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How Do Unit Blocks Help Children Learn?The Economist,June 10th,2013
積木塊是如何幫助孩子學習的？經濟學人，2013年6月10日
Unit blocks, developed by early childhood education pioneer Caroline Pratt in 1913,
單元塊是由幼兒教育的先驅卡羅琳·普拉特于1913年發明的，
are wooden bricks,in carefully chosen sizes and shapes, found in classrooms in America.
是一種木制的積木，大小和形狀都經過了精心挑選，在過去的一個世紀里，一直存在于美國的課堂中。
Friedrich Frobel,the originator of kindergarten education,
弗里德里希·福祿培爾是幼兒教育的鼻祖，
who believed in the value of play to shape behaviour and aid in children's intellectual and emotional growth.
他相信這些單元塊在塑造兒童行為和幫助兒童智力和情感發展上所發揮的價值。
Frobel spent the first half of the 19th century tinkering with the oddball notion that even very young children could learn scientific,
在19世紀上半葉，福祿培爾一直擺弄著一個古怪的想法：通過玩弄各種不同的實體物件，
artistic and natural principles simply by playing with various physical objects.
即使很小的孩子也可以學習科學、藝術和自然原理。
This was a big departure from the idea of learning via adult-led activities.
這與通過成人引導的活動進行學習的觀點大相徑庭。
Frobel's principles were widely adopted after his death in 1852,
福祿培爾在1852年去世，他的原則被廣泛采用，
the idea of using concrete objects to establish a basis for later abstract knowledge remained at the centre of this approach.
以具體對象為基礎而建立起來的抽象思維的觀點成為了這種方法的核心。
Educational theorists cite a laundry list of the benefits that children derive from playing with unit blocks.
教育理論家列舉了孩子玩弄積木塊的一系列好處。
The different shapes of unit blocks lay the foundations for basic maths and geometry.
不同形狀的塊為數學和幾何學習奠定了基礎。
Balance and collapse teach the nature of gravity.
平衡和倒塌可以講授重力的性質，
Ramps and columns can be used to make simple levers and fulcrums.
坡道和圓柱可以用來制作簡單的杠桿和支點。
The need to place blocks carefully develops hand-eye co-ordination.
孩子們需要仔細的放置木塊，這可以培養孩子們的手眼的協調能力。
In fact, multiple studies over several decades back up these claims,
事實上，過去幾十年的研究都支持了這些說法。
with some finding that children who play with blocks significantly outperform those who do not,
一些研究發現，玩積木的孩子明顯優于那些不玩積木的孩子，
not just in infancy but over their entire academic careers.Thank you.
不僅只是在起步階段，而是在整個學術生涯中。謝謝。
