There are a lot of theories about why hands-on learning is so effective. When students are forced to do something, they are engaged in active learning. Most importantly, they are actively creating knowledge, instead of passively consuming it.
In order to create, in order to do , students must be engaged in their education. And engagement has for years been linked to greater academic success like increased test scores and greater academic achievements. Beyond simply leading to better engagement, hands-on learning allows students to practice the skills that they have already learned.
As anyone who has ever learned a skill or learned information can attest to, the more practice you get, the better you will be at that skill, and the better you will be able to retain the information. We can, for example, see this in action in many science classes around the country, which pair traditional study lecture, discussion, reading with active learning concepts in lab sessions.
While students may learn about a concept in the classroom, it is by walking through an experiment in the laboratory that they are able to put that concept into action and gain practice in actually applying it. This process has been shown to lead to higher retention and a better understanding in the subject. When it comes to education, one of the most difficult things for young children to understand is why what they are learning is important.
They want to know: When will I use this in my life? Why does it matter? Incorporating hands-on learning into the classroom or into the home is an easy way for parents and teachers to show their children exactly how what they are learning can be used in the real world. Through hands-on learning, students will often actively create something, whether an essay, story, piece of art, construction project, or something else.
This is something real. It is something that a student can look at and think: I was able to create this because of what I have learned and because of the skills that I have practiced. Now look at the schedule of a child today—music is an extra curricular, sewing is no longer offered, and auto-mechanics classes are found in trade schools.
Students now complete handouts and sit through lectures, taking endless notes and reading through expensive textbooks. The hands-on experience that was once thought of as key to building a well rounded student has now disappeared from the classroom. Hands-on Learning isn't just for sewing, cooking or painting; it can be a part of any subject. It's the common name for Experiential Learning, which is the philosophical term behind the idea of immersing oneself in a subject in order to learn.
Experiential Learning has been around since BCE, when Aristotle wrote, "for the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them".
This idea ultimately became popular in the early 's and thanks to the backing of famous psychologists such as Jean Piaget, Kurt Lewin and John Dewey, Experiential Learning quickly became a staple in American education.
Fast forward to the early 's, and increasing pressure for drastic improvements on national test scores led to a nationwide shift in education. Schools were faced with the challenge of improving test scores while also staying under budget. When they are given the opportunity to practice what they have just learned, that percentage increases to 75 percent. When students are given the ability to learn in a practical hands-on environment, they are very often engaged, stimulated and want to learn as much as possible.
The student's appetite for learning increases and they are more willing to listen and pay attention if they have a more practical or life like task to complete.
Students also become more empowered in their own learning situation. This occurs since students must make decisions on what to do next to receive the outcome they are striving to obtain. They no longer have to rely on memory and attention as they sit in a lecture environment.
These critical thinking skills remain with a student as opposed to material that is simply memorized for a test and much of the material often forgotten after the exam. Critical thinking skills are very important to the workplace as every situation that an employee encounters cannot be learned from a book.
Students who learn in a hands-on environment have an instructor nearby who have real-world experience and knowledge and can help and give guidance to them if they have difficulty with a task that they are trying to complete. This expert advice can help them perform the task correctly and safely which is very critical in the workplace. When your learning results in something tangible that you can take pride in — and in some cases, can actually use!
Indeed, about a third of college students change their major at least once, and 1 in 10 students change their areas of study multiple times. Taking more hands-on learning classes in secondary school helps to fix this issue. By having a chance to do actual work, students are better able to understand their strengths, weaknesses, and interests.
Hands-on education is built for experimentation and allowing students to get a real feel for potential careers. While it can seem impossible to break away from the lectures and textbooks, programs that rely on hands-on learning might be right under your nose at your local high school. Among these programs may include career and technical education courses that are built to teach students practical skills that can be applied to a real career. Students are guided by experienced instructors through a number of in-demand crafts, including electrical, welding, HVAC, pipefitting, and masonry.
To learn more about CTE, check out the top 3 reasons you should choose career and technical education. Find Training Find a Job Menu.
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