Small -Scale Research Investigation to 10 KS1 Teachers - Essay Example

?Small -Scale Research Study Introduction Primary research for this study was conducted by distributing survey questionnaires to 10 KS1 teachers (seeAppendix 1 for a copy of the questionnaire) who were teachers in the school where the researcher was doing her placement. Among the teachers in the school, they handled mathematics subjects and were adept in this area. These teachers were approached with a brief orientation about the study and when they agreed to participation, they were handed the questionnaires to complete. They were requested to return the questionnaires to the researcher upon completion. Since there were just a few teachers who taught mathematics in KS1, they were all recruited for the study, although three were unable to participate due to unavailability and scheduling conflicts. The questions in the questionnaires were a product of the researcher’s secondary research findings and observations of KS1 classes. Responses for the survey questionnaire have been charted (see Appendix 2). The Likert-scale responses were averaged and the percentages were translated into pie charts. The qualitative remarks added by the respondents were categorised likewise, according to the questions and summarised in the presentation of the findings. Analysis of the findings was based on the responses of the study’s participants as well as knowledge gleaned from the review of literature. The items were compared according to the responses of the participants. Presentation & Analysis of Primary Findings: On analysing Questions 1 and 2 on the questionnaire, it was found that all teachers felt their classroom was equipped with teaching aids. 67% agreed this was the case and 33% strongly agreed. The types of materials that classrooms featured include: Number lines to 20,30,100 hundred squares counting/ sorting objects measuring equipment such as rulers, tape measure, weighing scales number cards/ flashcards calculators place value equipment number games 2D and 3D shapes Pegs, boards Fractions equipment. Months and dates calendar Coins Block charts Tally charts Treasure maps Number posters Number books (big teaching books and story books) Workbooks Children’s own work Similar results were obtained in relation to whether teachers felt they had enough manipulative materials to facilitate the development of numeracy skills. 83% agreed with this and 17% strongly agreed. A graph showing these results can be seen below. This shows that while there are materials available in the classroom, fewer teachers strongly agree that there are enough materials for them to effectively facilitate numeracy skills. It is important to note that the classrooms have enough concrete materials for the children to learn math concepts with, as Ruthven (1987) contends that it is essential to their learning since they think in more concrete ways. This was found out in the secondary research. In the primary findings although everyone agreed that they had enough manipulative materials in their schools, they also said they could always do with more. Some revealed that they also had access to materials which are located in the corridors; however these materials are shared by all classes. This means that sometimes materials may not be available because other classes are using them. The manipulative materials which the teachers believed fostered numeracy skill development are cube blocks, counting items such as beads, puzzle games, weighing scale and weight measures and some Montessori-inspired materials such as sequencing sets, measuring cups and math board games. It is evident that the teachers in the primary research knew how these manipulative materials are able to serve as scaffolds to independent and more abstract learning of math, as Bruce & Threlfall (2004) mentioned in the secondary research. As children gained more skills in numeracy, these “scaffolds” may eventually be done without when they are ready to think more abstractly. Childrens Use of Materials The teachers were then asked if children used the materials independently in class. Although the majority of the participants agreed or strongly agreed that their children were allowed to freely explore the materials (67%), the rest (33%) were not sure (see chart below). Those teachers who allowed the children to explore and manipulate the materials claimed that their children were very familiar with accessing the equipment they needed in numeracy lessons. During free play, children freely choose which materials they wanted to work with, to encourage their maths skills. In the secondary research, it was pointed out that these children are still in the stage of development when they are overly curious and that their attention spans are very short. That is why Cordes & Gelman (2005) recommended the availability and accessibility of manipulative materials as supports to hold their attention when mathematical concepts are introduced to them either discovering it on their own, or as teaching aids used by their teachers. Likewise, in the researched setting, the children were given free rein over the choice of materials they played with during other appropriate times such as earlier in the school day when waiting for the other children to arrive or while waiting to be fetched after school. When another activity has been set, though, the children are expected to concentrate on that task and not choose their preferred material Other teachers allow the children to explore the materials depending on the activity and lesson. Sometimes, the activity may require the class to play outdoors and when this happens, the children can explore water play, painting, printing, play dough, sand play and use of construction toys which may facilitate numeracy skills one way or another. Exposure to such materials is essential to children’s over-all development, most specially their cognitive development, as found in the secondary research. Key stage 1 children belong to the Pre-Operational period (two to seven years) of Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development. It was stated in the literature that during such period, children become able to represent objects and knowledge through imitation, symbolic play, drawing, mental images and spoken language. Manipulative materials help children develop conservation skills which is defined as “the knowledge that the number, mass, area, length, weight and volume of objects are not changed by physically rearranging the objects.” (Brewer, 2001, p.318). Q3 All respondents (100%) agreed that they prepare stimulating games or activities that involve the use of manipulative materials to teach numeracy skills, of which 17% strongly agreed (see chart below). The participants claimed they challenge their children’s with problem-solving activities using manipulative materials to support the calculations they have chosen. This was done for example, by asking “How many ways can you make 20 using the materials you can find?”; by using everyday objects to teach addition and subtraction or about time; or by showing a number and then the children try to find the same quantity of objects. Board games such as Snakes and Ladders are also introduced to the children. Some teachers use string as a unit of measure and expect the children to approximate the length of the string by rolling play dough to the same length. Other teachers use cups, for spooning activities