As a new teacher, I thought that “hands on” learning was a great goal. But a mentor pointed out:
Aiming for “hands-on” can lead to “brains-off” activities.
She explained that hands-on activities often sacrifice high levels of thinking so that kids can cut, color, glue, and build.
A simple worksheet (with great questions) can reach higher levels of thinking than a building task allows for.
I scanned my room in horror.
Example: Layers of Earth
My students made a “hands-on” version of the Earth to show its layers. They used half a styrofoam ball and labeled the core, mantle, and crust.
And that’s where the thinking ended! They listed the layers.
Plus it took us two weeks. I could have checked for that understanding in two minutes. (And now what am I going to do with 36 styrofoam balls!?)
Then I would have had time to ask questions like:
Imagine each layer of the Earth is a character from a story we’ve read. Which character would match up with each of the layers?
A plain old worksheet is perfect for this! And then, we could turn it into a skit, comic, presentation, stop motion animation, etc. By planning the thinking first, I would have had time for a high-level “hands-on” project.
But instead I started with the hands-on project, wasted a ton of time, and limited my students to listing layers.
Example: The Solar System
In 3rd grade, we learned about the planets. My students built a model of the planets in order. Again, we had stopped at the bottom of Bloom’s Taxonomy. And it took up SO MUCH TIME.
I could have asked questions like:
- Which planet is most under-appreciated?
- Which planet is overrated? (Can’t pick Earth haha)
- The moon wants to change planets, which planet would it want to orbit?
These are brains-on questions – even though the answer is just written on a worksheet. Plus, we could take students’ answers and turn them into all sorts of interesting products.
I’d love to see a skit in which each student is a planet arguing how it’s the least appreciated. Much better than 36 identical models of the solar system!
Example: Units of Volume
As we learned about the units for measuring volume, my students constructed Gallon Man!
But this “hands on” task limited my students’ thinking. My most brilliant mathematician could only show me that there are 4 quarts in a gallon. And it would take 100 hours of class time to finish.
What if I had asked:
Which unit of volume should we remove? What would be the consequences?
Then we’d make an advertisement to convince people to remove pints or cups. Write a motto! Build out your argument. Use persuasive techniques. Film a commercial!
Gallon Man was “hands-on,” but it limited my students’ thinking. By starting with a worksheet (with a few great questions), my brightest kids’ minds could stretch and stretch.
Example: My Own Kid
In kindergarten, my child already knew his numbers past 20. But his teacher made him glue buttons onto a worksheet! He had to glue one button on the number 1, two buttons on 2, all the way up to 8 buttons on the number 8!
These hands-on activities led to behavior problems because he was SO BORED. Plus, my kid hates gluing tiny things. (So do I! Lots of students dislike these “decoration” activities.)
But he would LOVE to discuss which number is best, or what’s the most interesting way to get to 9, or why subtraction is more important than addition. Questions that get his brain going reduce his behaviors because, well, he’s actually interested!
So, plan for the thinking first. Ask high-level questions (aim for Analyze!). Use a plain old piece of paper so students can focus on their ideas. Then, plan the product to show off students’ thinking.
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