Effectiveness of Hands on Learning Essay

I assessed the students’ intellectual involvement during the Science Tool Learning Center and the Help Harry STEM activity. The assessment included worksheets, designing a perch, and a survey of the students’ teamwork efforts. During the learning center, the students had to complete a worksheet the corresponded with the station they were currently at. For example, at the balance station, the students had to follow the prompts by using the balance and answering the questions on the worksheet. Not only did they have to have their “minds-on” to complete the worksheet, they were also involved in “hands-on” activities by using the science tools. Furthermore, during the Help Harry STEM activity, the students were instructed to design and build a

A hands on classroom is ideal. In this classroom we do have some hands on lessons. We do not have nearly enough though. There is usually not enough funding for what we want to do. Rather than doing hands on things we take notes on the hands on things. We usually cannot do things hands on and just end up doing work on the computer. I wish that we could have more situations where we get do the lessons with the animal instead of with a picture of the animal. Another article I read stated that “It also encourages young pupils to do things for themselves, which will help them with learning independently later on in life.” This is why I wish we could have more hands on learning. Hands on learning can be very good for this reason. Students will then learn stuff for themselves rather than someone to do it for them. Of course teachers are still directing the class but they now get to do things for themselves. This article also stated that “Often demonstrations will give students the main idea of how something works, but place less emphasis on detail.” Which is also very true. Learning certain subjects by doing them is not necessarily easy, but

Another idea to improve mathematics performance in elementary level is to encourage the student to link the existing knowledge and the new knowledge effectively while working math problems/examples. A worked example is “a step-by-step demonstration of how to perform a problem” (Clark, Nguyen, & Sweller, 2006, p. 190). This will prepare the students for similar problems in the future as they bridge the connection between the problems and the examples. In many cases, students are encouraged to link the informal ideas with the formal mathematics ideas that are presented by the teacher to be able to solve problems. When students examine their own ideas, they are encouraged to build functional understanding through interaction in the classroom. When students share among themselves on differences and similarities in arithmetic procedures, they construct the relationship between themselves hence making it the foundation for achieving better grades in mathematics. Teachers can also encourage students to learn concepts and skills by solving problems (Mitchell et al 2000). Students do perform successfully after they acquire good conceptual understanding because they develop skills and procedures, which are necessary for their better performance. However, slow learning students should engage in more practice

This way I can be a source of knowledge rather than a teacher who fills the students head with knowledge. This technique should also be able to direct students’ enquiries as well as allow them to ask their own questions and follow what directions their enquiries about Science might take them. My next key learning element would be the value of group work and the peer collaboration between students to enable better understanding about the topic being investigated or the experiment being conducted. My other key learning experience that was gained from this lesson was the determination of what prior learning had the students done on a particular subject so that their constructs can be added to or modified to achieve better scientific results. My thoughts are that, even more careful planning has to go into a design and make (discovery learning) lesson than into a mere investigation through books and the internet. These tasks increase student motivation and the willingness to accept Science as practical, necessary and important in today’s modern

When educating students, it is essential to their growth, that teachers have the ability to learn and grow with their students. Every child learns, thinks, and comprehends differently; therefore, the same material should be taught in multiple ways. For example, in my Math 106 class, all students solve the same problem, the teacher then has a few students explain and depict the different ways they received the correct answer. When a student has a difficult time explaining their method, Mrs. Graybeal provides encouragement and guidance; thus. Also, students who are having a difficult time solving the problem used one of the methods provided by a peer to help them comprehend and solve the problem. Math 106 teaches future educators the

What is the most effective way to teach? Can students really learn and fully understand the material teachers convey to them on a day to day basis? According to a middle school mathematics teacher, his methods of teaching the traditional way was not as effective and producing a long-term impact as he would have liked. The article "Never Say Anything a Kid Can Say!" enriches us to the possibility of applying slight gradual modifications to our teaching methods and how we could find ways to utilize that information in the search for more effective teaching methods to encourage students to explain their thinking and become more deeply involved in the classroom discussions, thus developing their questioning skills (Reinhart, 2000). After

