<![CDATA[This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of concrete media in improving elementary school students’ understanding of place value concepts in mathematics. The study employed a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) method with a descriptive qualitative approach. Data were collected from scientific articles indexed in Google Scholar, Garuda, and accredited national journals published between 2021 and 2025. The keywords used included “concrete media,” “place value,” “mathematical conceptual understanding,” and “elementary mathematics learning.” A total of 20 relevant articles were selected and analyzed based on the types of media, instructional strategies, and their impact on students’ understanding. The findings indicate that concrete media such as number boards, number cards, place value boards, place value boxes (KONIT), number pockets, and student worksheets based on Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) consistently improve students’ understanding of place value concepts. Concrete media function as a bridge between students’ real experiences and abstract mathematical concepts, which aligns with the cognitive characteristics of elementary school students in the concrete operational stage. In addition to improving conceptual understanding, concrete media positively affect students’ motivation, participation, self-confidence, and collaboration skills. The integration of digital media and contextual learning approaches further strengthens instructional effectiveness. This study concludes that the systematic and planned implementation of concrete media is highly recommended in elementary mathematics instruction. The successful implementation of concrete media should be supported by teachers’ pedagogical competence, training in media utilization, and sustainable school policies regarding learning resources.]]>
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