Originally published October 13 2005
New research suggests concrete visuals may make it more difficult for students to understand abstract concepts
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Vladimir Sloutsky, co-author of the study and director of the Center for Cognitive Science at Ohio State, reports that concrete materials may make it more difficult for students to apply abstract concepts across situations.
Researchers found that when college students were taught an artificial form of mathematics and physics, they learned it better when it was presented using simple, abstract symbols -- such as plain stars and raindrops -- rather than more visually engaging and concrete 3-D objects that moved dynamically on a computer screen.
The students were also more successful in applying what they learned to new situations when they were taught with abstract symbols rather than concrete objects, said Vladimir Sloutsky, co-author of the study and professor and director of the Center for Cognitive Science at Ohio State University.
The results of this study suggest that teachers may need to rethink one of the most widely accepted truisms of their profession, said Sloutsky, who is also associate dean of research at the university's College of Human Ecology.
"Many teachers believe that concrete materials make learning more fun for students, and that will increase their motivation and help them understand the concepts," he said.
A real-life example of how concrete materials may be used inappropriately is a common tactic for teaching children about numbers and letters.
In one, 30 undergraduate students were taught a novel, artificial mathematics and a novel, artificial science.
Half of the students were taught the math first and then the science, and the other half were taught the science first and then the math.
The science portion used much more concrete symbols -- this portion of the experiment used 3-D objects that moved across the computer screen.
In this case, they were separated into four groups, each of which learned from a different set of symbols, from very abstract and simple to intricate photos of real objects.
For example, a child can use a stick -- a relatively abstract item -- and imagine it is a car, or a space ship or a flower.
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