Teachers’ Beliefs and How Those Beliefs Affect Manipulative Use in the Classroom

This research study examines the teachers’ beliefs about the use of manipulatives in teaching mathematics and its potential impact on how manipulatives are being implemented in the classroom. A teachers’ belief regarding manipulatives plays an important role in how they are implemented in the classroom. There is a considerable amount of literature that outlines the reasons why manipulatives should be used during mathematical instruction, but there seems to be a lack of literature concerning how manipulatives are being implemented during mathematical instruction. The aim of this paper is to provide insight on the different reasons teachers have for using manipulatives in class. Teacher interviews were used to collect data concerning the teachers’ beliefs and what their current practices are regarding the use of manipulatives such as when and how they are used. The results indicated that there are factors such as past experience that influence how manipulatives are used in the classroom