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I wonder...

Do students learn best with hands-on experimentation or with online simulations?

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Students enjoy the hands-on experimentation portion of science. It allows for exploration, critical thinking, teamwork, and curiosity!

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Students struggled to complete the hands-on experiment. They ran out of time and found it too difficult to put skeleton back together (bones were too tiny), unexpected bits and pieces found in the owl pellets.

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Students enjoy hands-on experiments BUT... my action research determined they LEARN BETTER with online simulations. This was definitely an "a-ha!" moment for me.

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Kinesthetic learning (hands-on experimentation) gets the kids moving. Allows for collaboration in a way that may not be found in other subject areas.

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Online simulations allows for repeatability without the teacher having to re-setup the experiment, or allows for students to try again if a mistake is made. Which sometimes is not possible with hands-on learning when using consumables in an experiment.

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Online simulations for experimentation increased student learning.

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Students absent during an experiment can have a chance to complete the experiment when it is offered through an online simulation. This usually is not the case when completing a hands-on experiment.

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Students mentioned that they enjoyed learning about the owl pellets and working with them "in real life" vs the simulation. However, some students were not thrilled about working with Owl vomit...

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I learned it is important to always consider equity and make sure to represent all types of learners when creating presentations in my class.

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All students were able to complete the virtual owl pellet dissection lab. They had the freedom to complete the virtual experiment outside of the class. Whereas, this was not possible with the hands-on dissection lab.

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Future plans include allowing choice between hands-on and virtual simulations for certain lab experiments.

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I plan to balance my science class with hands-on experimentation and online simulations.