Running head: DO MATH MANIPULATIVES ENHANCE LEARNING

Do Math Manipulatives Enhance Learning of Middle School Students in the United States?
Kelli R. Bolin
Texas A&M University-Commerce

DO MATH MANIPULATIVES ENHANCE LEARNING

Do Math Manipulatives Enhance Learning of Middle School Students in the United States?
Have you ever walked into a classroom to see students playing with cards, creating
objects with geometric shapes or moving algebra tiles around on the table? When teaching
students about angle measurements, geometric shapes should be one of the first places you start.
In the United States 57% of eighth-grade students failed to meet standards of proficiency in
mathematics (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2011). Why do some students find
math easy while other students struggle with math concepts each year? One might say that it has
to do with the way students are taught math.
Children are active learners who master concepts by progressing through three levels of
knowledge--concrete, pictorial, and abstract according to the learning theory based on
psychologist Jean Piaget's research (Piaget, 1973). When you walk into an elementary
classroom it is not uncommon to see children using math manipulatives to add, subtract,
multiply, or divide. In the middle school classroom it is not uncommon to find students sitting
at their desk working on worksheets. Where are the hands-on activities? Is this one of the
problems in the middle school classroom?
Manipulatives can be any physical object that you can use to engage students in a handson approach. When students use manipulatives they are taking the first steps in their learning
process. One could say that if students do not use manipulatives then they will be missing a
piece of the puzzle.
Statement of the Problem
It is often suggested to use manipulatives as an instructional strategy in order to improve
student mathematics achievement (Grbz, 2010; Sherman & Bisanz, 2009). The purpose of this
research is to determine if using manipulatives in the middle school math classroom enhances

DO MATH MANIPULATIVES ENHANCE LEARNING

learning. It is believed that using manipulatives during math lessons helps students enjoy math
and also increases their conceptual knowledge (Reimer & Moyer, 2005).
Review of Related Literature
Students who use math manipulatives have been shown to outperform those that did not
use manipulatives (Raphael & Wahlstrom, 1989). According to the National Council of
Supervisors of Mathematics (NCSM), math manipulatives play a key role in developing
students mathematical proficiency (Improving Student Achievement, 2014). In order for
middle school students to succeed in math, manipulatives need to be part of the learning process.
Manipulatives help students see the concrete representation of an abstract idea. It seems as if the
further you go up in grade levels, the less likely you are to see math manipulatives used in the
math classroom. When in reality math manipulatives should be seen more because we are seeing
more abstract ideas. Denise Bryans students keep tool kits in their desks which contain a supply
of math manipulatives. Bryan admits that it takes organization and creativity, but the
manipulatives add several important things to the students learning including concreteness,
conceptual learning and fun (Stewart, 2003).
A study was conducted by Raphael and Wahlstrom (1989), on the use of manipulatives in
8th grade math classrooms. The content was over geometry which included ratio, proportion,
percent and measurement. Through this study it was shown that teachers received more positive
scores and covered more content when they used manipulatives in the classroom. Those teachers
with lower scores tended to not use manipulatives as much in the classroom and were not able to
cover as much content. Therefore, it seemed to be a combination of using manipulatives and the
amount of content covered that enabled students to do better on their math scores. From this
study we can learn that using manipulatives does in fact enhance learning but it is in combination

DO MATH MANIPULATIVES ENHANCE LEARNING

with other factors. Other considerations that should be taken into account are: teacher learning
experience, courses in math, other teacher responsibilities, general difficulty in teaching math,
student ability levels and socioeconomic status (Raphael & Wahlstrom, 1989).
In order for manipulative use to be effective there are several factors that should be
considered. According to Stein (2001), the training and preparation of teachers is one of the
most important factors to consider when discussing the effectiveness of manipulatives in the
math classroom. Teachers should try the lesson out before actually teaching it and anticipate any
problems that might arise. It is important for teachers to carefully plan the use of manipulatives
so they do not become a play object during the lesson. Teachers should not jump in and
automatically show students the way to do it however there should be directions for the
students so they have an idea of where they are headed. Teachers that spend time making their
own lessons or reviewing other lessons tend to have a greater success with using manipulatives
in the middle school classroom (Stein, 2001).
One problem teachers have with using manipulatives is that they clearly see the direction
they are taking the students, however the students have a hard time transitioning from their
thought process to the teachers way of thinking. The external representation is clearly visible to
teachers but not always to the students. Using manipulatives is more difficult than teachers
realize (Puchner, Taylor, ODonnell and Fick 2008). Schram, Fieman-Nemser, and Ball (1990)
found many teachers assume manipulatives will automatically aid in understanding and that
students need to simply touch and look at manipulatives to gain understanding (Puchner et al,
2008). During one study, sixth grade teachers focused on the understanding of multiplication
through other means than the traditional algorithm. These sixth graders already knew how to
find the answer through traditional means but were forced to use manipulatives to do something

