Module 3: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR MATHEMATICS

1
IN THE INTERMEDIATE GRADES

Lesson 3

Use of Manipulatives, Values Integration, Collaboration and Teaching by Asking

Lesson Learning Outcomes

In this lesson, you will be able to:

• develop a manipulative to aid a mathematical instruction;

• plan a lesson in which values education can be incorporated into existing mathematics curricula;
• design collaborative activities that will encourage involvement, interdependence, and fair division of
labor among students;
• formulate purposeful questions that encourage students to participate in classroom discussions.

PRE-ASSESSMENT

Instruction: Let’s find out how much you have already known about this lesson. Encircle the letter that you
think best answers the question. Please answer all items. Take note of the items that you were not able to
correctly answer and look for the right answer as you go through this lesson.

1. These are concrete objects like blocks, tiles and geometric figures that the students can interact with in
order to develop a conceptual understanding of mathematics concepts.
A. Mathematics
B. Manipulatives
C. Collaboration

2. It is an abstract subject, which is why many students find it difficult.

A. Mathematics
B. Manipulatives
C. Collaboration

3. Which of the following statement is true about values integration

A. Assosciating values or standards of behavior with mathematical concepts can serve as a
source of motivation for the students.
B. Collaborative tasks provide enriching opportunities for the learners to explore other students’
perspectives that may differ from their own.
C. It is necessary that teachers deliberately frame questions that will keep the class discussion
moving.

4. Which of the following is not true abut collaboration?

A. Collaborative activities encourage active participation from the learners.

B. Group activities, if facilitated carelessly, could not waste classroom time.
C. Group activities can foster collaboration when thoughtfully designed and carefully facilitated.

5.Which of the following is not true about “teaching by asking” concept?

 Module 3: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR MATHEMATICS
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IN THE INTERMEDIATE GRADES
A. Teachers can effectively facilitate a meaningful discussion by asking the right questions.
B. Questions is a beautiful art that scaffolds student learning.
C. In this strategy, it is not important that you have already created a learning environment that is
open to questioning.

LESSON MAP

As you learn this lesson, you will be guided with the lesson map below.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

USE OF VALUES
COLLABORATION
TEACHING BY
MANIPULATIVES INTEGRATION ASKING

Figure 1: The figure illustrates that as you Instructional Strategies, you will be introduced to use of
manipulatives, values integration, collaboration and teaching by asking.
 Module 3: INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR MATHEMATICS
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IN THE INTERMEDIATE GRADES

CONTENT

ENGAGE ENGAGING MYSELF ON USE OF MANIPULATIVES, COLLABORATION

VALUES INTEGRATION AND TEACHING BY ASKING

Give your own understanding of the following:

1. Use of manipulatives
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2. Collaboration
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3. Values integration
_______________________________________________________________________________
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4. Teaching by asking
_______________________________________________________________________________
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EXPLORE EXPLORING USE OF MANIPULATIVES, COLLABORATION

VALUES INTEGRATION AND TEACHING BY ASKING

Read Me!

Instruction: Closely read the text below.

USE OF MANIPULATIVES
Manipulatives are concrete objects like blocks, tiles and geometric figures that the students can
interact with (touch and move) in order to develop a conceptual understanding of mathematics concepts.
The use of manipulatives is not at all new; manipulatives have helped people learn mathematics since
ancient times.
Aside from helping the students acquire a deeper understanding of mathematics, the use of
manipulatives also gives you, the teacher, the chance to genuinely assess their students’ mathematical
thinking.
One drawback of using manipulatives is that it may cause confusion, especially to struggling
students, if they are not presented with proper guidance and instruction from the teacher. The following are
some guidelines for using manipulatives in the classroom.
1. Orient the students on how to use the manipulative. Give some time for the students to play with the
manipulative. Allow them to explore the object and what they can do with it.
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2. Give clear and specific instructions. State the goal of the activity and how the manipulative can help
them achieve the goal.
3. While the students are at work, pay attention to their mathematical talk. Use their ideas to enhance the
discussion that follows after the activity.
4. If some of the students are struggling, ask them “why” and “how” questions to scaffold their way through
the activity.

