As I have started my research, I have begun to wonder what helps students learn about science the most and what makes learning more fun for them, and keeps students more involved in the learning process that goes on.
Do science projects/experiments help kids learn more about science?
Do kids learn better when they are using the "hands on" type of learning style or do they learn better from the traditional way of learning? Do science projects/experiments make it more fun for the students to learn about the science they are studying? How does using these techniques make students more involved in the projects/experiments that could sometimes be boring if they were just learning the "traditional" way?
Interesting idea, though it feels like a big question to answer given our limited time. Have you thought about ways to narrow your topic down to a specific instance of learning? For example: finding if experiments make them more interested in science overall or if they create an interest in their immediate environment (i.e. whether they stay at one and try to figure out how it works on a scientific level or if the kids move on to the next station). As for the “traditional’ way, I remember science class in grade school and middle school as boring lectures and a required (thus not very fun) science project. There wasn't much guidance and it made the class very uninteresting. This is an excellent topic for gathering data on the effect “hands on” experiments have on children’s perceptions of science and the Discovery Center is the best place to do it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jason. I'd narrow your topic down a a bit. Also, it's probably fair to say-- at the outset-- that science experiments do facilitate learning. Because of this, you might want consider HOW science experiments facilitate learning instead. It's a minor shift, but avoids yes/no answers.
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