OVERCOMING MISCONCEPTIONS AND IMPROVING KNOWLEDGE OF ARITHMETIC IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION UNDERGRADUATES: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY

This longitudinal study examined the impact of short-term, manipulative-based arithmetic instruction on undergraduate juniors. Four class sessions (six instructional hours) were designed to reflect constructivist principles of assimilation, accommodation, and schema building using an approach called “guided constructivism.” Study participants were preservice elementary education majors enrolled in a child development course at an urban comprehensive university in North Carolina.

The design included three data collection points:
(a) a pretest survey of arithmetic misconceptions and knowledge,
(b) a posttest survey at the end of the course, and
(c) a longitudinal follow up survey during student teaching, typically 1 1/2 years after the course.

Pre- to posttest performance on the survey showed a statistically significant increase in arithmetic knowledge accompanied by a significant decrease in arithmetic misconceptions. At the follow up during the student teaching semester, significant gains in knowledge and significant decreases in misconceptions were still present. The results indicate that manipulatives can effectively and efficiently reverse long-standing arithmetic misconceptions and increase arithmetic knowledge before education majors enter classrooms as full-time teachers.