Unit 2: The Effects of Successful Hands-On Learning
Thomas Parker: Using Hands-On Activities in Science
UNIT OBJECTIVE
2.0 Participants will be able to summarize the effects of a successful hands-on learning activity. (Bloom's level 3)
2.1 Identify what a teacher would see from the students within a successful hands-on learning activity.(enabling)
2.2 Distinguish between what a teacher would see from a successful hands-on activity and an unsuccessful hands-on activity.(enabling)
The following will be objective I wish for you to try in your classrooms if you are able. The completion of the above objectives should put you in a solid place to do so.
3.0 Participants will be able to assess the effectiveness of the hands-on activity based on the student's performances. (Blooms level 3).
3.1 Using the aspects of a successful hands-on activity as your rationale, assess whether or not an activity should be considered successful.(enabling)
1. What Should A Teacher See In A Hands-On Activity?
Many times what we should see as a teacher will be different activity to activity based on the nature of that topic or content. What it truly boils down to is engagement and "doing". The "doing" is what will change activity to activity. For example, calculating the speed of a ball going down the ramp would require both the construction of that ramp and handling the data effectively. In a chemistry experiment, the doing would be more about handling the chemicals in certain portions and mixing to get the desired reactions. Check out this short article on the effects of hands-on learning from the Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching: [effects of hands-on learning article]
2. Journal Activity
In your journal, write down some examples of things you have seen in the classroom (or have been a part of if you are not a teacher) that would fall under the category of hands-on learning. Did you see positive outcomes like those mentioned in the article in this unit? If not, what did you see? Do you think this is the result of a poor hands-on activity?
3. What Can We Create With Solid Hands-On Learning?
The following speaker talks about what kind of students we are creating in secondary school. Are we creating test takers? Or are we getting students that can evaluate and critically think. Hands-on learning can help us get the latter.
4. My Challenge For You!
Take the information from this unit and evaluate your classroom. Do you use hands-on learning? Based on what your seeing during and after the activity, is it effective? If you have been teaching for a couple years, think about past students. Have they gone to the upper level classes? What are they doing if they graduated? This is all information we can use to assess our in class activities and their effectiveness.