DO MATH MANIPULATIVES ENHANCE LEARNING

that they already knew how to accomplish. There were several problems with this lesson.
Students would work the problem the traditional way and then try to fit the manipulatives to
work with their answer. They seemed to make several mistakes during this process.
Manipulatives should be used for testing ideas that students are learning about rather than
understanding a concept after learning the procedure (Puchner et al, 2008).
In a collaborative research study, Leinenbach paired up with Raymond (2000) to
determine whether the Hands on Equation program would benefit her middle school students.
Leinenbach believes that the way students are exposed to algebra makes a difference in how they
learn and retain the information. She chose this program because of the hands-on approach. The
program uses blue and white pawns that represent x and y. It uses red and green number cubes
that represent positive and negative integers. Students use these manipulatives to balance their
equations. The lessons start out very basic and move to more challenging equations. She taught
her students in two different phases. In the first phase, students used only the textbook lessons
and worksheets. In the second phase, she used the hands-on equation manipulatives. During the
manipulative phase, the overall class averages were higher than during the textbook phase
(Raymond & Leinenbach, 2000). When students engage in hands-on learning more often they
prove to be more advanced than those students who do not engage in hands-on learning
(Wenglinsky, 2000).
It is through the use of manipulatives as a tool, learning is enhanced. Moyer (2001)
conducted a yearlong study of middle school math teachers. These teachers volunteered and all
received training during a summer institute. During this training, they were allowed to play and
use the manipulatives that they would be using during their teaching. Teachers were able to
discuss and share their concerns and challenges. Following the year teachers reported that 79%

DO MATH MANIPULATIVES ENHANCE LEARNING

of their math lessons used some form of manipulative. When teachers reflected on their use of
manipulatives, making math fun was a goal of several teachers. They related using
manipulatives to a fun lesson. It seemed that the students also related manipulatives to a fun
class. Teachers often used manipulatives as a reward for good behavior. If students were
misbehaving they would put the manipulatives away and bring out the textbook (Moyer, 2001).
There are several reasons why math manipulatives are not used in the upper grades.
Math manipulatives are at times seen as a fun way to teach math but not necessary for the
learning process. It takes a lot of preparation and organization in order to use manipulatives
effectively. Teachers are pulled in lots of different directions and do not have much time to
prepare especially for something that they may not feel confident using. Some teachers think of
manipulatives as rewards or play objects, others find it a hassle and a waste of time. Student
attitude is a major barrier in the upper grade levels. By the time students reach the upper grades
they are ready for the rule to follow in order to solve their equation. They are less likely to use
their creative thinking in order to solve a problem (Williams, 1986).

Research Questions
In order to understand whether math manipulatives enhance learning in middle schools,
this study will examine the following questions:
1. Do math manipulatives include virtual manipulatives or online technology?
2. Is student achievement related to teachers experience and beliefs in using manipulatives?
3. Does student ability level play a role in using math manipulates?
4. How do student attitudes affect student performance in the math classroom when using
manipulatives?

DO MATH MANIPULATIVES ENHANCE LEARNING

Significance of the Study

Method

Participants

Instrumentation

Design/Procedure
Data Analysis

DO MATH MANIPULATIVES ENHANCE LEARNING

References
Clements, D. H. (2000). Concrete manipulatives, concrete ideas. Contemporary Issues in Early
Childhood, 1(1), 45-60.
Grbz, R. (2010). The effect of activity-based instruction on conceptual development of seventh
grade students in probability. International Journal of Mathematical Education in
Science and Technology, 41(6), 743767.
Improving student achievement in mathematics by using manipulatives with classroom
instruction. (2014). Ontario Mathematics Gazette, 52(3), 34.
Moyer, P. (2001). Are we having fun yet? How teachers use manipulatives to teach mathematics.
Educational Studies in Mathematics, 47(2), 175-197.
National Center for Education Statistics. (2011). The nations report card: Mathematics 2011.
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2012458
Piaget, J. (1973). The child and reality. New York: Grossman Publishers.
Puchner, L., Taylor, A., ODonnell, B., & Flick, K. (2008). Teacher learning and mathematics
manipulatives: A collective case study about teacher use of manipulatives in elementary
and middle school mathematics lessons. School Science & Mathematics, 108(7), 313-325.
Raphael, D. and Wahlstrom, M. 1989. The influence of manipulative materials in mathematics
instruction. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education. 20: 173-190.
Raymond, A. M., & Leinenbach, M. (2000). Collaborative action research on the learning and
teaching of algebra: a story of one mathematics teacher's development. Educational
Studies in Mathematics, 41(3), 283-307.

DO MATH MANIPULATIVES ENHANCE LEARNING

Reimer, K., & Moyer, P.S. (2005). Third-graders learn about fractions using virtual
manipulatives: A classroom study. Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science
Teaching, 24(1), 525.
Schram, P., Feiman-Nemser, S., & Ball, D.L. (1990). Thinking about teaching subtraction with
regrouping: A comparison of beginning and experienced teachers responses to
textbooks. Washington, DC: National Center for Research on Teacher Education.
Sherman, J., & Bisanz, J. (2009). Equivalence in symbolic and nonsymbolic contexts: Benefits
of solving problems with manipulatives. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101(1), 88
100.
Stein, M. K. & Bovalino, J. W. (2001). Manipulatives: One piece of the puzzle. Mathematics
Teaching in the Middle School, 6(6): 356-359.
Stewart, M. (2003). From Tangerines to Algorithms. Instructor, 112(7), 20.
Wenglinsky, H. (2000). How teaching matters: Bringing the classroom back into discussions of
teacher quality. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.
Williams, David E. "Activities for Algebra". Arithmetic Teacher. (February, 1986) 42.