Active learning through a constructivist lens: The effects of manipulatives on on-task behavior

Traditional educational practices in the United States have remained resilient to change despite national movements grounded in empirical research designed to improve education. Constructivism as a theory for learning supports shifting away from the status quo that holds students as passive learners, bound by the banking model, which is perpetuated by traditional instruction, in favor of increasing student engagement through active learning strategies. However, a change of practice also requires a change in beliefs. This is problematic because many teachers believe that active learning strategies negatively affect student behavior and are therefore resistant to integrating active learning strategies. This quasi-experimental, single-participant ABAB withdrawal design study was designed with the purpose of exploring the effects of the independent variable, an active learning strategy of using concrete math manipulatives, on the dependent variables, student on-task behavior and task completion. Four students in a general education third-grade classroom participated in this study during mathematics instruction, at which time the teacher-implementer delivered the district's required curriculum via whole-group instruction. During the treatment-phases only, participants used concrete manipulatives, while one or more observers recorded data using momentary time sampling procedures to measure on-task behavior and a permanent product checklist for data collection to measure task completion. The visual analysis of data showed increased levels of on-task behavior for all participants with sufficient evidence to suggest that a functional relationship exists between using manipulatives and on-task behavior. The data did not provide evidence of a functional relationship between manipulatives and task completion. Future research should explore these variables across different settings, grade levels, and content areas.