Effects of virtual manipulatives on students' procedural knowledge and conceptual understanding of fractions
The advancement in technology has dramatically changed the daily life of people around the world. In the past decade, computer technology has not only changed the nature of resources, communication, and information; it also transformed the contemporary society; changing the ways we live, work an...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2010
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/14862/2/George%20%28fulltext%29.pdf |
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| Summary: | The
advancement in technology has dramatically changed the daily life of people around the
world. In the past decade, computer technology has not only changed the nature of resources,
communication, and information; it also transformed the contemporary society; changing the
ways we live, work and learn (Hill & Hannafin, 2001; cited in Mcgrawl, 2005). Recently, the
use of computers in mathematics classroom has increased as educators begin to see them as
valuable teaching tools. An idea to create "virtual manipulatives" was proposed by Moyer,
Bolyard and Spikell (2002; cited in Yuan, 2007) to present opportunities for constructing
mathematical knowledge. Virtual manipulatives are replicas of physical manipulatives placed
on the World Wide Web in the form of computer applets with additional advantageous
'features (Moyer & Reimer, 2005). One feature that makes virtual manipulative applets
advantageous for mathematics instruction is their capability to connect dynamic visual images
with abstract symbols The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of using
virtual manipulatives in the teaching and learning of primary five fractions. This study
explored the impact of virtual manipulatives on students' mathematics achievement, attitudes
towards virtual manipulatives, and interest in learning mathematics. In addition, this study
also investigated the changes in students' procedural knowledge and conceptual
understanding of fraction using virtual manipulatives. The study was conducted using a
pretest-posttest quasi-experimental with control group design. The independent variables were
the instructional approaches (virtual manipulatives and traditional instruction) and students'
gender (male and female). The dependent variable were the students' mathematics test score
(procedural knowledge and conceptual understanding), students' attitudes towards the
instructional approaches, and students' interest in learning mathematics. The covariate was
the students' initial procedural knowledge and conceptual understanding of fractions. The
participants for this study were one hundred and twelve primary five students from two
national primary schools in Kota Samarahan, Sarawak. The research instruments used in this
study comprised of pretest, posttest, and questionnaire. Data obtained were coded, computed,
and analyzed using the Statistical Packages for the Social Science (SPSS) version 16. Results
showed that students that were taught using virtual manipulatives have better procedural
knowledge and conceptual understanding compared to students that were taught using
traditional instruction. There was also a significant gender difference in students' procedural
knowledge, with female students having a better procedural knowledge achievement scores
compared to male students. Furthermore, students in the virtual manipulatives group have
positive attitudes toward the instructional approaches and more positive interest in learning
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mathematics compared to the students in the traditional instruction group. Thus, it could be
concluded that virtual manipulatives has the potential to improve learning in primary
mathematics classes. |
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