The second most important decision is how and when hands-on learning will happen in your course. This decision needs to be made early in the course design process because it impacts scheduling, assignments, grading, and course policies. You should carefully consider details like how much time there is for activities in each class period, the arrangement of chairs and tables in the room, and the number and size of student groups.
Hands-on activity lesson planning needs to happen with the overall course lesson plan in mind. Will you use hands-on learning in every class period or once or twice a week? Will there be in-class lectures or a flipped classroom, with lectures or readings outside of class? In Soil Fertility, hands-on learning happened once a week, on Fridays. When you consider the placement of the activity within the semester, ensure sufficient scaffolding around hands- on learning activities. Hands-on learning activities can reintroduce and reinforce content from lectures and assigned readings earlier in the week or can be used to introduce a concept in preparation for readings and lectures.
In some situations, the hands-on learning activity may stand alone without any additional instruction, but this is rare and is not appropriate for the most crucial course concepts.
How much time things will take and how much content to cover is hard to answer if you have never taught the material in a hands-on learning lesson.
A general rule you can use is to assume an activity will take twice as long 102 | Fun Fridays
as you expect it to take. After you have taught an exercise once, you will be better able to gauge how much time it will take in the future. Until then, have a general plan for how you might shorten the activity or lesson by a few minutes if it is running long. You could plan an alternative ending activity, reduce the closing debrief section, or allow students to finish the remaining work at home and submit it in an alternative manner. Another option is to complete the activity in the next class period or provide a video, hand-out, or reading that allows students to learn the remaining content at home. You should also plan to have extra activities or content if the activity goes faster than expected or for students who finish more quickly than their classmates. Prepare about 25% additional content or activities that you don’t think you will realistically finish. The supplementary material is useful for extra practice problems or future assessments if you don’t use it in class.
Individual self-paced activities, as opposed to group assignments, are more time flexible. Students who finish quickly can leave, but students who take more time or need more help can continue working without pressure to keep up.
The way hands-on learning will be graded and how it contributes to the final course grade will influence how well it works. It might seem that grading hands-on learning will detract from the value of learning in hands- on lessons, but it helps students buy into the experience. Emphasize the importance you place on hands-on learning in a context that the students will understand: grades. Imagine that your students are your employees, and you pay them in points toward their final grades in exchange for class activities and assignments. They will prioritize what you value, and grades communicate to students what you view as valuable. When calculating the total grade proportion from hands-on learning, consider the amount of in-person class time you will spend on hands-on learning, both in-class and out of class, and the amount of time needed for other class activities.
Making hands-on learning worth as much or more than more traditional assessments communicates to students that you want this to be important in this class. Hands-on learning activities can be graded based on participation or correctness, or some combination. When hands-on learning is graded based on attendance and participation in hands-on activities, there are no grades attached to the quality or accuracy of students’ products or work.
Grading for participation and engagement, rather than correctness, lowers the stakes for students uncertain about hands-on learning, allows you to give them more challenging activities, and often does not require as much effort
to grade. It also lowers the stakes and provides more flexibility to you, as the teacher, if new hands-on lessons do not go as intended or expected. But you will need to use other assessments to assess their knowledge and skills.
The other option is to grade the accuracy and quality of products created by students during hands-on learning. If you do this, you need to provide sufficient time, resources, and instruction for students to feel like they can be successful. Either follow the same grading criteria every week or clearly communicate your expectations at the start of each activity.
Finally, think about the logistics of how hands-on learning will work in your specific classroom. Evaluate and decide how to use group work; use the chairs, table, and space within the physical classroom; and what other resources you will need. Hands-on learning can be done individually, in small groups, or in some situations as an entire class. Groups can be self- selected or assigned, permanent or flexible, and each has pros and cons. It is easy to switch between individual and group work throughout the semester, but it is easier to form groups, in the same way, all semester long. The physical arrangement of your room has a significant impact on the amount of active learning that can happen. But don’t let traditional lecture room set-ups stop you from using active learning in your class. If possible, move the furniture or allow students to spread out throughout the entire space (sitting on the floor or auditorium stage, or in the aisles). You can also utilize virtual spaces to collaborate when a physical setting does not easily allow it. What technology and tools will you use in hands-on learning? Students can work on physical paper hand-outs and refer to reference books, or they could be collaboratively working on a class document and referring to web resources. Students need to know at the beginning of the semester and before each hands-on learning class, what technology they will need to bring to participate.
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Diversity
Hands-on learning can be more inclusive of diverse student learning modes and levels of experience. However, it is not inclusive of students that need to be absent from classes for excused
(student-athletes, student contents, and competitions, field trips, or conferences) or unexcused (illness, emergency, or choice) reasons.
Instead of trying to replicate the in-class experience, design alternative activities that can be completed individually but incorporate some of the same hands-on elements. Examples of alternative hands-on assignments I used were attending guest lectures and seminars, designing an infographic, or writing a reflection of how the course connects to the conference or job interview. Alternative assignments can also help students who are not comfortable sharing their reasons for being absent.