Although many math teachers advocate early classroom use, the public is not so sure. The final word on early calculator use is still out. What research clearly does show us is that the use of manipulatives in teaching young children math is beneficial. Objects that students can hold and move help them to understand abstract ideas quicker. Likewise, students learn science best when they are able to do experiments on personal predictions regarding natural phenomenon.
Students often reject textbook and lecture material for what they consider to be common sense.
Only when they are confronted with actual experimental data do they shed themselves of incorrect assumptions. Much research has been aimed at this question over the last few decades and what has emerged matches what our own common sense might dictate. Let's look more closely at what this means. First, schools benefit greatly from having a strong educational leader, usually the principal, who focuses continually on improving the educational program of the school. However, many principals are either not equipped to perform this role or are not expected to.