It’s long been understood that the use of physical manipulatives to
teach subjects like mathematics have positive effects on student
achievement by providing concrete objects to model and internalize
abstract concepts. The impact of physical manipulatives also
influences student’s interest and enjoyment in learning math -engaging students far beyond paper or screen.
among students in part due to the excitement around pairing tablets
with manipulatives. When using the Tiggly learning tools students
ability to solve math problems improved dramatically by simply
recalling how they interacted with the manipulatives. Overall, the
experience allowed students to become much more receptive to
mathematical concepts.
With the booming success of technology in schools, teachers are
looking for effective ways to pair physical manipulatives with digital
learning. This is especially true for young students since tactile play is
a vital part of development.
Kyle Ferguson, Operations Director of Brooklake Christian School, saw
the added value of pairing math manipulatives with digital learning for
his Pre-K and Kindergarten students. Kyle achieved the pairing by
using Tiggly Math – a set of five magnetic counting rods (inspired by
classic Cuisenaire rods) that interact with apps focused on operations
vital to later math success, such as addition, number line, and one-toone correspondence skills.
STEM programs play an important role in today’s educational
environment, so it was significant for Kyle to integrate Tiggly Math in a
way that added value to each classroom. An introductory period of
using Tiggly manipulatives offered students the opportunity to fully
explore the features Tiggly Math offers by playing and learning
independently. After two weeks, teachers begun to introduce the
manipulatives during lessons and Tiggly quickly became a staple
during math time. After the implementation of Tiggly at Brooklake,
teachers observed an increase in interest and engagement in math
Kyle’s experience with Tiggly highlights how adding a tactile dimension
to digital learning can be a game changer. “The immediate impact
Tiggly Math had on students was that it was intuitive and fun. Students
were discovering basic concepts of adding, subtracting, and skip
counting much faster than using a purely digital or traditional method.
Students were relating their experience with the manipulatives to their
classwork, astonishingly quickly. And teachers found the concepts
easy to supplement their curriculum.”
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