Hands-on Learning
Hands-on learning is a crucial component of my science classroom. In my classroom, I frequently use laboratory activities and demonstrations. Hands-on learning activities allow students to practice and demonstrate their skills as a scientist. Hands-on learning activities help students develop an understanding of the content and apply what they learned in class. My students have expressed tremendous joy over hands-on learning experiences. I typically have 100% engagement during hands learning activities and no classroom management issues, this creates an environment that fosters learning. Hands-on activities are the optimal way to teach certain topics in science because they make the content come alive. My goal as a teacher is to implement at least one hands-on activity a week in my class.
DNA Extraction Laboratory Activity
In this video, my students are participating in a DNA extraction laboratory activity. Prior to this activity, students had extracted DNA from strawberries and they were fascinated. I choose to implement this lab to carter to my students' interests, develop an understanding of DNA, practice and apply science skills. We completed the strawberry DNA extraction lab together as a class. This lab built upon our previous lab students completed this lab independently demonstrating that they can apply the skills that they learned in the previous lab. Students learned that DNA is found every cell whether its a strawberry or a cell from our body by extracting and observing DNA from various cells.
​
This is a 10th-grade student holding DNA she extracted from a strawberry in a test tube. She will be applying the skills she learned in this lab in a future to independently extract DNA from a cheek cell in her mouth.
This lab was completed independently by students demonstrating that they can apply the lab skills we practiced together in the strawberry DNA extraction lab. This lab further developed my students' understanding of DNA, its function, structure, and shape by extracting and observing DNA from their mouths.
Diffusion and Osmosis Lab
In this activity, my students are engaging in a series of hands-on investigations to observe diffusion and osmosis. Diffusion was a difficult topic for my students to grasp initially but by implementing these hands-on investigations my students developed an understanding of diffusion and osmosis. This investigation shown are skittles on a Petri dish with water. Over time the skittles begin to dissolve and diffuse into the water. The separation of colors lasts temporarily, eventually, the colors move into different areas of low concentration causing the colors to mix. Hands-on learning was the optimal way for my students to develop their understanding of this topic because it allowed them to observe diffusion happening.
​
​
This artifact shows the lab my students participated in. 5 skittles can be observed on the Petri dish emanating from each skittle is the sugar diffusing into an area of low concentration.
Please click this link to see my students engaging in the diffusion lab.
This is artifact is the lab questions my students completed they participated in the diffusion and osmosis lab. Observing osmosis and diffusion occurring developed my students' understanding of these processes. Answering the lab questions challenged students to apply the knowledge they gathered during the lab. This activity was the best way for my students to learn that in nature substances naturally move from areas of high concentration to areas of low concentration.
Yeast Fermentation Demonstration
I use demonstrations for a variety of reasons: the cost of individual laboratory supplies is too much, the activity presents a potential risk for danger, the skills required are outside of my students' capabilities, and to promote observation skills. To make my demonstrations more engaging I invite students to be my laboratory assistants and take a hands-on role in the demonstration. I leverage laboratory assistant positions to incentive classwork and good behavior, which makes my class run smoother giving more time to help my students develop understanding.
Please click this link to see my 10th-grade biology students participating in a fermentation demonstration.
https://www.torshtalent.com/video/ynezjNcjTSJ3RtXXj
In this video, I have three research assistants helping me create four different environments for yeast. The demonstration illustrated the concept that yeast needs sugar and heat to start fermentation. This was seen as the balloon began to fill as oxygen was released from fermentation. The demonstration developed my students understanding of the requirements fermentation. Students observed yeast in various environments. Only one environment, the one with food (sugar) and heat (warm water), was conducive to yeast fermentation. My students applied their knowledge yeast fermentation on their chapter assessment as they described environments that would be suitable for yeast fermentation to occur.
This artifact is two student work samples from a demonstration that I did with my 7th-grade science students. My students were observing food color diffuse into the water. Students described how the food coloring slowly spread throughout the water. Students built upon on their answer to include a new vocabulary word kinetic energy. Students observed first to develop their understanding of kinetic energy and then applied their understanding of kinetic by using it to describe the movement of the food coloring.