Monday, April 12, 2010
Instructional Strategies
In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s indicated that hands-on-learning was a very effective teaching strategy yet teachers seldom used the approach. What could be the reasons for the lack of use of this strategy? For approximately the last decade, it has been indicated that an effective teaching strategy in the classroom is hands-on learning. However, some teachers seldom use this type of instructional strategy. What could be the reasons for not implementing this teaching?
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I think teachers do not use hands on learning for a few reasons. The first reason is the fact that many teachers get into a routine and habit of doing the same thing each year. They are used to reaching from a book or following a guideline whether or not the students enjoy it or learn from this method. I also think teachers choose which theory they think is most important. I believe most teachers are stuck with essentialism and teach old school. They believe most things in education do not change and teaching the same material the same way will be the most effective way to teach children. I have been a student for a long time and I can remember doing hands on learning seldom. We would usually read from books or learn from a power point. I think science was the only class where I experienced the most hands on learning. I think if other subjects were to use hands on learning the students would learn more and probably even like school more. I think it takes teachers to step out of their comfort zone to find more fun and unique ways to teach across the curriculum.
ReplyDeleteHands on teaching requires a lot of preparation and planning. I agree it is easier to reach for a book or put together a powerpoint. I do not think it is a problem with teachers not knowing how, or not being creative enough to plan such lessons, but a reason of repetition. Doing the same lessons year after year, and seeing positive results that way and not seeing a reason to change. Some subjects are hard to incorporate hands on learning and I read in an article recently that students should not be taught in their best modality, but the best modality for the specific subject, or learning goal. In that case, hands on learning may not always be the correct instructional strategy. However, I do believe there are many benefits to such a strategy, as research continues to prove. I believe that hands on learning is an up and coming strategy in which teachers will begin to incorporate within their curriculums.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rachel and Zach that some teachers stick to a particular format or routine because it has shown postive results in the past and therefore they do not see the point in changing up the routine. A lot of teachers that are not using this strategy are probably the "old school" teachers who have been teaching a while and were trained to use other strategies. It's not that they don't acknowledge the benefits of hands-on-learning, but they don't need to incorporate it into everything they do. It also requires a lot more planning and time to create a hands-on lesson compared to reading from a book or class discussion. Extra time is something that teachers seldom have and so they can't always plan or do as much as they would like to. Additionally, hands-on activities require more materials which are not always available, especially with the amount of funding available to teachers.
ReplyDeleteI believe why most teachers have went away from hands on learning is because some kids don't learn the best that way, we all know that there is a wide variety of learning styles and some kids just don't learn the best by hands on. I also think it is a part of laziness on the teacher, not having enough time, or just not wanting to take the time into planning for an activity. I also think that when some teachers do hands on activities that the students really aren't learning what they need to. Sure its nice to get the kids active during your lesson, but as the teacher you need to make sure that the activity is worth it. Having students make a log cabin for Abraham Lincoln does them nothing, they only thing they learn is that he was born in a log cabin and thats about it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Zach when he is talking about teachers sometimes don't like to step out of their process that they already have. Teachers may already be so set in their ways that they don't want to do new lessons with hands on activities, they may just teach it as they have it already. I also agree that some subjects are much harder to get hands on activities for, it really takes a creative person and a lot of energy to do it. I also agree with Zach that hands on activities is an upcoming strategy that teachers are using, and by saying that I think back to all of my older teachers that I had in class that were so against changing their ways of teaching, whether it be working or not, they were just too stubborn to do so. There are just teachers that are out there who may be the older type, also the younger can be under this category as well, but they just don't like to change with the times.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the theory that teachers get into a set routine and it is easier to stay with that routine then change what they have already been teaching. Also, if they are in fact seeing positive results it would be hard to change your ways of teaching. Also lots of teachers believe that old school teaching is the way to go. They believe that some things should not be changed. Another reason is if teachers teach children something different for an example the way to do long division, their parents at home may not be able to help them and this could only set them back more. I believe that hands-on is a better strategy because it helps students remember what they are learning. If they are able to do some sort of activity that makes if fun for them, they will definitely remember it better.
ReplyDeleteZach makes an excellent point when he writes about hands-on learning requires a teacher to set aside extra time to carefully plan, organize materials, and structure activities to ensure a successful outcome. I also believe teachers must be preparred to handle classroom management issues that can arise with hands-on activities in the classroom. A teacher must also develop accurate assessment strategies to monitor students growth and progress throughout the discovery learning activity. All these varibles contribute to more time, careful planning, and preparation to ensure a successful hands-on activity that will facilitate growth, intrinsic motivation, and understanding of lesson goals and objectives. I believe a successful classroom is achieved by a teacher who utilizes many instructional strategies to make learning fun and meaningful for students. Hands-on or discovery learning, if carefully planned and executed, is a wonderful instructional strategy to make learning enjoyable and meaningful as well as promote mastery of material and intrinsic motivation in the students participating.
ReplyDeleteStacy's last sentence talking about mastery of learning and intrinsic motivation is great. This is a great strategy in promoting both. It allows students to find solutions on their own and is a completely different approach to learning, compared to presenting information via powerpoints, elmo, or chalk boards. It is more enjoyable strategy but equally and possibly more rewarding. Students enjoy figuring things out and with the teachers guidance they will be learning while "playing". However, in order to be successful there needs to be carefully thought out rules and objectives. If not, students will not get the full benefits of the activity. Make sure they know exactly what is being asked of them and then monitor their activity.
ReplyDeleteI think that hands-on learning is seldom used in the classroom because teachers may not know how to make certain topics hands-on. Most concepts in school are abstract concepts, so it makes it hard to put it into a hands-on activity. I also think that it is seldom used because teachers get used to doing things a certain way and then never modify with time. As I mentioned in another comment, lecture takes over as the main form of relaying information to students, but this alone will not effectively teach. Hands-on learning needs to be used more often in all classrooms with varieties of topics and subjects.
ReplyDeleteI think that teachers don't use hands on teaching as much today because so many teachers weren't taught that style of teaching when they were in school. There are so many teachers who grew up and were educated a few decades ago, or even longer, and the style of teaching and ways of learning were different than they are today.
ReplyDeleteWe all get into some type of routine, and get ourselves into a comfort zone of teaching, that maybe for many teachers the hands on style is something that they aren't comfortable with because they didn't have that used on them when they were young, and they weren't taught that when they were in college.
I can see a correlation between the hands on approach to learning then, and our use of technology in the classroom today. As a future teacher, I can clearly see how important it is for students to be actively engaged in computers and the Internet in the classroom in order to succeed in today's world.
Students are becoming so adapted with technology, that I strongly feel that it is a teacher's responsibility to familiarize themselves with many of the technological resources available for students, because this is a whole new way of learning for these guys. Things that we used to learn from the chalk boards, can now be presented to students with Parmethian Board and through the Internet and computers. Just like with the hands on learning style, I feel that as a future teacher, I should not have my students reformatting their technological learning style around my "old fashion" one. This is a whole new world, and students are just simply not learning the same ways they did before.
As a teacher, it is my job to recognize that, and make sure that I am doing the best that I can to create a comfortable and successful learning environment for my students needs. Whether that means adapting a hands on learning style, or intergrating technology more.