DOI
10.5703/1288284317603
Document Type
Brief
Abstract
Sole use of a textbook as the primary source of learning in the middle school setting has been linked to potentially limit students’ conceptual understanding of complex content (Driscoll et al., 1994), while the positive impact of hands-on learning has been well documented (Ekwueme et al., 2015; Satterthwait, 2010). Ideally, when a textbook is used in conjunction with content applied in a hands-on manner, student engagement and understanding of standards-based content are increased. In a grant funded collaboration between the Northeast Indiana STEM Education Resource Center housed at Purdue University Fort Wayne and an East Allen Community Schools middle school science classroom, a vertical tower garden was purchased and used by students under the guidance of their teacher to learn plant-based science content. This research brief examines some of the many benefits and ways integration of a tower garden in the classroom allowed student appreciation of science to grow.
Included in
Engineering Education Commons, Science and Mathematics Education Commons, Science and Technology Studies Commons
Growing in STEM: Hands-On Education via Tower Gardening
Sole use of a textbook as the primary source of learning in the middle school setting has been linked to potentially limit students’ conceptual understanding of complex content (Driscoll et al., 1994), while the positive impact of hands-on learning has been well documented (Ekwueme et al., 2015; Satterthwait, 2010). Ideally, when a textbook is used in conjunction with content applied in a hands-on manner, student engagement and understanding of standards-based content are increased. In a grant funded collaboration between the Northeast Indiana STEM Education Resource Center housed at Purdue University Fort Wayne and an East Allen Community Schools middle school science classroom, a vertical tower garden was purchased and used by students under the guidance of their teacher to learn plant-based science content. This research brief examines some of the many benefits and ways integration of a tower garden in the classroom allowed student appreciation of science to grow.