Meaningful educational activities and cognitive tools might improve students' active involvements in the

teaching-learning process and encourage their reflections on the concepts and relations to be
investigated. It is claimed that usage of manipulatives not only increase students' conceptual
understanding and problem solving skills but also promotes their positive attitudes towards
mathematics since they supposedly provide "concrete experiences" that focus attention and increase
motivation. A concrete experience in mathematics context is defined not by its physical or real-world
characteristics but rather by how meaningful connections it could make with other mathematical ideas
and situations. For instance, a student might create the meaning of the concept "four" by building a
representation of the number and connecting it with either real or pictured blocks. Computer
manipulatives, also called virtual manipulatives, may provide interactive environments where students
could pose and solve their own problems to form connections between mathematical concepts and
operations, and get immediate feedback about their actions. Hence, it is necessary to design specific
math manipulatives focussing at different mathematical concepts. Virtual manipulatives might also
provide further advantages over physical manipulatives by eliminating some of the constraints they
impose on the task. In this paper, virtual manipulatives in mathematics education will be introduced,
their main characteristics will be explained and the implications of the usage of virtual manipulatives in
mathematics classrooms will be thoroughly discussed.

Techniques For Learning

The Singapore Math Model
Method
WRITTEN BY Aaron Chua / IN School/Academic, Tools & Resources / 06/11/2012 2:28 PM

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9 Secrets To Master The
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The current approach to learning math in Singapore primary schools is
through the math model method. Under this approach, students are required
to draw math models that illustrate the questions. For lower primary students,
modeling might seem unnecessary but the skills being mastered will come in
handy at upper primary level where problem sums becoming more
challenging. To give your lower primary child a head start, this article will
show you some techniques for math modeling.
1. Background on math model method
This methodology was created by a Singaporean teacher called Hector Chee.
Due to its practicality, the method was soon taught in all schools, starting from
Primary One. This new method presented a challenge to parents who might
have been taught using algebra or other math methods. As a result, many
could not help their children to develop the right math model techniques for
the different kinds of math problem sums.
2. Main concepts in Singapore math model method
In the math model method, there are basically 2 concepts that form the
foundation for all further iterations.
2.1 The part whole concept
In this concept, the child starts with understanding the relationship between
parts. Once understood, they can represent these relationships using
rectangular blocks to model math questions.
Let’s look at one example to better understand how the part whole concept
works. In the image below, the child starts off learning how to add the
individual balls to understand a simple addition question of 3 +2 =5. At this
stage, it is important to use real images such as the balls to let the child
connect the dots.

Once the child has understood the above, we can take out the balls and uses
blocks as representations. Below is how the image can be drawn. Once the
kid accepts the blocks as representations, he or she will be in a good position
to understand further abstraction.
After the above, we can go one step further to visualize the question in even
more abstract terms. Here, we don’t need the individual blocks. Instead, just a
visual distinction between 3 and 2 is enough to represent the relationship
between the blocks.

In summary, this technique uses the relationship of the parts to let children
learn about the whole.
2.2 The change concept
The change concept helps children to understand the concepts of adding and
subtracting. Let’s take a look at an example of subtraction. In the example
below, we are teaching a child how to subtract 1 from 3 i.e. 3-1=2. Again, we
start off the math model by using realistic objects.
Once the child is similar with subtracting, we can proceed to using a more
abstract representation. In this step, we replace the objects with blocks.

In the final step, replace the individual blocks with larger blocks. This sets the
foundation of all future problems where a child can just use the bigger blocks
to present items that can be added or subtracted.
This will help your child to see what is the change answer to the problem sum
questions.
3. Applying math models to learning fractions, ratios
and decimals
Now that you are familiar with the basic math models, I will show you how you
can use them in solving different types of math problems.
3.1 Fractions
Fractions can be represented using the part whole concept. F0r the purpose
of illustration, let’s solve the following problem sum on fractions.
“Peter is selling pencils. He sold 3/5 of them in the morning and 1/4 of the
remainder in the afternoon. If Peter sold 200 more pencils in the morning than
in the afternoon, how many pencils did Peter have in the beginning?”
To solve this problem sum, we will use the part whole concept to draw the
following math model. First, draw 5 equal blocks and shade 3 of them to
represent 3/5.

Step 1: Peter sold 3/5 of his pencils in the morning

Next, divide the unshaded portion into 4 parts and shade one of them in a
different color to show 1/4 of the remainder
Step 2: Peter sold 1/4 of the remainder in the afternoon
The third step is to make all boxes equal by cutting 1 red shaded box into 2 as
shown below.

Step 3: Make all boxes equal size

The fourth step is to calculate how many pencils does each box represents.
The question says that there are 200 more pencils being sold in the morning.
In this case, 200 is equal to 5 red boxes since there are 5 more shaded boxes
in the morning. So, each box = 200/5 = 40.

Step 4: calculate the number of pencils represented by each box

The final step is to calculate the total number of pencils. Since there are 10
boxes in total, the answer to the question is 40 * 10 = 400 pencils. The final
math model will look like the below:
Step 5: calculate total number of pencils
3.2 Ratios
For learning ratios, you can use either the part whole concept or the change
concept. In the example here, we will use the change concept.
“The ratio of Amy and Karen’s money is 5:3. After Amy spent half of her
money, she had $15 less than Karen. What was the total amount of money
that both girls had in the beginning?”
The first step is to draw out the ratio.

