The grounding of cognition in embodied actions has resulted in both theoretical formulations of encoding of information and instructional applications of these encodings. Actions on objects typically occur within matched formats: physical actions on physical objects, virtual actions on virtual objects, or mental actions on mental objects. Instead,…

This article focuses on how the representational properties of manipulatives affect the strategies children employ in problem solving. Two studies examined the effect of physical materials on 4-7-year-old children's problem solving strategies in a numerical (i.e., additive composition) task. The first study showed how children not only identified…

Describes materials mastery and symbolic development as two discrete but related processes that preschool children learn. Uses the preschool setting to identify the developmental stages of construction play. (AS)

Investigated was the readiness of fifth, seventh, and eighth graders trained to empirically gather data by manipulating objects and materials with their hands, and to transfer this skill to a problem situation outside the classroom. After one semester's training in the science process under investigation, the increase in the use of the strategy of…

This study was designed to examine effects that access to manipulatives in science instruction have with respect to the development of spatial conceptual abilities and whether the effects were different for males and females. A secondary purpose of this investigation was to examine what relationship sex and access to manipulatives in conjunction…