Investigating the Impact of Using Manipulatives on Grade 5 Jamaican Students’ Mathematics Achievement: An Action Research

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (1&2) ◽  
pp. 1-39
Author(s):  
Trecia Watt-Douglas ◽  
Lois George

This research investigated the impact of using manipulatives on 56 Grade 5 students’ (27 male, 29 female; age 10-11 years) mathematics achievement. A quasi experimental, action research design was utilized in which the experimental group was taught selected topics from the Number strand using manipulatives during a 3-week intervention, while the control group’s instruction did not include the use of manipulatives. Data were collected using a pre- and post-test and analysed using descriptive statistics and a Mann-Whitney U test. This analysis revealed that there was a statistically significant difference in the post-test performance of the two groups in favour of the experimental group. The effect size (r = .3) for this data was moderate. A significant difference was also found between the boys’ and girls’ post-test mathematics scores in the experimental group, with the girls outperforming the boys. A key implication of these findings is that since manipulatives were effective in significantly improving student achievement, its use could be extended and investigated further for other grade levels and mathematical topics. Strategies could also be adopted to address the disparity in performance based on gender in the sample.

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tryanti R. Abdulrahman ◽  
Nonny Basalama ◽  
Moh. Rizky Widodo

This research has objective to investigate students’ listening comprehension through the use of podcast in EFL classroom. 60 high school students in Indonesia were taken as sample for this research with distribution of 30 students in experiment class and 30 students in control class. The samples were taken by using cluster random sampling. Quasi-experimental method with the post-test only control group design was applied in this research. In addition, a survey questionnaire was administered to experimental group to explore their perception on the use of podcast instruction in teaching listening. Findings revealed that there is a significant difference of post-test score between two groups, favoring experimental group. Data analysis using one way ANOVA showed significance value (sig. 0.010) is lower than < 0.05 which interpreted that Podcast has significant impact on students’ listening comprehension. Additionally, the result of questionnaire indicated that students have positive attitude toward the use of podcast in listening classroom. Students perceived that podcasts provided authentic materials, interesting activities including listening exercises and meaningful tasks for them so they felt more motivated to learn English. This study recommended that teacher may utilize podcast in teaching listening considering its effectiveness as technology based learning tool.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 827-846
Author(s):  
Nthabiseng Mosese ◽  
Ugorji I. Ogbonnaya

Making connections between the representations of trigonometric functions and an interpretation of graphs of the functions are major challenges to many students. This study explores the effectiveness of the GeoGebra on grade 12 students’ success in making connections between the representations of trigonometric functions and the interpretation of graphs. A non-equivalent control-group pre-test post-test quasi-experimental design was used. The sample of the study consisted of sixty-one grade 12 students from two schools. The results showed that there was a statistically significant difference between the mean achievements of the experimental group and the control group on making connections between representations of trigonometric functions, and on analyses and interpretations of representations of trigonometric functions, in favour of the experimental group. This study extends the findings of previous studies on the effectiveness of dynamic mathematics software on students’ learning of representations and interpretation of graphs of trigonometric functions.            Keywords: GeoGebra, functions graphs, Trigonometric functions


Author(s):  
Somaya Mohammed Al- Bardini

The purpose of this study was inquiring The Impact of the reciprocal Teaching Strategy on the Development of Achievement in Islamic Education in Seventh Grade Students in Jordan. To achieve goals of this study, a test has been developed to observe the Development of Achievement. The researcher adopted a quasi- experimental approach in which the experimental group consisting of (30) students was taught in accordance with reciprocal Teaching Strategy. At the same time, the controlled group consisting of (30 students) was taught in the traditional way. The tests and the motive measuring was applied prior and post- teaching on both groups. The Analysis of Covariance results (Test- t) indicated a significant difference at (α≤0.05) between the two groups, which is attributed to the reciprocal Teaching Strategy, in developing the Acquiring Concepts in Islamic , of Learning Islamic Education Course for the experimental group. The results also indicated variation in the performance of (the experimental group) students in the posttest of the reciprocal Teaching Strategy (in developing the Academic achievement The study recommended introducing the reciprocal Teaching Strategy in the teaching of Islamic Education Course, and conducting other similar studies in different educational stages.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 1025 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Reza Nemat Tabrizi ◽  
Mahnaz Ranjbar

