A STUDY ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF HANDS-ON EXPERIMENTS IN LEARNING SCIENCE AMONG YEAR 4 STUDENTS

Abstract

This study employed a mixed method, comprising of qualitative and quantitative research methods to examine the effectiveness of hands-on experiments in learning Science among twenty two Year 4 students in an international school. The study focused on two important areas which are to evaluate the students’ academic development and to identify students’ intrinsic motivation to learnScience when the subject is taught using hands-on experiments. The findings indicated that a number of students obtained better results as they learnt and remembered better through hands-on experiments.  There was generally a higher level of participation and intrinsic motivation shown in the students when they learnt through hands-on experiments. The researchers are of the opinion that Kolb’s experiential theory is very effective when doing the hands-on experiments for it ensures students grasp knowledge taught effectively. It is recommended that further studies on Bruner’s theory of instruction should be carried out to further enhance the effectiveness of learning Science.

Keywords: hands-on experiment, intrinsic motivation and Kolb’s Experiential Theory

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