Hands-on learning is a style of education in which students learn through doing rather than listening to a teacher to tell them about a subject. For example, students learn math concepts by working through and solving math problems instead of listening to a teacher tell them how to do it. There are many creative ways to employ this strategy in education, and it has valuable benefits for students. Continue reading to learn the top six benefits of a hands-on learning approach.
Hands-on Learning Is an Alternative Learning Method
There are many different learning methods, and every student is different. However, nearly all students can benefit from a hands-on approach. For example, one study shows that students who experience science understand it better and score higher on exams. This concept can be applied to science experiments as well as solving math equations.
This approach to learning is engaging and creates an opportunity for active learning. When teachers lecture students and send them home to do homework, they can lose as much as 60% of the class. Some students are visual learners, others are auditory learners, and others thrive in combining these two styles. Hands-on learning offers an opportunity to reach all students by having them actively engage with the material.
Another name for hands-on learning is experiential learning, and when this alternative learning method is available to students, it can complement the rest of their learning experience. Students get an opportunity to take the information they have read, seen, or heard, and can put it into practice. It allows them to learn by making mistakes, which is an effective tool for many. In fact, another study shows that 5% of students retain lectures, while 75% retain the information they learn by doing.
Having this alternative method of learning available for students allows more students to engage, and it offers an opportunity for success to those who do not learn as well by listening to lectures or doing homework on their own. There is no mold for the perfect teaching style, and including hands-on learning as a method that can benefit many different students.
Hands-on Learning Has a Higher Retention Rate
The Learning Pyramid was created by the National Training Laboratories in Betel, Maine. It shows how much students retain from different teaching methods. The pyramid is broken down into two halves, with the top half having passive teaching methods and the bottom half of the pyramid having active teaching methods.
Passive teaching methods include the following with the following retention rates:
- Lecture: 5%
- Reading: 10%
- Audio-visual: 20%
- Demonstration: 30%
Active teaching methods include the following with the following retention rates:
- Group discussion: 50%
- Practice by doing: 75%
- Teaching others: 90%
Hands-on learning has one of the highest retention rates of any teaching method. The benefit to students is that they learn material more effectively to progress in the subject area, and they have an easier understanding of the material as they move forward in their education. They can apply this knowledge to new concepts, and they become more successful based on this retention.
Related: The Value of Hands on Experience in the Classroom
The reality is that the more abstract a concept is, the harder it is to retain. By finding ways to apply abstract concepts in a hands-on situation, students can have higher retention rates and develop a deeper understanding of the concepts. Students are able to retain more abstract ideas when they practice hands-on learning.
Hands-on Learning Helps Students Develop Critical Thinking Skills
One of the great things about hands-on learning is that students have to make decisions on the spot as they carry out a process. During a lecture or a test, students rely on their memories to answer questions. However, when they are engaged in experiential learning, they must base their next move on what happened in the current action.
For example, if a student is learning about chemical reactions, they can go through the process of seeing what happens. The student needs to decide the next step based on what is happening in the previous step. This requires critical thinking skills rather than rote skills.
Related: What are the Importance and Benefits of “Critical Thinking Skills”?
Critical thinking skills are valuable and help students to become successful in life. No matter what they are doing, they can do it better if they have a deeper understanding of the entire process and what happens. In addition to having a better understanding of the material, this helps develop a student’s confidence in his or her ability to succeed.
There are other benefits to developing critical thinking skills. Because it helps students develop a deeper understanding of subject matter, it increases their curiosity. These critical thinking skills become a part of who they are, and they can easily apply them to topics outside of school. They might meet someone from another country, and they can apply critical thinking skills to understand that this person has a different culture. This leads to curiosity, which leads to learning and understanding. In essence, critical thinkers are more open-minded.
Critical thinkers also have more creativity. They are able to explore unique options for problem-solving. They will ask more questions about a topic, and rather than relying on what they already know, they can use their creativity to come up with potential solutions. This can lead to a solution that is outside the box yet more effective than known possibilities.
Finally, developing critical thinking skills takes a student far beyond their school years. These students become more independent, and they are actually developing life skills that can apply to all topics across the board. They will have the tools to develop a deeper understanding of what they study in school, but they will also be able to apply these skills in everyday life.
Hands-on Learning Can Help Students Gain Experience for Their Careers
There are some classes that help students to prepare for a career when they graduate from school. Hands-on learning provides them with an opportunity to practice the skills that they will need before they are on the job. This gives them a leg up when they want to get a job.
