Hands-on learning is a great tool to use with students. Hands-on learning is when children can physically experience information. Examples are use of games, role plays, building, and creating. These methods engage both the right and left hemisphere of the brain and incorporates various learning types.
Let’s say you have your students break into small groups and create roles plays. Children will do the following: Create props (Visual learning), Write a dialogue (Verbal learning), Act (Physical learning), Create a story line (Logical learning), Work in groups (Social Learning). Children may choose to incorporate music in their role play (Auditory learning). Some groups may choose to delegate one specific role such as the Prop manager (Intrapersonal learning).
Hands-on learning can be done individually, but is really effective when done in small groups.
Why not try both in the classroom? We will show you how below.
How to apply it
- Tell students they will learn about communication skills in this activity.
- Pick a topic or lesson (examples are below) …
- Manners
- How to count to 15
- Have the students work individually to create a game that would…
- Teach preschoolers certain manners
- Teach preschoolers to count to 15
- Give students time to create their game individually
- Then break students into groups of 3 or 4
- Have students combine their ideas to create one game.
- Have each group play their game with the class.
- Create a discussion by asking students if they liked creating the game individually or in groups.
