Jane Sparrow 20144178

Good concrete activity is good mental activity

Andrea McDonough

Summary

This article discusses the essential use of concrete manipulatives to help student

knowledge development and understanding in mathematic lessons. McDonough

expresses the importance in teachers creating multiple and varying appropriate

learning opportunities using manipulatives, and using key questioning to encourage

students to explain their thinking.

The article identifies key three messages based upon the belief that "good concrete

activity is good mental activity" (Clements & McMillan, 1996, p.272 - As cited in

McDonough, 2016).

These messages are:

1. Concrete materials can help students focus on key mathematical ideas

2. Lessons that incorporate concrete materials can stimulate children's higher order

thinking

3. Teachers may need to intervene when students use concrete materials

Through the activities provided, McDonough found that children were engaged, key

mathematical terms were highlighted and articulated, children had experience with the

concrete materials according to the lesson, and that students led discussion.

McDonough expresses the value of manipulatives but must be incorporated with

open-ended probing questions in order to stretch children's thinking. She continues

that without the appropriate discussion and teaching to make the links of the concepts
 Jane Sparrow 20144178

explicit, children may end up with mathematical misconceptions rather therefore

making the manipulatives ineffective.

Therefore, McDonough states that whilst manipulatives are essential they are not a

stand-alone product but an essential addition to good concrete activities and abstract

approaches.

Reflection

I completely agree with this article in the importance of using concrete materials that

can be manipulated to assist children in creating mathematical links. I also agree in

the fact that whilst manipulatives are essential, they are not the sole product of a

mathematics lesson and rather an addition to assisting children make links in a good

mathematics lesson full of open-ended, probing questions. They are a material to help

children make connections between mathematic concepts, however still require

teaching of problem-solving and mental computation.

I found that in the classroom, no matter the mathematics lesson, I always tried to

provide students with manipulatives, whether or not it was an abstract lesson. This

allowed me to see which students required the use of them and which students had

already grasped the concepts. By the end of the mathematic learning task, those who

had started off using the manipulative as aid did not require the assistance of the

manipulative and could demonstrate and explain their understanding soundly.

Reference:

McDonough, A. (2016). Good concrete activity is good mental activity. Australian

Primary Mathematics Classroom, 21(1), 3-7.