Education -- Teaching Observations and Research Paper

The teacher explained that the use of a commercial science-teaching program that emphasized hands-on participation and active inquiry in its design had helped her achieve high levels of genuine interest among her students. The materials for this module consisted of individual sets for each group that were easily assembled into experimental designs utilizing different types of soil, inclined planes, and water dispensed through variable means to closely simulate natural erosion processes (Huber & Moore, 2001).

According to the teacher, the use of the materials dramatically increased student interest and also subject matter retention of the same Earth Science concepts that are typically the subject of passive learning via textbook reading assignments and lectures by teachers (Huber & Moore, 2001). The teacher credited the hands-on involvement as well as the design of the lessons to emphasize critical thinking and inquiry-based analyses with the ability to sustain the high level of student interest.

The teacher also explained that much contemporary research in education has been dedicated to identifying and understanding the different types of human intelligences (Gardner, 1999). According to her, there are at least six other distinct types of intelligence besides the linguistic and mathematical aspects of intelligence that have been the primary focus of education for centuries. The hands-on Earth Science teaching method emphasizes several other types of human intelligence that enables the teacher to maintain higher levels of interests among many students.

References

Gardner H. (1999). Intelligence Reframed Multiple Intelligences for the 21st Century.

New York: Basic Books.

Huber RA and Moore CJ. "A model for extending hands-on science to be inquiry based" School Science…