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This document provides context about a proposed inquiry project at St Mary Mackillop School in Wallaroo, South Australia. It discusses the school and community demographics, as well as the specific 3/4 classroom that would be the focus. It introduces the idea of researching the use of manipulative materials in teaching mathematics and conducting a case study. A literature review discusses research supporting the use of manipulatives to help students understand abstract math concepts through hands-on learning and developing math proficiencies. Successful implementation requires teachers to systematically integrate manipulatives and transition students from concrete to abstract levels of understanding.

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79 views5 pages

For Eportfolio

This document provides context about a proposed inquiry project at St Mary Mackillop School in Wallaroo, South Australia. It discusses the school and community demographics, as well as the specific 3/4 classroom that would be the focus. It introduces the idea of researching the use of manipulative materials in teaching mathematics and conducting a case study. A literature review discusses research supporting the use of manipulatives to help students understand abstract math concepts through hands-on learning and developing math proficiencies. Successful implementation requires teachers to systematically integrate manipulatives and transition students from concrete to abstract levels of understanding.

Uploaded by

api-470676217
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© © All Rights Reserved
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INQUIRY

PROJECT:
PROPOSAL

Lethbridge, Vyanah Lousie - letvl001


Site Context:

School name: St Mary Mackillop School, Wallaroo.


School type: Catholic
Enrolment: 141 Students
Attendance: 93% attendance rate
Location: St Mary Mackillop School is located in Wallaroo which is a rural town located on the
western side of the Yorke Peninsula, South Australia.
Traditional owners of the land:
The Yorke Peninsula has always been home to the Adjahdura Aboriginal tribe, the people are often
referred to as the Narungga people.
Community Aboriginal sites:
The Yorke Peninsula is immersed in history from Aboriginal culture that began thousands of years
before European settlement. This can be seen from the coast, to vines, to the stunning landscapes. In
the Yorke Peninsula, community Aboriginal sites include; ancient archaeological sites, spectacular
coastal areas, ancient bushland, rugged gorges, and some of the oldest Aboriginal rock engravings.
Local Aboriginal community relationships:
Local Aboriginal people hold a number of Aboriginal cultural tours around the region. Through these
tours they give insights into the traditional owners of this country and their rich cultural heritage,
dreaming stories and traditions.
Socio economic factors:
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2016, provides information regarding the Socio-economic
factors of the Wallaroo reign. This data shows that 89.1% of residents, aged 15 years and above, are
employed, with 46.8% of these reported as working full-time. The median weekly household income
for people living in Wallaroo is significantly less than the overall median weekly income of residents
in South Australia.
% born in other countries:
The Australian Bureau of Statistics 2016, reports that 82.6% of residents were born in Australia.
Evidently, 17.4% were born in countries other than Australia.
Diversity:
The ABS (2016), reports on the diversity of the population living in Wallaroo, making evident that the
most common ancestries in the reign are; Australian (35.6%), English (33.0%), Scottish (6.1%),
German (5.7%) and Irish (5.4%). Only 4.1% of Wallaroo households speak a non-English language.
The top language’s, other than English, are; Afrikaans (0.5%), Italian (0.5%), Greek (0.4%), Dutch
(0.2%) and Spanish (0.1%). Christianity is the largest religious group reported
Context of the Learners:
Year level: 3/4
Ages of students: 8-10
Number of children/students: 24
Ratio of boys/girls: 13 boys & 11 girls
Diversity:
In the whole school, 4% of students are Indigenous and 1% has a language background other than
English. In my class, specifically there is no known cultural differences and the Catholic religion is
practiced and taught across the board. Learner diversity is evident through the vastly distinguished
needs of learners. In the 3/4 classroom, a large majority of the students require additional support in at
least one area of their development this includes; literacy, numeracy and speech. There are also a few
children that excel in the classroom and are deemed gifted in all areas of their learning.

Introduction:
St Mary Mackillop School is located in Wallaroo which is a rural town located on the western side of
the Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. This school is inspired by the Catholic faith and work in
partnership with families and the wider community to provide an innovative and contemporary
educational environment that leads to lifelong learning. They teach the Catholic tradition and provide
an invitation to encounter the love of God. The Catholic tradition is evident as the school values that
are founded by the Joshephite tradition, these values include; relationships grounded in trust and
respect; a commitment to learning; collaboration and team work; the courage to work beyond our
comfort zones; and opportunities to celebrate success. These values are seen taught and developed
throughout the whole school experience. St Mary Mackillop School is very community orientated
and work in close partnerships with families, the local council and the local Parish, this is seen though
their commitment to regularly attend mass at the local church and their willingness to attend local
sites to care for the environment. The school has countless policy and procedures (eg. anti-bullying,
harassment and violence policy and procedures) in place to ensure a safe and supportive environment
that promotes their high attendance rate.

The year 3/ 4 classroom is very welcoming and inclusive to all students, staff and visitors. From what
I have observed, all students have developed supportive relationships with their peers throughout the
school year, this is seen as everyone has a friendly nature, is willing to help out one another and
supports each other’s learning.

