A survey was conducted with 86 teachers across 10 states regarding their students' ease of use of physical manipulatives incorporated with implementing evidence-based early numeracy instruction. The majority of respondents indicated significant student accessibility barriers. Specifically, 75% of respondents had students with tactile defensiveness…

This research project was completed with twenty-nine fourth grade students from Shawnee Elementary, a school in the Chippewa Valley School District. It began in April 2012 and the data collection was completed by June 2012. The purpose of this project was to see if utilizing math manipulatives in an elementary classroom will increase student…

The research project will be conducted with a target focus group of six students who have been identified as struggling students in 3rd grade mathematics. The research project will study the effect of using different teaching strategies and methods to increase motivation and focus among these students. The research project will be conducted at…

This is an action research project to test a null hypothesis, which states that the use of manipulative materials within the context of mathematics instruction will not yield a significant increase in student achievement. Based on the research, using manipulative materials should have a positive impact on student achievement. Allowing students to…

The purpose of this study is to find out if meaningful educational activities and the use of a manipulative in those activities might have an impact on student achievement. Using manipulative as cognitive tools should improve the teaching and learning process, and encourage student reflections on retaining the information. It has been claimed that…

Manipulatives are the way to our future and the way to new knowledge. No matter where we turn or what we do, we as a society are using some form of manipulative in our lives. Mathematics is changing all of the time from basic arithmetic to basic calculus. Therefore, children in today's classroom deserve to have that extra tool to help them grasp…

Children can learn a lot about social studies by "reconstructing a culture" in the classroom. To reconstruct a culture, students can make use of prior knowledge to build a hierarchy of concepts about culture as well as learn social science subject knowledge appropriate to their grade level. In addition, they can have the tactile…

This monograph concerns the geometry curriculum as it should be in an effective and complete mathematics program in grades K-9. The first section makes an impelling argument for teaching substantial amounts of geometry in grades K-9: for practical life skills, for developing number and measurement concepts, for problem-solving experiences, for…

The activities in this monograph are self-contained explorations into mathematical topics not often included in regular classroom work in grades 3-8. They were selected because of their intriguing enjoyment and because they deal with honest mathematics; they also strengthen skills, especially problem-solving skills. Included are activities with…