The Use of Manipulative Materials in Teaching the Concept of Addition to Preschool Children

This study investigates the use of manipulative materials in teaching the concept of addition among 6-year-old preschool children, with particular attention to their understanding and engagement in early mathematics learning. Motivated by the need to support young children's comprehension of abstract mathematical concepts through concrete and hands-on experiences, this study employed a qualitative case study approach. Data were collected from three preschool children selected based on their pre-test results to determine prior knowledge of the addition concept. Three main instruments were utilised: a pre-test, a structured observation checklist, and a post-test. Observations were conducted five times throughout the teaching and learning process using manipulative materials. Data were analysed descriptively to identify changes and developments in children's understanding before and after intervention. Findings show that children's observed understanding of the addition concept, together with their active participation and interest during mathematics lessons, increased over the course of the manipulative-based intervention. As the study did not include a comparison group receiving conventional instruction, these gains are reported as associated with, rather than definitively caused by, the use of manipulative materials. These results nonetheless suggest that manipulative-based instruction supports meaningful learning in early childhood mathematics, and the study recommends integrating manipulative materials as a promising teaching approach in preschool classrooms, alongside further research to confirm their comparative effectiveness.

Manipulative Materials, Addition Concept, Early Mathematics, Preschool Children, Qualitative Case Study

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