Learning by Doing

3rd-century BC philosopher and teacher, Xun Kuang is known for the quote: “not hearing is not as good as hearing, hearing is not as good as seeing, seeing is not as good as knowing, knowing is not as good as acting; true learning continues until it is put into action,” which comes from Xunzi, an ancient Chinese collection of philosophical writings. Whittled down, this quote is often attributed to both Confucius and Benjamin Franklin, respectively, as “I see and I forget. I hear and I remember. I do and I understand” and “tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”

Regardless of the origin of the words, what the three quotes emphasize is, for centuries, and even for millennia, philosophers have observed the most effective form of learning is by doing.

A University of Chicago-led study found that “hands-on experiences may benefit students more than previously realized, particularly in the world of virtual laboratories and online learning. This may be especially true for the initial stages of learning and in areas of science education that lend themselves to physical experiences.” Professor Sian Beilock, co-author of the study, stated, “those students who physically experience difficult science concepts learn them better, perform better in class and on quizzes the next day, and the effect seems to play out weeks later, as well.”

During these challenging times, many students are away from their classrooms and parents are doing their best to work with teachers to continue to move forward with learning concepts through the end of the academic year. Thanks to a plethora of virtual learning programs available, our students are continuing to learn by hearing and seeing but are missing opportunities to learn by doing.

iSprowt puts learning by doing into practice. Students are led through hands-on experiments with easy-to-follow instructions and the materials for the experiments are either included in the iSprowt kit or can be found in most homes. Every month, students receive a new kit with new hands-on experiments and materials. A child who receives our awesome educational gifts for kids during their very first month of kindergarten will complete a minimum of 216 hands-on science experiments by the time they begin 6^th grade! We specialize in bringing scientific concepts to life. What could be more hands-on than that?

Due to COVID-19 related school closures we now offer the option to give educational gifts for kids through our Donate the Gift of STEM program. If you’d like to donate, visit the page here.