Why the Concept of ‘Learning by Doing’ Should be Introduced in Schools

A lot has been said for the idea of experiential education but a little has been done about it. Education is an active constructive process, not something that can be passively absorbed. Some may say that students would be able to learn more if they are simply told about it as opposed to actually performing the activity. 

However, students, as a matter of fact, learn better when they are actively involved in the activity they are performing. This concept has gained attention in recent years and a lot of boarding and day boarding schools in Delhi NCR and other cities have begun to incorporate this knowledge into the learning process.

A need to know more should be created for students. Such an environment facilitates learning. Students acquire a new set of skills and truly understand what they have learned. In a classroom, this can be achieved by asking students to prepare presentations or oral defense activities. Such activities require students to share what they have learned; displaying the knowledge they have gained.

Another way to facilitate the learning process would be to give students the opportunity to take a shot at non-routine problems. An example of this would be to give a student a math problem that has a no method for finding the answer. When faced with such obstacles, students become thinkers as they engage themselves in the problem to find the solution, in turn creating their own method.

It’s imperative that teachers understand their role as facilitators and not purveyors of knowledge. Students need to be given space wherein they discover the answers to questions in ways that they need. In this way, they will learn to make meaning of a situation by themselves. This does not mean however that teacher eliminates themselves from the equation but simply encourage student ideas as well.

It is important that schools realize that the onus of learning should be placed on the student. The curriculum of international schools often incorporates this line of thinking. International day boarding in Delhi can be considered by parents looking to enroll their child in a school that focuses on learning by doing. After all, education is not an affair of telling or being told.