Abstract:

The present study aims to analyze some impactful methodologies of using Cuisenaire rulers, which have a fundamental role in understanding the main mathematical concepts studied in preschool and early school years from a noological and creative perspective.

The study's methodology aimed to create an educational curricular program for one month in which all curricular activities use items whose statements involve manipulating Cuisenaire rulers to solve the task.

The results obtained in the pre-test, the formative tests, and the post-test administered within the educational program proved that the target group obtained an increasingly high yield in the acquisition of mathematical notions specific to the curriculum, even by students with problems in understanding mathematical concepts, such as comparing two natural or fractional numbers, working with fractions and even calculating a number from a fraction.

In conclusion, in contrast with the classical context of using symbolic elements, iconic rulers make mathematical concepts more straightforward for children to understand. Additionally, the emergence of positive attitudes toward learning mathematics and creative self-solving strategies increased the efficiency of learning mathematics and, implicitly, the operational cognitive background of children.

Keywords:

Cuisenaire rulers, school efficiency, noological and creative education.