Are worksheets good or bad? That is the question.
For those of you that follow my blog closely you have probably formulated a guess as to my answer to this question. I'm going to start by saying that I don't think worksheets are "bad". I believe that they have a place in this world, but in very very very very very small doses. There are ample alternatives to worksheets, and I hope you'll consider them.
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 I have had many people reach out over the past few months asking about experiential learning in k-12 classrooms. What is experiential learning? What is an example of experiential learning? Where can I get experiential learning activities? How do you use experiential learning in the classroom?
I have even had educators reach out that are in the process of starting experiential schools. That is really exciting, and from what I'm gathering, also a little scary and chaotic for these educators. Experiential Learning Importance: 9 Benefits of Experiential Learning in Classrooms and Homeschools8/7/2024 
Why is experiential learning important? What are the benefits of experiential learning? Why bother spending the time to learn a new teaching style? I can promise you from experience, it's worth looking into!
 I pride myself in creating classroom community in my experiential learning high school that is strong, positive, and trusting.
I don't claim to be fantastic at everything related to experiential learning, but I place priority on creating community in the classroom from day 1 of the learning year because it plays such an important roll in the experience as a whole.  "Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid."
I believe Albert Einstein said this, but it's been debated. This quote has also been criticized for a few reasons, one being that by calling everyone a genius, especially children, that they may believe they don't have to work hard in life. I don't really see it that way. What it means to me is that when it comes to learning, not all children are the same and shouldn't be treated as such. 
Experiential learning is something special, but can be misunderstood or tricky to envision in the context of a school, classroom, or homeschool learning environment. That's why I have compiled a list of some free experiential learning lesson plan templates and tools; to support you through implementation of experiential learning! Let's dive in.
 Identifying experiential learning activities for a classroom learning environment can feel tricky at times.
In the world of experiential learning, there is a lot of talk about theory and philosophy; about what experiential learning is and what it is not, the benefits of experiential learning, and the purpose of it. But the most common question that I get from educators is not about experiential learning in theory but about experiential learning in practice.  How do you engage students at the end of the year? Ahhhh one of life's biggest questions!
I don't know about you, but my high school students are ready to be done after spring break, and it SHOWS big time. What do I do about it? How do I engage them at the end of the year? I let them choose from some of their favorite experiential learning activities. 
What are self-directed learning strategies that empower learners and promote agency? This is a popular question among educators that have an interest in self-directed learning and know the benefits, but aren’t sure about how to go about incorporating self-directed learning strategies in their classroom or homeschool.
 Are you a parent, teacher or student looking for some plant project science fair ideas that are easy and engaging for everyone involved?
It doesn't have to be hard, it doesn't have to take a ton of time, and no one has to be a professional scientist or even a trained science teacher to do these experiments. Check out some of the plant project science fair ideas here to make your lives a little easier. Build a plant science experiment or a research project around the ideas offered here while still making them your own! |
Blog IntentTo provide innovative educational resources for educators, parents, and students, that go beyond lecture and worksheets. AuthorSara Segar, experiential life-science educator and advisor, curriculum writer, and mother of two. 
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