I believe that manipulatives are beneficial to student learning. Young children have a really hard time thinking abstractly, manipulatives give them a visual way to solve problems that their minds are not capable of solving without them. As an adult, who is not very good at math, manipulatives really help me as well. It is hard for many people, whether they be young children or adults to solve a math problem with just a piece of paper. Using manipulatives is also more engaging. Many students find math to be uninteresting or boring, manipulatives make it more interesting and fun to learn. Manipulatives also add an element of real world application. Adults don’t get a worksheet with a word problem on it asking them to find the area or perimeter.
