Common Themes

Lack of instruction on how to use manipulatives

75% of the teachers interviewed mentioned not being shown how to use manipulatives during their teacher training classes in college. As Mr. Peters stated, "We were given a list of manipulatives you should have in your classroom, but not how to use all of them." This is more "training" than Mrs. Moore and Ms. Martin said they received in their undergraduate classes. These teachers all shared that they knew the use of manipulatives was important in creating a solid foundation of math understanding, however, they don't feel comfortable using manipulatives. 

Prior to teaching fifth grade this school year, Ms. Martin had taught sixth grade for two years. She said she had never received training on using manipulatives in college or as professional development. She had never heard of base ten blocks or Cuisenaire rods, but she had heard of fraction tiles, Unifix cubes, and counters. However, she said, "I don't know when to use them or what to use for each lesson I'm teaching." Mrs. Moore and Mr. Peters expressed similar concerns with their lack of instruction on manipulative use. 

To counteract this lack of instruction on manipulative use many new teachers are receiving, schools should incorporate manipulative use into professional development opportunities. Teachers could experience a math lesson featuring manipulatives, be shown videos of students using manipulatives or teachers explaining how to use them, or have learning coaches model lessons in the classroom. These are all ways surveyed teachers expressed they would like to experience learning more about how to use manipulatives in their classrooms. 

Lack of time

Another common theme from the interviews mentioned manipulatives using a lot of time. The district these teachers work in, there are very strict pacing guides teachers must follow. Most math units allow for two or three "flex days," which can be used for reteaching, to make up for a missed day, or to teach another skill or strategy. The district has a testing window that is typically three or four days long, and all students in the district must be tested during this window. The curriculum these teachers use moves at a quick pace, with a new skill or strategy being taught each day. Many of the teachers stressed that using manipulatives makes it difficult to stay on pace with the district requirements. Teachers need to know it is okay to take the time to teach how to use a manipulative, as well as giving students the time needed to effectively use the manipulatives to solve problems. It will benefit students in the long run to take this time and will make the more abstract concepts taught later more comprehendible for students. 

Additionally, both fourth grade teachers interviewed (Mrs. Moore and Mr. Peters), discussed issues with fourth grade's scheduled math time, which was the last hour of the day and right after recess for half of the school year. Mrs. Moore stated, "We're only given 50 minutes for math each day, and we were spending almost half of that taking care of recess problems. We asked to change math to the morning, and that helped a lot, but we still run out of time most days." The district these teachers work in has created a list of required amounts of time for each subject. Math in all elementary grades is listed as only needing 50 minutes each day. The district also includes a format for math instruction, which includes fluency practice, productive struggle, direct teaching, student work time, and a share time. Additionally, the principal in this building would like to incorporate games for students who finish early, as well as math intervention groups conducted by the teacher during student work time. Mr. Peters simply said, "There's not enough time to get it all done."  If these teachers had more time devoted to math, they would feel less pressure and have more time to incorporate manipulatives.  

Classroom Management and Manipulatives

There is a misconception that manipulatives are toys and used only for playtime. Ms. Martin worried that her students would spend most of their time playing with the manipulatives, Mrs. Moore said it takes too much time to get manipulatives passed out and picked up, and Mr. Peters stated that his class tends to focus on playing with manipulatives and ignore his directions. These statements tend to expose weak areas of classroom management regarding manipulative use during math time. 

Students do get excited when manipulatives come out, and Dr. Brown suggested giving students a few minutes to explore the manipulatives, especially if it's the first time they have been exposed to a particular manipulative. "Set a timer for one or two minutes, but tell students when the timer goes off, their hands are off the manipulatives so they can focus on directions." Dr. Brown also suggested modeling the intended use of the manipulatives by projecting them so the whole class can see and follow along.  

Just like with all areas of the classroom, students need to have clear expectations set regarding manipulatives. They need to know that they are a tool for learning, especially during math time. Manipulatives should also be available for students to use when working independently. They should be encouraged to get manipulatives when they need them and use them effectively to solve problems.