Effectiveness of GASING Training on Elementary Teachers’ Mathematics Competencies in Remote Indonesia

Elementary school teachers in West Papua demonstrate critically low pedagogical competence in basic mathematics instruction, reflecting persistent educational disparities in eastern Indonesia. This study aims to measure the effectiveness of the Gampang, ASyik, and menyenaNGkan (GASING) method in improving teachers’ competence in teaching basic arithmetic operations. It is hypothesized that the GASING training program will significantly improve teachers’ pedagogical competencies across all five arithmetic domains, with larger gains among teachers with lower initial competencies. The research employed a quasi-experimental one-group pretest-posttest design with 40 elementary school teachers in South Manokwari who participated in an intensive three-week training (October 21 – November 8, 2025). The research instrument was a competency test measuring five domains: Bakal Kubagi concept, addition, multiplication, subtraction, and division. Data were analyzed using paired samples t-test with SPSS 27. The results showed significant improvements (p<.001) across all competency domains with very large effect sizes (Cohen’s d ranging from 2.32 to 5.21). The mean total score increased from 15.87±16.73 to 79.80±12.31 (gain=63.93±12.98). Eighty percent of teachers achieved the high improvement category (gain>50). A strong negative correlation (r=-.756, p<.001) between initial scores and improvement indicates an equity-enhancing effect. The research concludes that the GASING method is highly effective as a teacher empowerment model in disadvantaged areas, with important implications for professional development policies based on innovative and contextual pedagogy.