Exploring the effect of manipulatives on students’ performance

Israel Agodu

This Research is a consolidated approach towards the improved and result-oriented development of mathematical understanding in children from an early age with the major role contributed by the use of manipulatives. Manipulatives significantly help children with Picturisation and imagination, resulting in enhanced comprehension from a very early age of mathematics and numbers. If children are exposed to clear, smart, and thought-out manipulatives at an early school grade, such as Kindergarten, their entire academic performance can be improved multifold, increasing the average IQ level of a primary and secondary level student. However, not much in-depth research has been conducted on this subject. This study aims to prove the positive results achieved by using manipulatives for learning purposes when it comes to mathematics, and how with a little more focus and research, new techniques and details can be found that can further the early development of children at every age. Keywords: manipulatives, children, mathematics, research, understanding mathematics, activity-based learning