Many activities are commercially available; the common ones are Base 10 Blocks (for learning
value, place value, decimals, etc.), geoboards (for learning properties of plane figures) play money, and
paper clock.

VALUES INTEGRATION

Integrating Math Into Other Subject Areas

Integrating mathematics into the curriculum can be quite challenging and rigorous. However, math
is connected to many disciplines and should not be isolated from other subjects.

Tapping Into the Affective Domain

Doctor Benjamin Bloom classified three domains of educational learning:cognitive, affective and
psychomotor. In the formal classroom set-up, the bulk of the teacher’s lesson planning focuses on the
cognitive and psychomotor aspects of the teaching-learning process.

Values Integration and Retention of Information

Associating values or standards of behavior with mathematical concepts can serve as a source of
motivation for the students. Values integration will help the students get life lessons through math.

COLLABORATION

In ZPD, the learners are close to developing the new skills, but they need supervision and
assisstance. It is, therefore, necessary that learners should be given the opportunities to work with their
peers in broadening their learning experience, allowing small groups of students to work together to share
knowledge, exchange ideas, and solve problems together. As the learners collaborate with their
classmates and teachers, they adopt some of the learning heuristics and develop more skills in problem
solving.

Designing Group Activities

Collaborative activities encourage active participation from the learners. Listed below are some tips
about preparing, monitoring, and processing collaborative tasks in your classroom that will maximize your
students’ capacity to socialize and learn from and with each other.
⚫ Identify the instructional objectives.
⚫ Determine the group size.
⚫ Decide how you will divide the class.
⚫ Give a teambuilding task before assigning the actual task.
⚫ Delegate a specific task to each member of the group.
⚫ Have a contract signed by your participants.
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⚫ Share your reason/s for doing collaborative activities.
⚫ Give your instructions clearly.
⚫ Go around and keep your ears open.
⚫ Provide closure to the group activities.

TEACHING BY ASKING

Discussion vs Lecture

In a discussion-based strategy, the teacher’s role is to engage the learners in a question-oriented

dialogue.

Art of Questioning

Not all questions are created equal. Some questions can be answered by a simple yes or no. Some
questions would require the students to think more meaningfully.
⚫ Avoid “one-word-response” questions.
Refrain form asking questions that only requires a yes or no answer.
⚫ Foster a climate conducive to learning and questioning.
Make sure that your learners feel comfortable to express his/her ideas and/or ask
questions at any time.
⚫ My Question, My Answer is a no-no!
Do not answer your own questions. If you are not able to elicit responses from your
students, try rephrasing your question.
⚫ Frame questions that are accessible to all learners.
Remind your students that the question is for all members of the class.
⚫ Learners should be active questioners, too!
Demand your students to ask questions. The learners should practice directing
questions not only to you but also to their co-learners.

EXPLAIN DELVING USE OF MANIPULATIVES, COLLABORATION

VALUES INTEGRATION AND TEACHING BY ASKING

Let Me Share!
Instruction: Answer the following questions.
1. Give an analogy that involves the use of manipulatives and the use of games
in classroom instruction.
Manipulatives: _________________________;games: ______________________
2. The first guideline in using manipulatives is to let the students play with the material.
Why do you think this is so?
___________________________________________________________________
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3. Do you foresee problems or difficulties in integrating values into your curriculum?
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4. In what mathematics topics in Grades 4 to 6 do you think this strategy is most appropriate?
Why do you think so?
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5. What are the possible drawbacks to collaborative activities? What can you do to address these
issues?
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6. If the class is too big, it is difficult for everyone in the class to participate. What accommodations are
you willing to do to encourage all your students to participate in classroom discussions?

TOPIC SUMMARY

In this lesson you should be able to:

➢ Manipulatives have been long been used to facilitate learning mathematics. Although many
manipulatives are available in the market, nothing beats the manipulatives created by a teacher who
knows exactly what his/her students need.

➢ There is a growing demand for teachers to deliberately teach values and this is possible even in the
mathematics classroom.

➢ Group size and composition are some of the considerations in designing group activities.

➢ Teacher can effectively facilitate a meaningful discussion by asking the right questions.

REFERENCES

Gusano,R,Masangkay, M, Rocena, L, Unida, M(2020). Teaching Math in the Intermediate

Grades. Rex Publishing.