Learner diversity is evident though the varying learning needs of all students. To cater for all the
needs in the classroom, strategies have been put into place to allow all students to obtain success in
their learning, this is evident through additional support, differentiated learning tasks, group work and
peer teaching. Within the classroom, the teacher has also shown me the ‘inclusive/adaptive education
folder’ that is located in each room. This folder has a significant amount of information about the
school Policies and Procedures regarding inclusive and adaptive education as well as providing
strategies to support an Inclusive Education for all students at St Mary Mackillop School.

Over the course of my University degree, I have been presented with the idea of teaching mathematics
through the use of manipulative materials. I am yet to see this pedagogical approach to teaching
mathematics put into practices in the educational setting. Due to this, I aspire to conduct research and
develop a case study into the approach to deepen my understanding of the positive effects that it can
have on students’ cognitive learning within mathematics and identify practical implications for me as
an aspiring educator.
Literature Review:
Through conducting in-depth research, it has become apparent that countless literature sources,
including; the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM, 1989; NCTM, 2000), the
Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom (APMC, 2010) and the Australian Senior Mathematics
Journal (ASMJ, 2014) have all advocated for the implementation of manipulative materials, diagrams
and real-life experiences to promote successful intellectual learning of mathematical concepts.

The definition for manipulative materials continues to be refined within literature. Kennedy once
emphasised that manipulative materials are “objects that appeal to several senses and that can be
touched, moved about, rearranged, and otherwise handled by children” (1986, p.6). In more recent
literature, manipulative materials are seen as, “materials that help students make sense of abstract
ideas, provide students ways to test and verify ideas, are useful tools for solving problems, and make
mathematics learning more engaging and interesting by lifting mathematics off textbook and
workbook pages” (Anon, 2014, p.34) (Burns, 2007, p.33-34).

Jadwiga explains that there are four types of manipulatives that can be used to teach mathematics
(2010, p.3). Firstly, objects that are familiar in everyday life, such as coins, buttons and popsicle
sticks. Secondly, objects that have been manufactured for a specific purpose but also can be applied
into educational opportunities, such as building blocks, jigsaw puzzles and Legos. Thirdly, objects
that are specifically designed to be used in teaching mathematics, including attribute blocks, base-ten
blocks and colour tiles (Jadwiga, 2010, p.3). Lastly, virtual manipulatives are objects that can be
moved around and manipulated on a digital device.

The implementation of manipulative materials has been highly recognised by literature for its ability
to assist students’ learning of mathematics when successfully implemented into the classroom.
Jadwiga claims that use of manipulatives allows students to work collaboratively and cooperatively in
solving problems, discuss mathematical ideas and concepts and understand that there are many
different ways to solve mathematical problems without following direct instructions (2010, p.4). Stein
and Bovalino second these ideas, stating that manipulatives “can contribute to the development of
well-rounded, interconnected understandings of mathematical ideas” (2001, p.1) as they support
students understanding of abstract mathematical concepts. Through this deepened understanding,
promotes students’ ability and wiliness to talk about their discoveries. Lastly, the use of manipulative
materials has the potential to address and develop many of the mathematical proficiencies within each
lesson. These proficiencies are outlined by Australian Curriculum and Assessment Reporting
Authority (ACARA, 2016) and are: understanding, fluency, problem solving and reasoning.

To ensure that all students obtain these benefits through the use of manipulative materials they have to
be successfully implemented into the mathematics lessons. For this to happen, teachers must
systematically integrate the use of concrete materials into classroom instruction and activities across
all year levels and mathematics topics. Therefore, teachers must prepare the classroom for activities
by organising groups, preparing materials and thinking about the logistics of the lesson and/or overall
unit (Anon, 2014, p.34). The Concrete-Representational-Abstract (CRA) this instructional framework
encourages teachers to begin the mathematical learning with concrete manipulative experiences,
transition students towards using visual representations (drawings), until they are ready to use abstract
mathematical notation (Peltier & Vannest, 2018, p.74). Teachers need to ensure that students are
engaged in meaningful activities that provide students with multiple opportunities and alternatives for
developing their own learning strategies.
A range of literature has shown the importance of students using manipulative materials whilst
participating in collaborative learning experiences (Jadwiga, 2010, p.4; Anon, 2014, p.34).
Collaborative learning is an educational approach that involves groups of learners working together
towards a common goal (solving a problem, completing a task, ect). This educational approach allows
students to promote each other's success by sharing resources and helping, supporting and
encouraging each other's efforts to achieve which in turn promotes individual learning (Laal, 2013,
p.817). Through this, students develop the skills required to orally explain how to solve problems,
teach others, check own understanding and discuss mathematical concepts being learned (Laal, 2013,
p.817). Throughout collaborative learning groups that incorporate the use of manipulative materials,
students can create their own unique conceptual understanding (Laal, 2013, p.815) of the
mathematical concept and develop strategies to effectively support their thinking (Jadwiga, 2010,
p.24).

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