Step 1: Ratio of Amy and Karen’s money is 5:3

The next step is to draw out the diagram after Amy has spent half of her
money.
Step 2: Ratio of Amy and Karen’s money after Amy spent 1/2 of her money
The third step is to shade out the block that represents the difference between
Amy and Karen’s money.

Step 3: Shade the block that represent the difference in money between the 2 girls
The question tells us that the black shaded block = difference between 2 girls’
money = $15. In other words, we know now that 1/2 block = $15. Therefore, 1
block = $30. This can be seen from the image below.

Step 4: Find the value of each block

The final step is to calculate the total amount of money that both girls had in
the beginning. From step one, we know there are 8 blocks in total. So the
answer is 8 * $30 = $240.
3.3 Decimals
Let’s go through one last problem sum to see how to use the math model for
decimals.
“Mary has $15 before shopping. After buying 5 identical pencil cases, she was
left with $9. How much does each pencil case cost?”
The question has a before and after effect, thus making it suitable to use the
change concept.
Step 1: Mary has $15 before shopping and $9 after shopping
The next step is to show that the difference between the before and after can
be represented by 5 blocks (to illustrate 5 pencil cases)

Step 2: Represent the pencil cases as 5 blocks

The question tells us that the 5 pencil cases are identical. Hence, to find the
price of 1 pencil case, we simply have to take the difference between the
before and after i.e. $15-$9 =$6 and divide that by the 5 blocks. This gives us
$6/5=$1.2. This can be represented by the final math model below.

Step 3: Calculate the cost of 1 pencil case

We hope this tutorial has been helpful in showing you the techniques for using
the Singapore math model method. If you have further questions, please
leave them in the comments.
Source: www.teach-kids-math-by-model-method.com

Virtual Manipulatives in Mathematics Education: A Theoretical

Framework
Durmus, Soner; Karakirik, Erol
Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology - TOJET, v5 n1 Article 12 p117-123 Jan 2006
Meaningful educational activities and cognitive tools might improve students' active involvements in the
teaching-learning process and encourage their reflections on the concepts and relations to be investigated.
It is claimed that usage of manipulatives not only increase students' conceptual understanding and
problem solving skills but also promotes their positive attitudes towards mathematics since they
supposedly provide "concrete experiences" that focus attention and increase motivation. A concrete
experience in mathematics context is defined not by its physical or real-world characteristics but rather by
how meaningful connections it could make with other mathematical ideas and situations. For instance, a
student might create the meaning of the concept "four" by building a representation of the number and
connecting it with either real or pictured blocks. Computer manipulatives, also called virtual
manipulatives, may provide interactive environments where students could pose and solve their own
problems to form connections between mathematical concepts and operations, and get immediate
feedback about their actions. Hence, it is necessary to design specific math manipulatives focussing at
different mathematical concepts. Virtual manipulatives might also provide further advantages over
physical manipulatives by eliminating some of the constraints they impose on the task. In this paper,
virtual manipulatives in mathematics education will be introduced, their main characteristics will be
explained and the implications of the usage of virtual manipulatives in mathematics classrooms will be
thoroughly discussed.
Descriptors: Mathematics Education, Teaching Methods, Manipulative Materials, Simulated
Environment, Educational Technology, Technology Uses in Education, Mathematical Models, Technology
Integration
Sakarya University. Esentepe Campus, Adapazari 54000, Turkey. Tel: +90-505-2431868; Fax: +90-264-6141034;
e-mail: tojet@sakarya.edu.tr; Web site: http://www.tojet.net
The teaching of mathematics involves problem solving skills which prove to be difficult on the part of
the pupils due to misrepresentation of the word problems. Oftentimes, pupils tend to represent the
phrase " more than " as addition and the word difference as " - " . This paper aims to address the
problem solving skills of grade five pupils employing the block model approach which is based on
concrete -representation – abstract principle of teaching mathematics. Since the turn of the century,
traditional teaching based on the framework of behaviorism, such as the course in question, is being
replaced by inquiry-based teaching, facilitating a constructivist framework of learning. Advocates of
the constructivist-teaching paradigm (Draper, 2002), recommend a more student-centered math
classroom that deemphasizes rote memorization of isolated skills and facts and emphasizes
problem solving and communication. According to Larochelle and Bednarz (1998), a constructivist
classroom is rich in conversation. By conversing, the teacher infers the learning level and
preparation of the student and coaches the communication so that the learner is able to construct
meaning, understanding, and knowledge. Teachers who embrace constructivism reject the
transmission model of teaching (Richardson, 1997). Relating to the constructivist theory of learning,
the learner is active and continuously constructs and reconstructs conception of phenomena. The
learning is not assessed with separate examination at the end of the course, but assessment
methods are integrated into the learning process itself (Tynjala, 1998). The objective of the
assessment is to encourage the learning process resulting in the discovery of qualitative changes in
the student's knowledge base. As a result, the course in question would benefit from an assessment
method that stresses the application or performance that displays development of metacognition and
critical thinking in an authentic and constructive way.