INFLUENCE OF MANIPULATIVE-BASED INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS ON STUDENTS’ INTEREST AND CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF ALGEBRA IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of manipulative-based instructional materials on students’ interest and conceptual understanding of algebra in secondary schools. A quasi-experimental pretest–post-test non-equivalent control group design was adopted. The study involved 153 secondary school students, comprising 72 students in the manipulative-based instructional group and 81 in the conventional instructional group. Data were collected using a Students’ Interest in Algebra Questionnaire and an Algebra Conceptual Understanding Test. Descriptive statistics and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were used to analyse the data at the 0.05 significance level. The findings indicated that students exposed to manipulative-based instruction recorded greater gains in interest and conceptual understanding than their counterparts taught using the conventional approach. After controlling for pre-test scores, significant between-group differences were observed in students’ post-test interest and conceptual understanding. The findings suggest that purposeful use of concrete and semi-concrete representations can facilitate students’ engagement with algebraic ideas and strengthen conceptual understanding. The study concludes that manipulative-based instructional materials represent a potentially valuable pedagogical resource for improving both affective and cognitive outcomes in secondary school algebra instruction. The study recommends systematic integration of appropriate manipulatives with explicit connections between concrete, pictorial, and symbolic representations.