The study investigates the impact of IELTS listening strategy use on the reduction of listening test anxiety and on the listening performance of the IELTS test takers in light of the data of 80 participants on the pretest and post-test IELTS listening along with the participants' score on pre-anxiety and post anxiety scale. So, drawing on the instruments including a proficiency test, pre/post-test, anxiety questionnaire, materials for strategy instruction, the participants were randomly divided into two groups: Control Group and Experimental Group, each including 40 participants. As per the procedure, after tackling their pre-listening performance and pre-anxiety score, one group was treated with IELTS-Listening related strategies and the other group was not treated, but both were administered listening test. The results of the study indicated that those treated with IELTS strategy outperformed ( t (78) = 4.57, p = .000, r = .460 ) those receiving no listening-related strategy. Furthermore, the results of a t-test run on the post-test of the groups anxiety arrived at a statistically significant difference (t (78) = 5.77, p = .000, r = .547), representing that the control group outperformed the experimental group. Also, Pearson Correlation done for finding out a potential relationship between anxiety and listening performance indicated a negative and weak to moderate relationship ((r (78) = -.26, p = .020). The pedagogical implications of the study are in detailed argued.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-114
Author(s):  
Alanoud Ahmed Aldukhi

The present study investigated the impact of the station rotation model (SRM) on enhancing students’ descriptive writing skills. It adopted the quasi-experimental pre-post test control/ experimental group design. The tools of the study included a pre/post- descriptive writing skills test, and open-ended questionnaire. The participants of the study were selected randomly, 40 female students enrolled in the twelfth intermediate school in Riyadh. Students of the experimental group received the descriptive writing skills instructions in nine sessions based on the SRM, two of them were for training. The study results revealed statistically significant differences at 0.05 level between the mean scores of the control and the experimental groups on the post test in favor of the experimental group in overall descriptive writing skills as well as in each descriptive writing skill. The researcher recommended that there is a real necessity from educators and teachers to prepare appropriate curriculums that involve implementing the station rotation model inside the classrooms, in a way that corresponds with teachers’ ability and students’ need, aiming to gain the mentioned advantages.


Author(s):  
Rea C. Parungao

This study aimed to determine the effects of using manipulatives in teaching fractions.   Quasi- experimental method of research was used in this study. It was conducted during the first quarter of S.Y. 2019-2020 among the respondents were randomly selected. Two sections of Arayat National High School were the respondents of the study. The control group was the 7-Rosal while the 7-Sampaguita was the experimental group. Both groups were given a pretest prior to the discussion about fractions and a posttest after instruction using the traditional method (control group) and the use of manipulatives (experimental group). The results were then evaluated, analysed through SPSS, and interpreted. Mean, t-test and ANCOVA were utilized to analyze and interpret the data. This study found out that the post-test scores of the respondents from the two groups improved in comparison to their pre-test scores.  The mean pretest and mean posttest scores of both groups showed significant difference. The results showed that the use of virtual manipulatives in converting fractions to decimals had significant difference compared the use of the traditional method. On the contrary, teaching fractions on a number line did not have significant difference. Out of the four operations on fractions, three showed that the use of concrete manipulatives was highly effective. This study recommends that teachers must test the prior knowledge of their students before discussing about fractions to determine the students’ strengths and weaknesses. Although both traditional method and the manipulative approach showed improvement on the post-test results in teaching fractions, still, teachers are encouraged to use manipulatives in teaching fractions to improve students’ performance. It is important for teachers to provide their students opportunities for hands-on manipulation of objects in order to grasp the concepts of fractions more easily. Lastly, teachers must develop the use of concrete and virtual manipulatives in teaching fractions to promote active learning that can enhance students’ mathematics performance and can help them to realize that mathematics is an enjoyable subject.


