Count On It: Congruent Manipulative Displays

By: Joe Morin and Vicki Samelson

Summary of Journal 

This article's focus was placed on the use of math manipulatives in the classroom. Most of the time people think that math manipulatives in the classroom could only better a student's understanding of a topic, it would never render their learning. However the authors of this journal go into great detail as to how manipulatives CAN have downsides. This article goes on to explain how manipulatives should and should not be used in the math classroom. They start out by saying that it all depends on the cognative level of the student. If the student does not understand the idea of "representation" through the use of manipulatives, you will need to build the student to that level of congative ability first. They then develop the understanding of how students transition from standardized manipulatives to semiconcrete manipulatives. The article address how the use of manipulatives can lead to major distractions with younger children because depending on what you pick to use as the item they can have a hard time seeing it as a learning tool rather than a toy. Another idea that they spent a lot of time on was the idea of Conceptual Congruence; which deals very closely with students understanding the base 10 units. They provided an example of how to properly use base 10 manipulatives with younger students. Long story short all aspect of the 10 units need to visually present for the student to understand. The present ones and the empty spaces that would build a full unit of 10.  

Reflection of Journal 

This was a very interesting article, because I never really knew so much thought went into the use of manipulatives in the classroom. I kind of always thought what the majority of people think: manipulatives always help. However after reading this article that is not always the case. I learned some very valuable concepts from this article. For example, I did not know that for younger students if you provide them with two different types of manipulatives, one for which is physically larger than the other, but smaller in quantity; some students might have a hard time getting past that if asked to state which group has the larger amount. I never really took the time to take a step back and think about the congative development that needs to be present in students when dealing with manipulatives in the classroom. Lastly I also really liked how they stressed the importance of base 10 manipulatives for students. How it is important that all aspects that form a unit of ten are present visually for the student to see and grasp how many units make a "base" of ten. I look forward to carrying this insight with me as I progress in my teaching career. I will always think about this information when it comes time to pick out manipulatives in my future math classroom.