How to improve the amount of manipulative use in upper elementary classrooms
One of the biggest deterrents in manipulative use is the lack of knowledge on how to properly use manipulatives. Many pre-service teacher training programs do not instruct future-teachers in regards to how to use manipulatives with their students (Tooke & Hyatt, 1992). In order to promote manipulative use in the classroom, teachers must know how to use manipulatives.
One way this can be achieved is through professional development courses, observing teachers using manipulatives, and watching videos of manipulatives being used. Many professional development courses have been created to include manipulative use in mathematics. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics hosts annual regional and national conferences. From 2011-2015, NCTM hosted over 160 sessions for teachers, with 55 intended for third through fifth grades. (Hill et al., 2016) This shows there is support at the regional and national level for professional development centered on the use of manipulatives. Additionally, research has shown that manipulative use in the classroom increased when teachers participated in direct-instruction professional development programs. The manipulatives presented in these sessions were used more frequently in the classroom than other manipulatives, as teachers understood how to implement them with their students (Moyer-Packenham et al., 2013).
By ensuring teachers, both experienced and new to the profession, are instructed on how manipulatives can be used to create concrete understanding of abstract mathematics concepts, students will, in turn, build a strong mathematical foundation that will help them succeed in math beyond the elementary years (Moyer-Packenham et al., 2013).