She was faced with the challenge of teaching a wide range of learner pathways while striving to maximize the learning for all her students grades first through eighth. While what my grandmother faced over eighty years ago is an obvious exaggeration in differentiation; the reality is that each class room in our schools is a microcosm of that environment. Each student learns through different pathways and it is the role of each teacher to maximize their learning potential by differentiating their instructional practices. Hence, the teachers of my school must strive to connect students and academic content through a responsive instructional practice that is reflective of the needs of their students (Tomlinson, C., Brimijoin, K., & Narvaez, L.,

In the Algebra 1 classroom, multiple best practices are applied and demonstrated. Algebra 1 teacher, Ms. Simpson, displayed the practice of teaching to students’ different learning styles by incorporating tangible, hands on activities, like interactive notes, creating combo meals for word problems, and using “the sea of zeros” to explain positive and negative integers. Classroom management was also displayed through the use of bell work, which keeps students busy and motivated.

I may often guide my students as they approach problems, encourage them to work in groups to think about questions and issues, and support them with advice as they tackle adventures, problems, and challenges that are embedded in real life situations that are both satisfying to my students and interesting in terms of the result of their work. I believe that learning is promoted and supported through collaboration among learners and teachers. As a result, learning become easy to occur in the lesson when we incorporate these approaches. I strongly believe that it is in interaction with others that children learn how to think. It is important to give students the opportunity to become responsible for their own learning, and this will allow students to be more likely to be self-motivated and develop self- efficacy. As students interact with their environment, they connect information learned through experience to prior knowledge, and so build new knowledge and understandings. As an educator, I recognise the value of the experience and knowledge that learners bring to the classroom context. It is my responsibility and role to provide experience that assist learners to further their existing knowledge of the world (Duchesne et al,

The engagement gap has even more profound negative impact on students who are experiencing learning challenges. Hands-on learning has a long and successful legacy in the sciences and math. Educators are fostering the 21st century skills that students need to be successful, critical thinkers, communication, and

Education has long been the center of reform with new ideas about learning and teaching. Educators are regularly introduced to new teaching strategies, curricula and rigorous standards in an effort to provide effective instruction to students. However, the pursuit of proficiency in mathematics and reading through the use of research-based methods requires an understanding of the learning models and theories that both drive instruction and learning in the classroom. In this paper I will address the evolution of ideas about learning and teaching in education as well as address the shifts in learning in the 21st century.

In order to teach successfully teachers must learn about first learn about their students. Teachers must assess the student’s capabilities and interests. Some students are visual learners, while others learn from hands on activities, or verbal communication. Not all students can learn through memorization, rather they learn through interest and relation to the topic. “To realize what an experience, or empirical situation, means, we have to call to mind the sort of situation that presents itself outside of school" (Democracy and Education). The curriculum should encompass material that is most useful for a student to learn. It seems that in the majority of schools, students are not given the flexibility to guide their own learning, but rather follow rigid instructions that destroy the student’s imagination.

Hands-on activities are important for developing understanding at every age and level in science. Special Education teacher Mr. B. noted that students develop more of a connection when they can actually perform experiments and tasks, instead of just reading about them in a textbook. Mastropieri and Scuggs claim in their article, Teaching Science to Students with Disabilities in General Education Settings that "activities-oriented material used far less vocabulary, far less independent reading, paper, and pencil work . . ."( 1995, pg.11). This leads to special needs students having less focus on their skills abilities, and more emphasis on learning the scientific materials. (Mastropieri and Scruggs, 1995).

During multiple observations with the teacher, there have been a few techniques that were implemented to enhance students ' learning experiences. First, in problem-solving issues, the teacher will ask the student what approaches they will use in order to solve a problem. Another approach the teacher implemented was having the students attempt their own theory, even though the teacher knew the theory was incorrect, the focus was not to achieve the right answer but for the student

point A to point B and eventually build their skill set and confidence enough to