The development of abstract thinking

Abstraction is difficult for many pupils to comprehend. This is a function of brain development. But children are adaptable, they will develop to do the things that they are expected to do. In societies where children are encouraged to stand up in a boat and spear fish, they will learn the balance necessary to stand up in a boat to spear fish, at an early age. In societies where they are expected to learn to count in bases 12 and 20, they will develop the ability to count in bases 12 and 20 earlier than will children whose only need is to count in base 10. Hence the sooner that children are exposed to abstraction, the sooner they will achieve the ability to deal with it. But one cannot just throw them in at the deep end and expert them to swim, they have to be led to abstract thought. This is what Puppet Maths does. It provides mechanical analogies that will help the child visualise what the maths is attempting to achieve, these help the child succeed in getting the sums right, this gives the child confidence in their ability, and as they practice what they’ve learnt they relinquish the concrete visualisation as they learn to take short cuts – short cuts which rely on their ability to think abstractly.