For example, art students develop a portfolio while they are in school. They do not spend their school years listening to lectures and learning about artists alone; they have to create many of their own works of art as part of their coursework. When they graduate, they will have a portfolio showing their unique style to prospective employers and clients.
Some students take auto mechanic classes in school and they also have the benefit of hands-on learning. They are able to learn how to take a car apart and reassemble it by actually taking the car apart and reassembling it. This helps to solidify the general makeup of the car in their minds.
Students who want to become doctors spend four years in medical school and two years are spent practicing medicine under the supervision of doctors. Education programs often require students to intern in a school before they graduate. The different professional degrees show that hands-on learning is a valuable part of gaining experience in a field before you start working on your own unsupervised.
There is no denying that hands-on learning helps students gain understanding of how to do certain things. They will understand it and better know how to do it than they would if they simply learned about it from a lecture or by reading a book. Although students take many courses that they may not return to after they graduate, they will learn important skills and valuable information that will likely stay with them longer if they have been involved in hands-on learning experiences.
Hands-on Learning Is More Fun
Some classes help students to prepare for a career when they graduate from school. Hands-on learning allows them to practice the skills they will need before they are on the job. This gives them a leg up when they want to get a job.
For example, art students develop a portfolio while they are in school. They do not spend their school years listening to lectures and learning about artists alone; they have to create many of their works of art as part of their coursework. When they graduate, they will have a portfolio showing their unique style to prospective employers and clients.
Some students take auto mechanic classes in school, and they also have the benefit of hands-on learning. They can learn how to take a car apart and reassemble it by taking the car apart and reassembling it. This helps to solidify the general makeup of the car in their minds.
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Related: Edgar Dale’s Cone of Learning
Students who want to become doctors spend four years in medical school, and two years are spent practicing medicine under doctors’ supervision. Education programs often require students to intern in a school before they graduate. The different professional degrees show that hands-on learning is a valuable part of gaining experience in a field before working on your own unsupervised.
There is no denying that hands-on learning helps students gain an understanding of how to do certain things. They will understand it and better know how to do it than if they learned about it from a lecture or by reading a book. Although students take many courses that they may not return to after they graduate, they will learn essential skills and valuable information that will likely stay with them longer if they have been involved in hands-on learning experiences.
Hands-on Learning Improves Attentiveness
Another benefit of hands-on learning is that it improves the attention span of children. The attention span is important for education because a child can concentrate. A child’s attention span determines whether they are actively engaged in learning or daydreaming and possibly disrupting the classmates.
According to studies, the average attention span for a seven-year-old child is between fourteen and twenty-five minutes, and it increases by between two and five minutes each year. It is important for teachers to find ways to help children remain engaged over a long school day.
When children are actively engaged in hands-on learning, they enjoy what they are doing and pay attention longer. They can retain more information and learn more if they participate in the learning process.
An interesting study found that the more concrete teachers can make learning, the more they learn and pay attention. Hands-on learning helps children pay attention because they are engaged in the process. This can extend the attention span so that children pay attention longer while they are learning.
Hands-on learning can make learning more productive because the child will remain engaged and learn more. Hands-on learning can expand a student’s attention span
Final Words
Hands-on learning is a type of learning that allows students to participate in the learning process. It is an active form of learning called experiential learning because the students learn by doing. Rather than listening to a teacher lecture or reading a book, the students become a part of the process.
There are many benefits to hands-on learning. Students retain material better this way, and it helps them to develop critical thinking skills. In addition, students can get practical hands-on experience for their careers. When students engage in hands-on learning, they pay attention longer and enjoy learning, leading to greater retention.
By increasing retention, hands-on learning helps students understand new concepts more deeply, and they can take their knowledge with them as they advance in school. This active teaching method is beneficial to many students because it allows them to become more engaged and interested in what they are learning. As a result, hands-on learning is an excellent active teaching method that helps children learn
Hey, I’m Kris Taylor. I’m a Learning and Development professional currently in the healthcare field, with over 8 years of experience in the area of corporate education. I have created numerous instructional content for various corporate projects including eLearning, in-person facilitation, and virtual training across a wide variety of learning interventions and sectors. On Taughtup, I discuss topics ranging from how to succeed through K-12 to college all the way to instructional design tips for L&D designers.
