This document discusses the benefits of hands-on learning and the author's teaching philosophy which is based on hands-on activities. It provides research showing that hands-on learning helps students better remember and apply knowledge. It also includes a pyramid showing higher retention rates from active learning methods. The author aims to test student skills before and after lessons to evaluate the impact of hands-on activities and influence other teachers to adopt these methods. The goals are for students to effectively learn through hands-on activities and projects, apply knowledge in various contexts, and demonstrate improved retention of information from assessments.

1. Teaching
Philosophy

2. Hands on Learning
How do people learn?
The approach to hands on learning…
“Students in a hands-on science program will remember the material
better, feel a sense of accomplishment when the task is completed,
and be able to transfer that experience easier to other learning
situations. When more than one method of learning is accessed as in
hands-on learning, the information has a better chance of being stored
in the memory for useful retrieval. Students who have difficulty in the
learning arena for reasons of ESL barriers, auditory deficiencies, or
behavioral interference can be found to be on task more often
because they are part of the learning process and not just spectators.
http://www.ncrel.org/
“According to a study featured in the North Central Regional
Educational Library, hands-on learning provides students with a way
to construct meaning and acquire understanding. For this reason,
teachers have made these traditional learning methods increasingly
important, made easier through key products.”
http://express-press-release.net

3. Facilitating
Learning
1. By providing lots of hands on activities
when teaching basic skills I believe the
children will be more likely to be able to
retrieve the information needed when it is
asked of them again.
2. By bringing knowledgeable experienced
people into the classroom to show the
children what they can achieve you allow the
children to see what hard work in education
can get you.
3. Allowing for fundraisers to pay for the field
trips which I feel should be mandatory to help
the child learn not only in the classroom but
the everyday world. Learning how to utilize

4. Teaching Methods
Why will I teach the way that I do?
After researching a couple different sites I complied a list of
things many other teachers use, that I find to be useful also and would use
in a classroom setting later on.
“Learning easels are often an impactful product to
use in classrooms. Karen Wood, 3rd grade teacher
of Newcastle Public School, says her classroom
easel is "Terrific, and my students are enjoying
having it in our classroom almost as much as I am.
This wonderful teaching tool really is ....making
teaching a little easier... and a lot more fun!! ”
http://express-press-release.net
I believe using easels or chalkboards in my classroom will boost
the overall excitement for solving problems on their own. By
sitting down and working the problem out in front of them they can
learn to try the problem first before asking for help and giving up.

5. Teaching Methods
“During literacy hour in Hicks's class at Blanchard
Elementary School in Cape Girardeau, Missouri,
students pair up and head to one of 16 "corners," or
centers, to tackle hands-on vocabulary, reading, and
math activities. In the ABC corner, students thumb
through clues to find mystery words. In the math
corner, students stack buttons, plastic fruit, and toy
bugs to create graphs. And in the spelling corner, they
manipulate alphabet puzzle shapes to piece together
vocabulary words.”
http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article
I would also like to use corners or stations to allow students
to create and learn, like the article says above, to allow the
students to be like their own teachers in a way. By letting
the child take charge and figure things out with their hands
the brain takes charge and allows for instant learning and
recognition for later.
“"Hands-on activities mean students have objects
(both living and inanimate) directly available for
investigation" (Meinhard, 1992, p. 2).”
http://www.ncrel.org

6. Teaching Methods
The following is a pyramid
from the National Training
Laboratories in Bethel,
Maine. It is the average
Retention rate of children
polled.
I based my teaching
Philosophy off of this chart,
I feel like it most expresses
how I feel a classroom
should be taught and
organized.
Since the child retains the
least amount of
information during lecture
that would be the area one
should focus on least and
so on and so forth.
In order to keep attention
and promote earning in the
classroom we should

7. Testing of Skills
How will I know my ideas are working?
“A new study by Purdue University has shed
some light on how to most effectively engage students in
technology and engineering at a young age. The study
took five classes of 8th graders in a rural Indiana school
and taught them about human impacts on water and water
quality through a traditional textbook and lecture method
and then compared their comprehension of those subjects
to another five classes of 8th graders from that school
who learned about water quality through engineering
design modules. The students in the latter group were
asked to build a water purification device as a way of
learning the concepts. The researchers found that
students who built the hands-on water purification system
had "a deeper understanding" of the concepts than the
students who had lecture-based lessons, especially in
students for whom English was not their first language.
Both groups—a total of 126 students—were tested before
they took the lessons and after they completed the unit.”
http://blogs.edweek.org
By testing my students level of intelligence with a basic skills
test of everything that will be taught that year, before the hands
on teaching, and then again after they have learned all of the
required skills, I can then apply my findings and compare test
scores and skill levels with another teachers classroom that
did not use hands on learning.

8. Student Goals
What goals will I have for my
students?
1. I would like my students to learn from the
curriculum I’ve created based on a hands
on learning approach.
2. I would like my students to think of the
classroom as not the only place to learn
and be hands on. There are many places
to learn, take something from every
experience you have.
3. I would like my students to be able to
retrieve various answers from the
beginning of the year all the way until the
end of the year based on the different
curriculum and teaching style.
4. I would like each of my students to be
able to pass the basic skills and

9. Teacher Goals
What are my future goals for growth
as a teacher?
1. To use the hands on learning
system as a tool and utilize it to help
students learn and retrieve
knowledge.
2. To take the initiate to change the
curriculum if for any reason the
lessons are no longer working for
students.
3. To be recognized for the teaching
methods based on the skills test
scores at the end of the year being
above average.
4. To influence the use of hands on
learning in every classroom to better
the overall grades and learning
abilities of each student.