subject: Hands-On Learning - Providing Students With an Authentic Learning Experience [print this page] Hands-On Learning - Providing Students With an Authentic Learning Experience
Today, teachers are finding it more and more difficult to keep biology students engaged during classroom lectures. Traditional teaching techniques simply don't cut it in today's tech-savvy society - educators need to provide their students with more in order to pique their interest and hold their attention. Teachers across Canada and around the world are calling for instructional strategies far different from the conceptualization and memorization techniques of the past. Science educators want hands-on, minds-on, authentic learning strategies. They want teaching aids like the VIRTmac magnetic classroom.
Interactive teaching tools are the new paradigm for science learning, providing students with the opportunity to achieve a higher level of involvement and achievement in the classroom. This is because hands-on learning initiatives enable introductory level science learners to perform complex concepts, rather than simply observe the process taking place. Students are able to center their attention fully on core concepts when physical teaching aids are used in the classroom, which can result in the development of enhanced problem solving skills and "minds-on" thinking processes. Finally, hands-on learning lets biology students collaborate on projects and broach real-life questions related to the concept at hand, creating an authentic learning experience.
Why Manipulative Models Work
Humans are naturally curious, it's simply how we're wired. Unfortunately, traditional teaching methods have failed to tap into this curiosity. In fact, the inquisitiveness of young minds is often diminished by instruction that inadvertently discourages inquiry and discovery. Building lessons one step at a time stimulates students' minds and fosters interest. This is why the VIRTmac motto is "If you build it they will learn". Assigning textbook readings before, during and after lessons that involve manipulative models allows students to develop a critical skill of converting written text into clear, understandable pictures. Students will tell you they can see the pictures in their head months and years after being taught with the manipulative models. In the past, students have rarely been encouraged to use scientific method to solve problems relevant to their personal experience. Tools like manipulative models are designed to change the way students are taught to approach science, and encourage them to become an active participant in the learning process. As one biology student said when using the VIRTmac model, "I understood biology for the first time because I [could] see the cell parts moving." Having the ability to touch and manipulate teaching tools can have a major effect on a student's ability to comprehend difficult topics.
Using the VIRTmac Lesson Plan to Teach Mitosis
The VIRTmac Mitosis lesson plan is easy and fun to teach. Using the DNA nucleotides provided in the kit, teachers will build two homologous chromosomes. Teachers can then unzip and replicated the chromosomes, using four different enzymes and DNA nucleotides. Students will be able to watch as the duplicated chromosomes become bonded together via a centromere. Teachers are able to manipulate the duplicated chromosomes through each stage of mitosis, including cytokenisis.
The Vision Behind Hands-On Instruction
There are three main beliefs associated with hands-on learning. These are that:
Thinking skills, especially those that require a higher understanding, must be learned through practice and participation.
A curriculum that includes hands-on activities is well suited to scientific learning.
Learning assessment can and should be built into the process of instruction, not just the final analysis of a student's understanding.
If biology students are provided access to meaningful, engaged scientific lesson plans, they will stand a much greater chance of staying engaged and interested in classroom instruction.
