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Hello, my name is Sofia, and this is currently my second semester in the education program. As a future elementary teacher, something that I am curious is how technology can be used inside the science classroom. Would students benefit more from class experiments or watching videos of the experiments? Since now a day’s students are taking online classes, do they prefer in class experiments and interactions? I personally liked and had lots of fun dissecting and attending science fairs in school.
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Hi, Sophia!
I am currently in my second semester of grad school and am not yet currently a teacher. Sounds like you and I are in the same boat! Hope things are going well for you!
I am not sure that I am the best to give advice, but thought I might be a little help! Personally, I think it would be beneficial to do both online and in-person experiments and interactions! As far as I have learned, especially with the age we are currently in, online is going to be something that students need familiarity with in all subjects and aspects of life. However, I think it is also so important for students to get that hands-on experience! I think it can really drive a lesson home. Seeing an experiement done online and having students actually perform it would also meet the needs for both visual and kinesthetic learners!
Hope this is helpful in some way! You will be a great teacher!!
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Hi Sofia,
I appreciate your post because I'm wondering the same thing. I'm currently in my fourth semester in the education program at FIU. While I've had some experience in the classroom then I have observed other classroom teachers and before the pandemic I was a Science and Math tutor for 4th and 5th graders. Personally, I think students would benefit from doing class experiments opposed to watching videos because then they're more engaged with the lesson and that's how they learn the concepts that are included in the science experiements. I'm a visual learner and I love watching videos but when it comes to science experiments then I would love to do a hands-on science experiment instead of watching it because it takes the fun away from doing the experiment and I lose interest. Now, when thinking about a child then I imagine that they would feel the same where the fun is taken out of actually doing the experiment and as a teacher then you'd worry more about whether students are engaged or learning the same amount of information as they do when doing the experiment inside the classroom. A suggestion might be to have students watch the video at the end of the lesson as a closing activity because then you can have students make comparisons between the video and what they did and then have like a group discussion at the end of the lesson. A great way to incorporate technology in the science classroom is to find a short YouTube video that briefly discusses the science concept that might grab the student's attention and then that way you have technology and it's not taking away from the fun and creative process students are engaged in when doing experiments inside the classroom. I'm curious to see what others have to say and thank you for starting this conversation!
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Hi Sofia! Just like you stated in your post I also used to love doing classroom experiments. I personally believe that technology should be incorporated in the classroom however, there should be a balance between interactions and technology. Science is one of those subjects that the more interaction and experiences you have the more you will understand it. Technology can be incorporated to introduce topics or give examples but I think that experiments should be kept as hands-on experiences as much as possible. This will allow the students to have personal connections to the material which I think will help them build a better understanding or the content.
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Hi Sofia! For starters, I am also in the final semesters of my education program, and this is also something that I have been wondering about! From what I have learned throughout my education courses and observing real classrooms and students, I would say that technology is definitely a tool that can be used as leverage in students' learning, but it should be used strategically and together with hands-on learning. We live in an evolving technological world where the students we will be working with will most likely be more tech-savvy than us! For this reason, I do think that technology should be used in the classroom; for example, you could use YouTube videos or online lab manipulatives/simulations as an introduction or closing activity to a science lesson. However, I do think that hands-on learning is the most effective way to teach science. Personally, I am someone who learns by doing, and I am sure that most students also appreciate it when they are able to engage in a classroom investigation or activity where they can take the role of a real scientist. Even though this might be difficult to do because of COVID and its effect on distance learning, I think we should still try our best to engage our students in hands-on and inquiry-based experimentation. This could be done by having them explore the world around them; for instance, if they are at home, you could ask them to look outside or in their house for evidence of different scientific phenomenons and then build a science lesson around what they observe (have them discuss and collect real evidence).
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Hi Sofia,
Thank you for your post. There is much research on the impact on virtual labs/manipulatives out there. I have used simulations and virtual labs in my in-person classroom for labs that we wouldn't normally be able to do because of cost of resources or safety. My opinion is if you can, AND its appropriate for the learning experience, do hands on experiments. For those who are teaching kids online you may not have a choice. Some people have used online labs/simulations very successfully. Some people have combined online labs/simulations with other methods of getting some kind of hands on experience. Here is a great article you might like: https://www.nsta.org/science-scope/science-scope-novemberdecember-2020/conducting-science-labs-virtual-world.
I wonder if anyone else has any thoughts?
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Hi Sofia,
I mentioned this in a different forum, but I would say that I am a hands-on learner. I am in a science classroom for my student teaching this year, and we try to baance between doing science experiments and just using regular technology or science workbook for instruction. I will say that my students tend to enjoy doing hands-on things. When I recently gave a lesson that required them to look in different books to find animal adaptations, they LOVED it. So, to answer your question, I think that having a balance is definitely important but I think that science experiments can be more fun and engaging. However, you do have to keep in mind the pricing for instruction.
Hope this helps!
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Hi Sofia!
From my experience, both as a student and through observations of elementary students through my education program, I believe that hands-on activities should always be part of classroom instruction. Hands-on activities keep students actively engaged while learning or enforcing new material. As an adult, I still get excited to participate in hands-on model lessons in my education courses. Learning topics through building, dissecting, and modeling science is fun for students. However, planing and completing hands-on lessons can be time-consuming and messy. Online science labs and activities are great alternatives. Students today are constantly engaged in technology. Another way you can offer students a fun engaging way to learn science that isn't messy is with online labs and activities. There are so many online programs that can be used in the science period. A balance between online activities and hands-on experiments is the best way to keep students constantly engaged and eager to learn.
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