In the midst of midterms, I am reminded how much I prefer hands-on learning as opposed to what I call book-learning.

This summer I had an internship at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center’s Patel Conservatory. Hands-on learning was present in my five weeks as a youth theatre teaching assistant.

I discovered my passion for teaching and found myself learning from both my co-workers and my students.

I did not take a minute to study during my internship, nor did I take a test or write a paper on what I’d learned. But I did gain an abundance of new knowledge that will stay with me forever.

I also went to Belize this summer with the Igancio Volunteers on a three week immersion trip. I found myself taking in as much knowledge as I possibly could about their culture, language, traditions, food, environment and history.

I was constantly thirsting for more knowledge, more perspectives and more food for thought.

Again, I never found myself studying in Belize, or taking a multiple choice exam, or completing a thesis paper.

I learned more this summer through hands-on experiences than I could have ever imagined. My experiences at Patel and in Belize were more rewarding than any class I’ve taken thus far. The lessons I learned are valuable to my education, my future, my goals and my outlook on life.

Coming back to Loyola this fall has been a tough transition back to book-learning.
Extensive reading assignments, one-sided lectures, and memorization of definitions and bolded terms in your text book that lead to regurgitation on a final paper or objective exam is not an effective way of learning.

Do you remember anything from your common curriculum lecture class last semester?

Perhaps you did well in the class objectively, but do you remember anything so well that you continue to use that knowledge?

I assume the answers to those questions for most people are no.

Every now and then, a student is blessed with a teacher whose style is more hands-on, or activity based. In my opinion, this makes for an increased understanding of subject material, and increases the likelihood of retaining that knowledge.

Learning should be rewarding in a bigger sense than just a letter grade or grade point average. Classrooms shouldn’t be overrun with just book-learning and regurgitation. 

ACTs, SATs and GPAs have us programmed to only worry about getting a passing grade.

I’m worried that today’s youth are so pre-occupied with making good grades that they’ve forgotten how to learn just for the sake of learning. I think that hands-on learning can help us remember the fun and ease of learning.

Embrace your ability to be a life-learner and take advantage of every opportunity you have to learn something new.

Learning is living, and I wish that college professors would embrace the techniques of hands-on learning to encourage the growth of students into life-long learners.

Janece Bell can be reached at [email protected]