Improvement of Math Content With Manipulative Mats
Maddyrae Kotomski
Introduction
The purpose of this project is to increase students’ 120%
learning with hands-on materials using math mats. After
giving students a diagnostic evaluation test from the new
math curriculum and teaching the first math lesson, my host 100%
teacher and I realized the students were not understanding the
skill. The students did not have much background knowledge
of the skill to help them either. Math mats would help
80%
simplify the math concept being taught and engage the
students to use manipulatives to help grow their learning. 60%
Students also used these math mats and manipulatives to help
with independent work. My hope with this project is to see
improvement in students’ learning of new skills being taught. 40%
Also, students will understand that the hands-on math mats
are a material they can use all the time to help support their
learning! 20%
Objectives
The goal of this project was to answer the question, “Can
using math mats help students grasp a new concept in math?”
For this project, I created math mats that compliment the
skill/concept being taught. These math mats were used when
the students met with me in a small group setting. The idea
behind this is students used different math manipulatives
with the math mats to help them practice and understand the
skill being taught. The repetition of the math mats bettered
students learning of the skill and helped them independently
practice the concept.
I gathered my data through giving a pretest prior to
explaining the skill and using the math mats. Then, I taught
the skill in a large group setting. Students met in their small
groups and practiced the skill with the math mats I created. I
used the math mats with different activities over the course of
each lesson. Finally, I gave the same test prior to the lesson
as a post test. This data allowed me to see if students
understood the skill or not.
Lebanon Valley College
Northwest Elementary School
Results Application to Future Teaching
Math Mat Data
Math mats will be a resource I use in my future
classroom! I found these mats to be a great tool for my
students learning. Students were able to use manipulatives
94%
98% 97%
with the math mats to help understand a skill being taught.
89% My students also enjoyed using the mats because they were
86%
hands-on, and they were engaged in their learning. I will use
these math mats for small group instruction in my future
classroom with any grade that I teach! The math mats not
only benefitted the students with their learning, but also
57%
52% showed that when students have hands-on materials, they
48%
learn a concept better because of the engagement they have. I
will use the hands-on materials like cubes and counters for
future math mats!
18%
10%
Self-Reflection
0%
Class Average
Math Mat 1 Math Mat 2 Math Mat 3
Pre-test Post test
Math Mat 4 Math Mat 5
I learned a lot of valuable ideas to apply to my future
This data was collected through pre and post tests after each lesson was taught. The data showed that the students bettered
classroom through this project! What I learned is that math mats
their learning using the math mats. The class average before the skills were taught was a 37% and after 93%.
bettered my students learning, and growth of the skill being
taught. I was able to see the growth in my students learning
Examples of Students Using the Math Mats
through pre and post test data after they used the math mats in
small group instruction to practice each skill. The data showed
that the math mats were a resource that benefited my students,
which I was very happy to see! They not only learned the skills I
taught, but learned how to use manipulatives with the math mats
independently. Math mats are tools that can only improve
students learning because they helped grasp a new skill being
taught in an engaging and hands-on way for the students!
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Ms. Adrianna Stevenson for overlooking
this project. I also would like to thank my students for
participating in the project.