions be introduced into the curriculum to enhance students’ learning of mathematics and allow them to connect mathematics more meaningfully to their lived experiences.

Key Words:critical mathematics education, geometry, problem-posing, social justice, space, storytelling, storytelling enhanced critical mathematics education approach, sustainability