Sadly, hands-on learning challenges the status quo of higher education teaching, even in applied science fields. So, you will likely encounter objections or concerns about the adoption of hands-on learning. Here are some of the common objections to hands-on learning and how you might respond.
“We won’t be able to cover as much content.” No, you won’t. But in today’s digitally connected world, delivering content is not as important as teaching students about context, critical thinking, and application, which hands-on
learning does very well. Hands-on learning can do a better job helping students understand how to use and apply information in settings similar to what they might face outside of the classroom.
“It takes too long to create practical hands-on activities. I could prepare and lecture on twice as much content in the same amount of time.” Maybe.
Both hands-on learning activities and good lectures take hours to develop the first time but are reused every year with small revisions or modifications.
And the amount of time that goes into creating and teaching an excellent lecture class that engages and challenges students and helps them retain information is probably similar to the amount of time it takes to develop a good hands-on learning lesson. The difference in the amount of time it takes to develop hands-on learning activities likely comes from the teacher’s skill and comfort level with hands-on learning, compared to lecture-based teaching. With time and experience, it gets easier to create hands-on learning activities.
“How do I know they’re learning what I want them to be learning in a hands-on activity?” The sarcastic answer to this is, “how do you know they’re learning what you want them to learn from a lecture?” Exams and homework often show that students do not learn what we want them to from lectures, readings, and other class activities. But with hands-on learning, you have direct evidence of what students are learning at the moment. The real concern behind this question likely is, “How do I design hands-on activities to guide students to learning what I want them to know?” and hopefully, resources like this book will help answer those questions.
“Students don’t like it and won’t do it.” Students will also say they don’t like hands-on learning. When students in an introductory physics class were taught using both lecture and hands-on learning techniques, students overwhelmingly said they enjoyed and learned more from lectures than hands-on learning, despite their grades showing the opposite (Deslauriers et al., 2019). In the beginning, you can expect some degree of resistance or lack of engagement from students for hands-on learning. When facing resistance from students be understanding that hands-on learning might be uncomfortable for some students but be clear on your expectations and use an intervention like Deslauries et al. (2019) at the beginning of the semester. After a few weeks of hands-on learning, most students will be more comfortable with hands-on learning.
114 | Fun Fridays
“I don’t have the resources to do hands-on-learning.” Hands-on learning is a frame of mind about teaching, not a physical requirement. With a little bit of creativity, you can do a lot with the most limited resources. Utilize chairs, tables, whiteboards, computer projectors, and any basic office supplies you have access to. You can ask students to bring their own devices and use free or inexpensive digital resources. Ask colleagues or friends if you can borrow equipment or supplies. If you cannot demonstrate an experiment or activity, there are likely online videos you can show instead and then have students practice interpreting the results of the experiment. Inexpensive poster board and colored markers were all students needed for a hands-on activity where they learned about nutrient cycles in Soil Fertility (figure 6.1).
Figure 6.1 Diagram of manganese nutrient cycle drawn on a poster board by two students during hands-on learning activity in Soil Fertility.
“If students can learn on their own, then what is my purpose?” This is a question no one feels comfortable saying but some of us might relate to. Subject novices can get lost in the weeds, miss the context, have misconceptions or make mistakes, and the guidance of a teacher can prevent, smooth, or reduce these bumps in the learning process. More experienced teachers will have years of stories and experiences in their
field to incorporate into realistic hands-on learning activities. And newer teachers will be able to relate to the struggles of mastering the course content and be able to learn along with the students. But, for teachers who view their value to their students only as their accumulation of knowledge on a subject, student-guided hands-on learning threatens their self-worth.
Experienced teachers can create practical, challenging, and engaging hands- on activities from their ideas, knowledge, and more expansive teaching practice.