Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia
Abstract
This study examined the effects of Algebra Blocks on student understanding for the concepts of binomial expansion and trinomial factorisation. The purpose of the study was to illuminate the use and effectiveness of Algebra\u27 Blocks in the teaching-learning process. Two year nine classes with similar mathematics levels were taught binomial expansions and trinomial factorisations. The experimental class was taught using Algebra Blocks whilst the untreated class acted as the control group. After eight lessons of instruction, both classes were tested on their understanding of both concepts. To provide qualitative data, three randomly chosen students from each class were interviewed on their understanding of both concepts. The experimental results were statistically significant (
