MANIPULATIVE MATERIALS IN MATHEMATICS EDUCATION

Abstract

The aim of this text is to present an understanding of manipulative materials in mathematics education and to discuss their uses, care, and mistakes in pedagogical practices. These materials in the field of education encompass any physical, pictorial, or virtual objects used as resources for teaching specific disciplinary content have been grouped into three categories: didactically constructed materials, which include all types of material artificially created by educators to simulate mathematical objects and relationships that stimulate the construction of mathematical ideas; cultural instruments inherited from tradition, which have accompanied and helped the theoretical development of mathematics; and objects taken from everyday life, which attest, in some way, to some fragment of mathematical knowledge. Distinctions are made between the materials used to teach numbers and operations regarding how they take on values and how they are structured, as well as the closeness or distance between games and manipulative materials. The pros and cons of using manipulative materials in mathematics education are also discussed, emphasizing possible misconceptions regarding the production or use of these materials. Finally, it was concluded that the efficiency and effectiveness of the use of manipulatives seem to be related to three variables: the choice of material, clear and participatory instruction from the teacher, and participation in the use of the material by students through a mathematical process in which the teacher and their students make and attribute meanings to the manipulative objects.