Hands-On Science Projects & Games
Community Review for Lawrence Hall of Science: 24/7 Science
My Take
The 24/7 Science website provides 4 categories of simple, easy to execute and understand science projects/experiments which are supplemented with games that reinforce concepts. Each project promotes student engagement through investigations followed by questions that solicit thought provoking answers during and following each project. Of the 17 main projects teachers can oversee in any classroom, three were thoroughly explored: Bridge Builder, Bug Hunt, and How Fast is the Wing. Each provided step by step instructions for conducting the projects. Afterwards, students could compare their answers and project findings with students from all around the world. If the goal is to have a consistently memorable science lesson, 24/7 Science delivers because it has hundreds of "Going Further" science projects which build upon concepts learned in previous projects. Exceptional learning needs students will have no problem participating in the projects due to the simplicity by which projects are executed. Each project is high on the observation scale which lends itself towards discovery learning. Each project is teacher-led, but hands-on for students. Projects appear to have been designed to gradually help students think across all levels of the cognitive domain of learning. These projects lend themselves well towards building exciting student discussions in small groups and ultimately the full class.
How I Use It
I use 24/7 Science as part of my science methods course with pre-service teachers who need to personally engage in developing and executing a repetoire of exciting science lessons to K-5 and middle school students. As my pre-service teachers deliver their lessons and evaluate the learning potential to their students, their confidence levels in teaching science increases. As they reflect upon the high levels of student engagement in the classroom, they themselves become excited about what they are capable of doing with their students. The 24/7 Science website is also excellent for home schoolers due to the simplicity in which instructions for each project/lesson are written, illustrated, and detailed for continuity between projects. It is highly improbably that a teacher (or a parent) would "mess up" the lesson due to the explicit nature in which each project has been designed. English Language Arts and Math are natural cross-curricular by-products of 24/7 Science. It's a great pedagogical partner for elementary and middle school teachers.
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