Analysis of Students’ Knowledge of Class II about the Use of the Visual Aids, Traditional Abacus

Abstract

The use of visual aids that were inadequate resulted in a lack of understanding of class II students at Islamic Elementary School Insan Mulia Semarang on basic concepts of integer multiplication and division. The visual aid that can help students understand basic concepts of integer multiplication and division is the traditional abacus. Before looking at the effectiveness of using a traditional abacus in learning mathematics, students’ knowledge of the use of a traditional abacus will be analyzed. The method uses a qualitative descriptive. A Guttman scale, structured interview guidelines, and clarification of the questionnaire statements is data research collection technique. The result is that many class II already know the shape and use of the traditional abacus. They admitted that they already knew the traditional abacus for learning to start counting since they were in Kindergarten. Keywords: students’ knowledge; visual aids; traditional abacus.