Pedagogical Materials Use of Primary Grade Teachers in Mathematics Education

Abstract

As having both visual and tactile appeal, the rationale under the use of manipulative
materials is to represent abstract mathematical ideas in an explicit and concrete manner. The focus of the
study was on geometry-related course materials indicated in the course curriculum. In this study, the
teachers of 4th and 5th grade in mathematics lessons were questioned on their use of instructional
materials. The data gathered through an adopted questionnaire form and its use consent was obtained. The
sample of the research is 137 teachers of 4th and 5th grades in the 25 primary schools in Kirikkale in
2011-2012 academic year. The findings of the study revealed that primary grade teachers‟ actual
utilization of course materials is not satisfactorily high. Suggestions were made on further research and
the limitations of the study discussed as well