@mixandmath: I shared a video earlier this week about using manipulatives to build students’ understanding of angle measurement and someone messaged me that I must teach students who struggle if I “have” to use manipulatives… ❓Why is there this assumption that math manipulatives are only for learners who are struggling?! Yes, they are a wonderful support tool to give every student access to the math. But ALSO I cannot tell you the number of times I have used manipulatives to deepen or extend a child’s understanding who is on paper labeled as advanced or gifted. I was just talking to a math coach about one of the quotes I share in the Make Math Hands-On workshop. The quote is from John SanGiovanni and he says: “Procedural proof is important. We have to be careful to avoid using this proof as evidence of conceptual understanding.” Just because a student can “do the math” doesn’t mean they truly understand it, and for these students manipulatives serve as a fantastic tool to bring meaning to the rules and procedures they’ve memorized. And even when they *do* have that understanding, manipulatives can still stretch their thinking (as seen in this pattern block problem!). There are so many misconceptions around how we use math manipulatives, why we use them, and who they are for. Whenever I have seen any pushback on using math manipulatives from an educator, it is almost always the case that they don’t know how to use them effectively… YET. Okay, so who knows the answer to this pattern block problem? Comment and let me know what you think the value of the bottom figure is if the top figure has a value of 1. #teachersoftiktok #mathteachersoftiktok #4thgradeteacher #5thgradeteacher #mathteacher
