1. Flipped Instruction Description

Theoretical Link
Socio-cultural Theory: This approach acknowledges that all students have different social and cultural backgrounds. Therefore, each student requires a personalized learning approach. It realizes that one size fits all will not work because all students are different.
Examples

1. 
   Separate students into three ability groups: Advanced, Middle, and Lower. The advanced students can be provided with project-based learning tasks to complete while the teacher works with the middle and lower groups to provide additional support.
   
2. 
   Provide students with a range of tasks that addresses the same learning outcome. Students can choose between different tasks depending on their learning preferences.
   

18. Manipulatives
Definition
Manipulatives are physical educational toys (or: ‘tools’) which are used to support learning. Providing students with physical manipulatives during learning enables them to visualize their learning in a 3D space.
Benefits

• 
  Students can learn more actively when they have manipulatives than when learning through teacher-centered direct instruction methods.
  
• 
  Helps students who need to visualize information to learn.
  
• 
  Creation of physical models helps students to form mental models (‘cognitive schemata’).
  

Challenges

• 
  It can be expensive to gather enough materials for all students in a classroom.
  
• 
  Providing students with toys can distract them from the task. Strong classroom management skills are required.
  

Theoretical Link
Constructivism: Constructivists including Freidrich Froebel and Maria Montessori have advocated for the use of educational toys to help students to explore and discover in student-led active learning contexts.
Examples

1. 
   Base Tens ‘Dienes Cubes’ are cubes that can be bunched into singles, groups of ten, groups of 100, and groups of 1000 to help students visualize the decimal system of counting.
   
2. 
   Colored beads can be used to help students in early childhood learn to recognize patterns.
   
3. 
   Froebel’s Gifts are 9 manipulative toys that students can use to solve developmentally appropriate puzzles.