A manipulative materials approach to teaching fractions at the grade 4 level : a comparative study
Date
1973
Authors
Richmond, Edward William
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Abstract
The purpose of the study was to investigate the relative effectiveness of a concrete materials centered approach for teaching introductory topics in fractions to Grade 4 pupils. The set of materials consisted of a kit of colored paper strips of varying lengths constructed by each pupil.
The students in the two Grade 4 classes in a Greater Victoria elementary school were assigned on a stratified random basis to two groups for the study. Both groups were taught by the same teacher using large group instruction for the treatments which lasted for fifteen consecutive instructional periods.
Subjects in the Experimental Group each constructed a fraction kit and made use of the strips for approximately half of the instructional time, Subjects in the Control Group studied fractions as outlined in the prescribed textbook and did not use concrete materials.
Instruments were developed to compare the two groups on initial achievement, retention, and transfer and to ascertain the reaction of students to the instructional treatments. Both pencil and paper tests and performance type tests requiring the manipulation of physical materials were developed for the study.
No significant differences were found between the group mean scores or any of the four tests either immediately following the treatments or two months after the treatments. Neither treatment was found to be more suitable than the other for students of any of the three ability levels. Each group responded favorably to its treatment. Within the Experimental Group students of average ability tended to respond more favorably to the use of the fraction kit than either the high or low ability students.