Benefits of Hands On Learning in the Classroom

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No matter what age group you are teaching, there are numerous benefits that come from having a hands-on curriculum. What this essentially means is that aspects of your teaching, and aspects of the learning in your classroom should involve allowing the students to work with their hands, learning as they explore. This might mean working on a computer, doing math problems on the board rather than in a notebook, playing with science tools or making art. However you look at it, you can take the education that you are imparting on your students to a completely different level when you allow them to work with their hands in the classroom.

As a teacher in a classroom, it is largely within your power to direct the learning of your students in any way that you choose. You have the power to give your students a creative, interactive, hands on learning style that they can use to develop a better understanding of the class material as well as a greater appreciation for the subject. Hands on learning is a great way to help students with subjects that they struggle with, and so it is a great way to keep your students engaged and ensure that they are learning to their full potential in your classroom.

Experiment with different teaching and learning styles in your classroom and your students will flourish as a result. Take advantage of the control that you have in the classroom and use your distinct teaching style to help your students perform at their very best.

Learning Assessment In The Classroom

The assessment of learning in the classroom, allows teachers to understand what their students are learning and the best methods to use to teach them.  The information gathered through classroom assessment, can help teachers plan and modify their teaching methods, monitor student progress, and identify strengths and weaknesses.  It can also determine whether students are prepared for important placement tests, such as the SAT’s, and help students improve their own performance in the classroom.
Classroom assessments help students realize what is important in the learning process and what is expected of them.
Teachers need to consider several things while planning assessments.  They need to determine what their learning goals are, decide what the assessment strategy should be, and take into account what evidence would prove that students were reaching the learning goals of the classroom.
The assessment strategy needs to be planned in the context of classroom instruction and each assessment should be designed around each particular learning experience.  Properly chosen, well developed assessments will give teachers the best information on how much their students have learned.  Assessments should be designed around what goals and outcomes the teacher has for the students and how to measure those outcomes to determine that they have learned the material.  Assessments should be pertinent to what was taught in the classroom and relevant to the student’s real world experiences.
There are multiple ways to assess student learning and using several methods will give the best results.  No single assessment will work in all situations. Each has its own strengths and weakness and each will give different evidence of what was learned.  Since  each student learns and tests differently, using multiple forms of assessment will allow for the best results and give each student a chance to prove what they‘ve learned in the way best suited to their individual learning style.

Help Your Child To Be A Self-Advocate

With budget cuts happening in many of the schools districts around the country, students are in danger of getting lost in the crowd.  You can help your child become a better self-advocate in the classroom by teaching him how to communicate his needs, goals, and attributes.
Before children can tell others about what they want and what they have to offer, they have to first understand themselves.  They need to discover their own strengths and weaknesses on a physical, social, and academic level and how these things can impact their success in the classroom.  This type of self-analysis may be hard for many children, and you may have to look for input from teachers to help with this step.  Teachers often comment on how their students are doing on report cards.  You can also use the critical analysis on your child’s graded work.  Using a teachers input this way may help the child better understand how he is doing in the classroom. Once it is determine where your child might be struggling, you can help him set specific goals to work on those areas.  Keep the goals narrow and focused so he doesn’t feel overwhelmed by them.  Writing the goals down will keep your child accountable and help him feel that he is in control of the outcome.
Once your child is aware of some of the challenges he is facing concerning his education, you can look for resources to help him overcome them.  These could be after school tutoring, peer tutoring, extra library time, or classroom websites that offer additional study aids.  Keep your child involved in searching out and taking advantage of these sources.  The resources that he is most comfortable with, will be the most beneficial to him.  Like the list of goals, keeping your child involved will keep him accountable for his education.