Vol. 4, Issue 1

Abstract

Student engagement is an important contributor to academic success. In the learning arrangement in a pre-school in Quezon city, students attended the online class and answered workbooks and worksheets as offline learning activities. These paper-and-pen activities did not motivate the students as they delayed doing the task. The present study aimed at incorporating play-based activities to increase the pre-school students' engagement in their offline learning activities. The study was conducted among 20 preschool students with the help of the parents in implementing the play-based offline activities. Responses regarding students’ engagement were documented using the student engagement tool that parents accomplished every after offline activity, reflections notes, and survey questionnaires. A focus group discussion was also organized at the end of the study. The findings in this study show that the use of offline play-based activities improved student engagement in three dimensions - cognitive, emotion, and behavior. Students who previously expressed disinterest towards offline activities demonstrated self-motivation, conceptual understanding, engagement in physical activities, and have nurtured positive relationships among the students, their parents, and their siblings throughout the study. Considering the parents’ feedback, the researchers further modified the design of the instructional activities to address prior poor student engagement by incorporating music and movement, balancing play and work in the activities, and by sending the guides earlier for the convenience of the parents. It is recommended that future research delve into the difference in engagement among different class hours, given that more students in the late morning and early afternoon sessions showed poorer engagement in offline paper-and-pencil activities prior to the intervention being made. Future research can also focus on the influence of fathers on their child’s engagement, implementation of play-based activities in public schools adopting the modular approach, and parent-teacher relationship in managing and handling students' mental wellness.