Manipulatives

             This blog will discussing manipulatives in mathematics. I will be discussing several points about the use of manipulatives throughout this blog. The first question that will be discussed is the question of how do we know if students are deepening their understanding when using manipulatives. As we have gone through this class, we have used several manipulatives ourselves. By doing so it certainly helps us answer this question. Students' understanding is deepened, because they are able to use the manipulatives and be hands on. This allows the students to actually visually see the math being worked out as they are trying to solve a problem. It also allows the students to understand why a formula or equation works the way it does.
                The second question that will be addressed is about how we know if our students can transfer their information from the manipulatives to other situations. This is apparent not only in other math problems, but in math areas in the different core subjects such as social studies when you make a map, and have to scale it. This shows that they are transferring their knowledge by using what they learned by using the manipulatives in math to solve not only other math problems, but other subject problems as well. You can also see if the students are transferring their knowledge by having them working in partners, and when you walk around you hear the students explaining to each other how to do it because they remember from using the manipulatives.
                 The third question that will be discussed is how we can assess that understanding or growth. You can save the students work from the unit. Then you can keep constantly checking that portfolio that you have made for that student to see if that particular student is understanding and growing, or if you have to go back and either reteach or change strategies to better suit that student. You can also have them write a math journal. This can also be checked daily, weekly, or however often you want to check it. Like the portfolio, the journals will also let you know if you are headed in the right direction or not. Both of these will allow you to ensure your students success!
                   The fourth question that will be discussed is how can we hold each youngster accountable when the students are working in groups. One way is by each student coming to teacher to meet her when they are done, and they would have to explain their reasoning and work that they show their group did. You could also have an individual part to the assignment which would make them accountable because they will have had to learn it in order for them to accomplish the assignment. Again, you could do journals, and in the journals have them explain the process their group and themselves went through in order to accomplish the problem.
                  The fifth question that will be discussed is how can we assess the depth of understanding of a student when they work in groups. One way would again be a portfolio. Collect the work and keep constantly checking it throughout the project to see how deep their understanding is. You can also using pre and post assessments to check their depth of understanding. This will also tell you whether the students are on the right track. As previously stated, you can also do the journals. All of these  options will tell you if you need to revisit an idea if your students' understanding is not quite there.
                      The sixth and final question to be discussed is how am I improving my students problem solving skills by using the manipulatives. One way is by having them use the manipulatives, they are learning to break the problem down and analyze it to where they can solve it. They are also being helped because they are learning to take problems step-by-step if they need to in order to conquer the problem. I am also helping their problem solving skills by having them visually represent problems if they need to in order to solve problems. All of these points and questions that have been discussed are all ways to ensure that your students are successful when working with manipulatives in mathematics! This was even shown with the four different manipulatives Dr. Nugent had us use in class. It really had us thinking about how each of the specific manipulatives that she had out could be used with our students in any grade. It was certainly challenging on some of the manipulatives, but we talked and collaborated as a group of three to figure it out. Now I certainly know at least four manipulatives that I would love to have my students use for various reasons in my classroom!