Week 6

Using Manipulatives to learn Place Value

learning place value using paper clips 

using cut out squares and strips to learn place value

When I was in primary school two decades ago, place value was not valuable to me especially after I finished my written Maths exams. Now that I am studying here in Australia on how to teach Maths, I learned that place value is the basic yet one of the most important arithmetic concepts in the very young students’ mathematics learning, the ability of children to do mental mathematics and be flexible with numbers, and the social conventional knowledge of the value of each digit (Tanase, 2011).  

To set the mathematics learning foundation of very young children, there should be a wide range of objects and materials in early childhood centres (Ginsburg and Ertle, 2016). The above pictures are two sets of resources to help children understand place value. The first image shows the number of paperclips attached together and grouped according to hundreds, tens and ones depending on the numeral shown or to be identified. The second one illustrates that a big square paper composed of 10 by 10 small squares means the hundreds digit, a strip of paper having 10 squares refers to the tens digit, and an individual small square means the ones digit.

I believe that these manipulatives can be helpful for children to do hands-on learning (Hynes, as cited by Swan & Marshall, 2010). The materials – coloured paper clips and paper are very cheap, accessible and flexible to variations of use.  These objects ‘can be handled [by students] in a sensory manner during which conscious and unconscious mathematical thinking will be fostered’ (Swan & Marshall, 2010, par. 3).  Likewise, these manipulatives can heighten students’ interest and motivation to learn, provide assistance in concrete visualisation and build a better understanding (Swan & Marshall, 2010).

References

Ginsburg, H. P., & Ertle, B. B. (2016). Giving away early mathematics: big math for little kids encounters the complex world of early education. In Durkin, K., & Schaffer, H. R. (Eds.). The wiley handbook of developmental psychology in practice : Implementation and impact (pp. 221-260) Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy2.acu.edu.au

Swan, P., & Marshall, L. (2010). Revisiting mathematics manipulative materials: Paul Swan and Linda Marshall revisit the use of manipulatives. They look at the different types and the ways in which they are used by teachers. Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom, 15(2), 13+. Retrieved from https://link-gale-com.ezproxy2.acu.edu.au/apps/doc/A229718050/AONE?u=acuni&sid=AONE&xid=1b95090c

Tanase, M. (2011). Teaching Place Value Concepts to First Grade Romanian Students: Teacher Knowledge and its Influence on Student Learning. International Journal for Mathematics Teaching and Learning, International Journal for Mathematics Teaching and Learning, 15 June 2011. Retrieved from http://www.cimt.org.uk/journal/tanase.pdf