Learning and Figuring

I believe the figuring things out approach best represents the latest research on how students learn science best.  You might find the figuring things out approach included in the “How Students Learn Science?” article because the hands on approach to teaching is engaging.  This approach gets students actively involved and questioning in order to to understand the phenomena.  I agree that it is important to show students that are multiple ways to solve problems.  The learning about approach to teaching science doesn’t express to students that there are many ways to solve a problem.  Using the figure out about method to teaching science showcases how one problem could be solved multiple ways.  Starting with a phenomena as the jumping off point gets students involved and doing/applying their reasoning right from the start.  Not only is this more engaging than simply reciting and memorizing facts and data but it gets kids questioning and thinking outside the box.  It shows kids that you don’t have to always be ‘right.’  Often learning occurs when something does not go as planned.  I believe this is an important life lesson for our students to learn.  Not only is this approach beneficial in the classroom but also in the real world.  Problem solving, persevering, identifying cause and effect relationships are all very important.