Manipulative Reflection

     I really liked the in class activity we did to help us brainstorm various different ways that we can use different manipulatives. As educators we often have to be creative and get kids involved without spending a lot or any money at all on resources. By having us switch stations and keep thinking about what each manipulative could be used for I think that it helped us to come up with some really useful ways to use the different manipulatives. It was about making the tools as versatile as we can. 

     I think that you can tell a student really grasps something when they can use the manipulatives to show you a concept and explain it to you thoroughly while they are doing so. When they use the manipulatives as a tool for explanation you know they are really benefitting the child and helping them understand a concept in a more concrete way. Because of their deeper understanding through the use of the manipulative I think that students can more easily transfer concepts into other situation or domains. I think that one of the most beneficial ways to assess students is through observation and conversation. If you can watch what a student is doing when they are trying to learn and also talk about their processes with them you gain more useful knowledge about what they know. I think that if you talk to students individually to assess them even when they are working in groups on various concepts you can more accurately assess what they know and understand. You are improving a students problem solving skills by using manipulatives because you are giving them another tool they can use to solve the problem they are working on or the concept they are trying to understand.