Ask The Experts: How Can Hands-On Learning Enrich A Child's Education?

Q: How can hands-on learning enrich a child’s education? 

A: “Hands-on learning is basically doing real things,” says Darci Sanders, nature-based learning coordinator at Gilmour Academy. “When you’re ‘hands-on,’ it’s hands-on, minds-on and your whole body is on. There’s also a lot of ownership because you kind of have to take some initiative, so it’s much harder to sit back and hide in the back of the room and there’s much less desire to. In general, I can’t think of a better way to encourage student engagement in their own learning. Students that otherwise may just sit in a classroom, bored, staring out into space, are suddenly engaged and actively participating in the learning process. And in some cases, they don’t even feel like they’re learning — it feels like fun.”