Date: Apr 8, 1995 5:09 PM
Author: roitman@oberon.math.ukans.edu
Subject: Re: Manipulatives in Math

Eileen Abrahamson writes:

>        *       Is there truly a teaching technique, employing
>manipulatives, that could be destructive to learning in math?  
>        *       In otherwords could manipulatives be "educational poison"
>in the wrong hands?  
>


I have no serious study, but just my mathematician's instinct, which also
seems to be the teacher's instinct of many people on this list --
manipulatives are for creating metaphors, analogies, models. 
Manipulative-based algorithms are not the way to go.

But some folks may be able to persuade me otherwise.  I'll be interested in
the responses.

Cheers.


        	       	       	====================================
        	       	       	Judy Roitman, Mathematics Department
        	       	       	Univ. of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66049
        	       	       	roitman@math.ukans.edu
        	       	       	=====================================