or matching the numbers indicated on the cup with the same quantity of objects to be placed in the cup. Indeed, the participants suggested a wide variety of activities which used manipulative materials. Primary research yielded more data on the variety of activities teachers may do with manipulative materials, as secondary research was more generalized in its discussion about this area (Bruce & Threlfall, 2004; Cordes & Gelman, 2005; Haylock & Cockburn, 2003) When asked about group activities 100% of the participants agreed that they encouraged small group activities using manipulative materials, with 33% strongly agreeing. Materials were used in problem-solving, measuring, addition/ subtraction in small group sessions. The materials usually used were play dough, water play toys and construction toys to test out volume and capacity. Some teachers used creativity when planning treasure hunts for the children for example, by giving them a number list to hunt for, such as 5 balls, 3 bananas, 2 dolls, etc. and the first group to complete the list would win. Another activity for small groups suggested by one teacher was body tracing. This is where children trace each other’s bodies on Kraft paper and then posts them up on the wall to measure with Popsicle sticks. Cooking activities are also usually done in small groups and these definitely involve manipulative materials and numeracy skill development because children count, estimate, measure ingredients, etc. Another activity is weighing things as a group and reporting the weights to the class afterwards. Working on math activities as a small group was recommended in the secondary research to promote learning within the children’s zone of proximal development (ZPD), which Wertsch (1985) described as the distance distance between a child’s independent problem-solving level and that obtained under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers. The quality of interaction between children in small groups as well as their individual learner capabilities will form the appropriate ZPD (Wells, 1997). Q4 & 5 Again, everyone (100%) agreed that they encourage children to use manipulative materials to learn and develop more abstract numeracy concepts. One teacher explained that in Year 1, much of the early number work involves the use of manipulative materials, which makes it easier for children to understand concepts such as addition, subtraction and weights to illustrate the concepts of heavy and light, etc. Children find using manipulative materials interesting and one teacher deliberately prepared them on the children’s table to elicit their interest and sustain their attention. This is consistent with findings from secondary research that children enjoy challenge in learning from such materials. They like learning a slightly more difficult concept to test their knowledge with scaffolds (Bonk & Cunningham, 1998). A teacher helping children to learn a mathematical concept first gives them more concrete materials such as paper shapes or beads and as they master the concept, the materials or “scaffolds” are slowly eased away until they can complete the operations mentally (Bruce & Threlfall, 2004). Q6 Additional Remarks Some teachers wrote additional remarks at the end of the survey questionnaire and the insights they shared were as follows: Teachers should accommodate children according to their ability. This means that teachers should be able to adjust their teaching approaches to children’s abilities rather than children being forced to understand the concepts by the way they are being taught. Teachers should be able to develop strategies to help children effectively understand the concepts and not expect everyone to have the same level of understanding. Differentiate tasks to accommodate different learner’s needs. Teachers should be creative enough to design activities that would suit the needs of each learner. Learning styles should be considered so activities should be varied to reflect different learning modes. This way, the needs of all the children will be addressed. Children learn mathematical concepts by activities, manipulating resources and moving around. It is challenging to provide attractive resources for all activities but very rewarding as children learn quickly through practical activities. This remark seems to summarise the answer to the research question that children’s active exploration and manipulation of materials encourage the development of numeracy skills. Conclusions and Recommendations This study sought to investigate how teachers encourage their students to develop numeracy skills through exploration and manipulation of concrete materials. From the small group of participants, it was found that the teachers did recognise the importance of allowing children to work and play with manipulative materials as they learn much from doing so. It seems the participants agree with Ruthven (1987) when he recommended that children use a lot of concrete materials to learn maths concepts because they are still at the stage when they think in concrete ways. In the primary research, teachers shared that they exert effort in designing activities involving the use of manipulative materials both individually and in small groups; and find that such hands-on activities are effective in attracting and sustaining engagement in learning. As a result of the positive findings, this study recommends that schools invest more in learning and manipulative materials for the children’s use as well as organising shelves and containers to keep the rooms orderly despite children’s active use of the materials. Teachers are also recommended to provide more hands-on activities for their students to engage their senses in the process of learning. Via this approach, more learning can be retained (Brewer, 2001; Bruce & Threlfall, 2004; Cordes & Gelman, 2005; Haylock & Cockburn, 2003; Ruthven, 1987) . Recommendations for Further Research The current research was a very simple one and could prompt more possibilities for further research. One area of research which could be explored is children’s preferences of learning materials; the results of which could be used to better meet the needs of children. Children may be the best people to consult with regards to the kind of materials and designs which would entice them to manipulate them and thus, to learn from them. Observations of children manipulating such materials could be done along with some interviews on how they would want a material to be improved to suit their interests and abilities. Would they want to add a feature? What particular material would be preferable – plastic or wood, etc.? Would they prefer colourful materials or just monochromatic toys? These ideas would need deeper research to be able to explain such preferences of the children. It would also be relevant if future research could establish if there are any gender and culture-specific preferences in learning materials and which are the best ones for developing numeracy skills and other academic skills. In such a study, extensive observation will be required on children’s object play and its impact on learning and development. Manipulation of materials during play will also give rise to development of other skills such as creativity, literacy and social skills (Brewer, 2001). These possibilities could be the subject of future research on educational technology’s effect on child development. Read More