Hands-On Learning May Boost Science, Engineering Education, Study Finds.
Following a story reported in California's Imperial Valley News, the AP (1/30,Callahan) reports,
"Youngsters taught science in classes where the goal was todesign and build a device to perform a specific task scored significantly higheron a final test than students who got traditional classroom instruction,"according to a study from Purdue University. "The findings suggest that hands-on,problem-solving learning may have advantages over traditional lecture- andtextbook-based methods of teaching students about engineering and technology." Thestudy focused on students "who learned about the principles of water purificationand water quality in science classes." Those who learned mostly through hands-oninstruction, "working to design and build a water-purification device to makewater taken from the Wabash River suitable for drinking," had an average score onthe following test that was 20 points higher than those that learned throughtraditional instruction. Samantha A. Murray, "the American Society for Engineering Education's K-12 coordinator,"called the findings "timely and relevant," adding, "It hopefully will spuradditional research efforts focused on the use of hands-on projects to successfullyengage students in engineering concepts at an early age."