Author(s):  
Surabhi Negi ◽  
Sunita Magre

Cyber bullying is the unwise use of technology to harm and humiliate an individual or group over the Internet. The purpose of this article is to test the effectiveness of the cyber bullying sensitisation program (CBSP) to reduce the level of cyber bullying behaviour among middle school students. The sample was restricted to adolescents as they are the ones who are most exposed and vulnerable in the cyber space. A quasi-experimental pre-post design with intervention was adopted for the study. The participants of the study were comprised of 186 middle school students from two private schools in India. The experimental group had 94 participants while control groups had 92 participants. Statistical analysis indicated that there was a significant difference between pre- and post-test scores in the experimental group. No significant difference was found between the experiment and control group before the program, suggesting that the program was effective in helping students in reducing cyber bullying behaviour. The implications for prevention and intervention programs were discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Noura Al Burtamani ◽  
Fawzia Al Seyabi ◽  
Abdo Al Mekhlafi

This quasi experimental study aimed at investigating the effect of using Google Docs on EFL Omani college students’ writing performance and students’ perceptions of its use. The sample of the study included 81 Level 3 Foundation Program students in Nizwa College of Technology, Oman. The experimental group consisted of 39 students while the control group consisted of 42 students. The research instruments included a writing performance test that was administered as pre and post- test and a students’ perceptions questionnaire. Data analysis revealed that there was a statistically significant difference between the writing performance of the experimental and control groups in favour of the experimental group. The experimental group outperformed the control group in task achievement, task organization, grammar and vocabulary. Also, the students perceived using Google Docs in EFL writing as a very beneficial tool in improving their writing and collaboration skills. In light of these findings, a number of recommendations for practice are presented.


2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 89 ◽  
Author(s):  
César Augusto Castillo Losada ◽  
Edgar Alirio Insuasty ◽  
María Fernanda Jaime Osorio

This article reports on a study carried out in a foreign language school at a Colombian public university. Its main purpose was to analyze the extent to which the use of authentic materials and tasks contributes to the enhancement of the communicative competence on an A2 level English course. A mixed study composed of a quasi-experimental and a descriptive-qualitative research design was implemented by means of a pre-test, a post-test, observations, semi-structured interviews, surveys, and diaries. The findings showed that the use of authentic materials and tasks, within the framework of a pedagogical project, had an impact on students’ communicative competence progress and on the teaching practices of the experimental group teacher.


2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuğçe Günter ◽  
Sibel Kılınç Alpat

This study investigates the effects of problem-based learning (PBL) on students' academic achievements in studying ‘Electrochemistry’ within a course on Analytical Chemistry. The research was of a pretest–posttest control group quasi-experimental design and it was conducted with second year students in the Chemistry Teaching Program at the Faculty of Education at Dokuz Eylul University. The topic was taught with PBL in the experimental group and with expository teaching strategies in the control group. The ‘Chemistry achievement test (CAT)’ was applied as the pre-test and post-test in both groups. Post-test scores from the CAT demonstrated that there was a significant difference between the academic achievements of the two groups in favour of the experimental group (U= 8.500,p< 0.05). After using PBL for a period, eleven open-ended questions related to the topic were asked to both groups. The results of these questions were categorized and the scores obtained from the categories were evaluated using content analysis. The results of the scores obtained from the open-ended questions showed that the students in the experimental group were able to make statements containing fewer misconceptions and also had a better understanding of this topic when compared to the students in the control group (U= 2.500,p< 0.05). The correlation between the scores in the CAT post-test and the scores obtained from the open-ended questions of the experimental and control groups was also examined. The Spearman correlation coefficients were found to be 0.907 and 0.595 for the experimental and the control group, respectively. This finding indicated that there was a positive and very high level of statistically significant correlation between the scores in the CAT post-test and the scores obtained from the open-ended questions of the students in the experimental group. Therefore this finding also supports the conclusion that the students in the experimental group were better able to understand the topic and its structure compared to the students in the control group. At the end of the application, the results of semi-structured interviews carried out showed that students in the experimental group had positive opinions regarding PBL.


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