Abstract #2: Young Children's Use of Virtual Manipulatives and Other Forms of Mathematical Representations

This article showed how virtual manipulatives can be used in the classroom and the effect they had on students’ learning. A study was done in a kindergarten classroom where students used virtual manipulatives, wooden blocks, and drawings to show patterns. Children created more patterns when using virtual manipulatives, however all three representations allowed the students to explain their thinking.

A study was also done in a second grade classroom using virtual base-ten blocks and drawings to show regrouping. The virtual base-ten blocks helped students develop meaning for numbers in the ones and tens place (Moyer, Niezgoda, & Stanley, 2005). These students were also able to transfer what they learned to other addition problems.

Using virtual manipulatives seems to be beneficial to students. “We believe that the visual model (the virtual base-ten blocks) helped the children to “see” the regrouping of the numbers during the addition process, which gave this process more meaning for the children” (Moyer, Niezgoda, & Stanley, 2005,p. 31). The children using virtual base-ten blocks learned more about regrouping and also learned more about place value. Even if scores were not improved, the virtual manipulatives allowed the students to experience more examples. This was the case in the kindergarten classroom. All three representations allowed students to express themselves, but the virtual manipulatives let the students work with more examples.

I would like to be able to use virtual manipulatives more often in my classroom. If I had access to a laptop in my classroom, I’m sure I would use them when necessary. When I taught fifth grade, I had a laptop and I could project everything onto the board. If I had known more about the virtual manipulatives, I would have used them in my lessons. Right now I could have students use them in the computer lab and when they are finished with their work early in the classroom.


Moyer, P. S., Niezgoda, D. & Stanley, J. (2005). Young children’s use of virtual manipulatives and other forms of mathematical representations. In W.J. Masalski & P.C. Elliot (Eds.), Technology-Supported Mathematics Learning Environments (Sixty-Seventh Yearbook) (17-34). Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Fraction Photo Frenzy Abstract 1

“Fraction Photo Frenzy: A New Exploration” by Daniel L. Canada was about how students used digital cameras and a SMART Board to show students’ thinking. This activity took place in a classroom of preservice teachers. They had to solve a problem involving fractions. The students then used manipulatives to show their thinking. As they used the manipulatives, they took pictures of the process. The students then used the SMART Board to make a presentation using their pictures. The students explained their thinking using their photographs. The SMART Board allowed the students to be able to switch back and forth between pictures when needed during their explanations. Using the SMART Board also allowed the students to save their files. The students also could write down the comments of other classmates and those comments were also saved separately. This project allowed the students to easily share and explain their thinking to other students.

I thought that this project sounded like a great idea. This class "found a new way of using technology to represent mathematics, not simply using technology for the sake of using technology but to allow for better sharing in the class" (Canada, p. 557, 2009). I have wanted to use a SMART Board as well as other technology in my classroom. Sometimes I feel it is hard to get students to explain their thinking to other students. Sometimes students do not know how to explain what they did but they could show their thinking. We do not always have an easy way to show a whole class how a student did their thinking. With a SMART Board it would be much easier to have students show the entire class what they did, just like the class in this article.

I also feel that using an elmo to project things is not always as helpful as it seems. I can never make everything I want displayed correctly or big enough for the students to see. If I need something big I have to write it on the whiteboard, but I cannot save it. With a SMART Board I can write everything I need and save it for the next day. There is a teacher at my school who uses the SMART Board everyday. I know that she loves it.

I liked how this class incorporated different technology into one lesson. Even though this project was used with preservice teachers, I would love to do this project with my third graders. I know that they would have a lot more fun and be more involved in what they were learning. Also, every student could have a role. This is a way to make sure everyone is participating in the lesson. Plus the students can learn from each other different methods to solve one problem. The only problems I have are access to a SMART Board and finding someone to help me use it. We only have 2 SMART Boards in our school and one is set up in another teacher’s class every day. I am also in a portable and sometimes we are not allowed to have expensive technology kept in our rooms. I would have to bring it to my room and back into the building every day.

Overall, this article had a fun and productive way for students to learn mathematics. I would love to use this idea in my own classroom.

Canada, D. L. (2009). Fraction photo frenzy: A new exploration. Teaching Children Mathematics, 15(9), 553-557.