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Physical Manipulatives

  

Manipulatives are physical objects that are used as teaching tools to engage students in the hands-on learning of various subjects. They can be used to introduce, practice, or remediate a concept. Various subjects may use similar physical manipulatives. Models of real situations that can be carried, touched, or held. This can be a skeleton model in an anatomy lab, to math manipulatives, to a globe that has tactile images. They are coins, tools, artifacts, plants, and animals.

1. Brief Description: A physical object is a representation of an object or device that can be used as an instructional aide.  A physical manipulative can also be considered a “working” model of a concept.

2. Standards and Goals: Physical Manipulatives are great tools that can be used aide in the learning process by providing a physical representation of the learning objectives of the instructor.  While visual two or three dimensional representations are valuable to the learning process, a model can be held and manipulated in order to see how the device functions on a high level.

3. Application to types of learning: 

     a. Cognitive objectives:

Models can simplify information that is difficult to understand. iWords don’t look or sound like the thing they stand for but visuals are iconic, that is, they have some resemblance to the concrete thing they represent.   When visuals accompany spoken or written information they present that information in a different modality and make abstract ideas concrete.  Visuals can be used to activate prior knowledge stored in long term memory and to summarize the content. When students are engaged in scientific modeling, they are able to notice patterns and develop and revise representations that become useful models to predict and explain–making their own scientific knowledge stronger, helping them to think critically, and helping them know more about the nature of concept..

     b. Psychomotor objectives: Physical manipulatives allow for the a physical interaction on how a device, or item operates, allowing for a learner to interact and understand how something functions.  They are used as teaching tools to engage students in the hands-on learning of various subjects. They can be used to introduce, practice, or remediate a concept. 

     c. Affective objectives:  

interaction with physical manipulatives provide all learning styles with the ability to describe, visually view, or physically manipulate models. This provides effective learning and is emotionally appealing to those students that have difficulty grasping concepts with only text.

4. Strengths:

Manipulatives have been used in the classroom for years.

• manipulatives provide a concrete foundation for learning abstract ideas.
• Manipulatives have been chosen to support the lesson’s objective and are especially good for those with visual impairments as well as learning disability that require multiple options for learning
• Significant plans have been made to orient students to the manipulatives and corresponding classroom procedures.
• Models or physical manipulatives can involve active participation of each student.

5. Limitations:

• A limitation of models in science is that they are usually simplified versions of the real situation or concept.
• Those with physical disabilities, may not be able to manipulate them.

6. Special Features/Creative ideas:

Physical manipulatives and Tactile images can be creatively used for those with visual impairments to assist with learning concepts that are abstract.

7. UDL/ Accessibility requirements:

Well-designed materials can provide customized and embedded models, scaffolds, and feedback to assist learners who have very diverse abilities in using those strategies effectively.

It is important to provide materials with which all learners can interact. Properly designed curricular materials provide a seamless interface with common assistive technologies through which individuals with movement impairments can navigate and express what they know—to allow navigation or interaction with a single switch, through voice activated switches, expanded keyboards and others.

Providing a learner with a tool is often not enough. We need to provide the support to use the tool effectively. Many learners need help navigating through their environment (both in terms of physical space and the curriculum), and all learners should be given the opportunity to use tools that might help them meet the goal of full participation in the classroom.

8. Technology Resources/websites: https://www.hand2mind.com/pdf/learning_place/research_math_manips.pdf

Tactile library for the visually impaired: http://piaf-tactile.com/tactile-graphic-resources/ https://www.aph.org/tgil/

9. References

Ross, R., & Kurtz, R. (1993). Making manipulatives work: A strategy for success. The Arithmetic Teacher, 40(5), 254-257. as retrieved by https://guides.lib.campbell.edu/c.php?g=325978&p=2667668

CAST (2018).  Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. Retrieved from http://udlguidelines.cast.org