We’ve all been there—cuing up the video to show students as part of our lesson. Having the students view a read-aloud math teaching video or science experiment is often a way teachers provide students with a way to gain information on the knowledge and skills needed for the required curriculum learning standards. Following their viewing, we expect that they have a proficient understanding of what they saw and are prepared to complete a worksheet, response, or discussion based on this passive method of learning. But is this a helpful practice, or is there a better way?
Effects of the Pandemic
The closing of classroom doors in 2020 due to the pandemic caused teachers to find new ways to teach, with many of those being through online interactions, breakout rooms, and videos (Lucy 81). This began an explosion of YouTube videos and tutoring sessions through platforms like Zoom, making teaching accessible to as many students and families as possible (Kramer and Hicks 346). However, as students returned to the classroom, the trend did not reverse itself. While many teachers looked forward to real-time and in-person interactions with their students, many held on to some of the teaching methods that videos and online platforms provided to further students’ learning during these unprecedented times.
While many teachers looked forward to real-time and in-person interactions with their students, many held on to some of the teaching methods that videos and online platforms provided
I’m not saying this is a bad thing. Many great educational advances were made—were forced to be made—during these times, and continuing their use is appropriate when it has positive implications for the students being served. Videos can be interactive and engaging when used in a particular, planned way. What I am arguing for is the need for students to experience learning for themselves in a hands-on, active, and relational way so that they can experience growth, joy, and deeper connection to the subject matter and to the community in which they are learning.
History of Experiential Learning
Rather than students passively taking in information, the learning environments that emerge from this active way of thinking draw students to participate in their education
Experiential learning was first introduced during the progressive movement by educational leaders like John Dewey who advocated for students to be active and creative in problem solving and play under the supervision of a teacher who guides the learning environment (Beatty 424–25). Dewey believed that students learn from experiences, which support future learning and problem solving (Buethe 85). Theorists like Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky also stressed that knowledge, skills, and understanding are constructed through active experiences, collaboration, and engaging in dialogue during the learning process (Laurienti 4–5). Rather than students passively taking in information, the learning environments that emerge from this active way of thinking draw students to participate in their education by using materials, employing tools, encountering problems to be solved, and using abstract ideas in meaningful, hands-on experiences that can be applied and transferred to other situations and real-life contexts. We can see these ideas in action in inquiry-based learning, project-based learning, and hands-on curriculum approaches.
Read-Aloud Lesson
Imagine a classroom where a teacher has primary students sitting at their desks, watching on a screen the pictures from a story pan in and out as an undisclosed voice narrates the words that students may or may not be able to see. Perhaps this read-aloud serves as the context for students to complete a follow-up worksheet on making connections to self by writing some sentences and drawing a picture. In contrast, think about students gathering on the carpet and listening to a read-aloud story. The teacher has the ability to pause, point to text features and details in the pictures, ask comprehension questions, engage students in think-pair-shares or turn-and-talks, and have students share ideas before releasing them to individually complete the activity. While the same book and activity is used, in the latter scenario, the students are provided with individualized teaching, a chance to think about distinct aspects of the story, solidify their understanding, reflect on their learning, and be more prepared to complete the activity. While this can be done with a video (if planned well and if the teacher has the mouse ready to pause at predetermined points throughout the video), what about the reading skills being taught that are unintentional?
Burkins and Yates (27–28) explain that for students to show comprehension, four processing systems work together—phonology, meaning, context, and orthography. These systems need to be activated throughout activities like the interactive read-aloud, by focusing on how we engage children in talking about them. A video may omit some of these necessary pieces, including the reader’s non-verbal communication and student responses that require teacher response. How easy is it to repeat a line or provide clarification on a vocabulary word in the moment as opposed to finding the exact location in the video? And will children watch passively and refrain from questions because an actual person is not there to ask? If our intention is literacy growth and development, a video might not be the best choice to provide ongoing support and formative assessment strategies. And I don’t know about you, but as a teacher, do I get the same joy out of viewing a book read versus reading the book? What might give my students more enjoyment and promote a context for growing lifelong readers?
Science Lesson
Again, let’s consider an intermediate science period looking at the effects of temperature. Direct instruction, followed by worksheet-based response and memorization, has been the traditional method of education to ensure that all students learn the basics and can reproduce their learning on an assessment (Isik-Ercan 330). Yet when thinking about the needs of students, can adopting a textbook that explains how solids, liquids, and gases change with heating and cooling be as effective as testing out chocolate melting or freezing water (Province of BC 19)? Perhaps a good text with photos and detailed explanations can show how a sealed plastic container will break if filled to the top with water, but will it help students understand how this learning can be transferred to bursting pipes in houses? Will they understand how much extra room ice takes up in comparison to water? Will they be able to see how the ice froze and where the breaking points occurred in order to design pipes and use materials to create artifacts to ensure the safety and well-being of those working or living in the building?
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Works Cited
Beatty, Barbara. “John Dewey’s High Hopes for Play: Democracy and Education and the Progressive Era Controversies over Play in Kindergarten and Preschool Education.” The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, vol. 16, no. 4, 2017, pp. 424–37, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26854801.
Buethe, John. “A Philosophy of Experience for the Unfamiliar Encounter.” Educational Theory, vol. 72, no. 1, 2022, pp. 85–101, https://doi.org/10.1111/edth.12513.
Burkins, Jan, and Kari Yates. Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced Literacy Classroom. Stenhouse, 2021.
Isik-Ircan, Zeynep. “’You Have 25 Kids Playing Around!’ Learning to Implement Inquiry-Based Science Learning in an Urban Second-Grade Classroom.” International Journal of Science Education, vol. 42, no. 33, 2020, pp. 329–49, https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2019.1710874.
Kramer, Mariah Fiona, and Troy Hicks. “Teaching Remotely Without Being Distant: Implications for Primary Age Students’ Learning of Foundational Reading Skills.” The Reading Teacher, vol. 77, no. 3, 2023, pp. 341–49, https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.2250.
Laurienti, Bill. “Top 10 Benefits of Hands-On Learning.” SmartLab Learning, 31 Oct. 2024, www.smartlablearning.com/benefits-of-hands-on-learning/.
Lucy, Breanne R. “Things I Do Not Know.” The English Journal, vol. 110, no. 4, 2021, pp. 79–82, https://www.jstor.org/stable/27115249.
McCoy, Selina, and Aoife M. Lynam. “How Field Experience Shapes Pre-Service Primary Teachers’ Technology Integration Knowledge and Practice.” Teacher Development vol. 26, no. 4, 2022, pp. 567–86, https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2022.2074086.
Province of British Columbia. Area of Learning: Science, Province of BC, 2016, https://www.curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/science
Province of British Columbia. Introduction to Science, Province of BC, 2025, https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/science/introduction.
Susan Dykshoorn is a faculty associate/assistant professor at Trinity Western University and a grade 1 teacher at Abbotsford Christian School in British Columbia. She leads professional development training and encourages the use of hands-on, inquiry-based learning in the elementary classroom so both students and teachers can find joy in learning.
