KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA PRAGATI VIHAR
NEW DELHI
PRIMARY WING
Activity-based learning is the process of learning by doing. As opposed to asking kids to simply listen and take notes, activity-based learning encourages students to actively participate in their own learning experience through practical activities such as problem-solving and independent investigation.
Why activity-based learning?
Besides encouraging kids to enjoy their learning experience, activity-based learning has many benefits, including:
- Helping students memorise information – By encouraging kids to get physically and mentally involved in the learning process, activity-based learning helps students learn and retain information. This process of gathering knowledge through personal experience (i.e. experimentation) is shown to help kids memorise and understand learning material.
- Encouraging kids to be independent and inquisitive – Activity-based learning focuses on independent investigation and analysis. By asking kids to work on their own and/or in small groups, this teaching method encourages students to be independently inquisitive, think critically, and learn from their own experience. This self-directed learning process in turn supports their acquisition of knowledge outside (as well as inside) the educational environment.
- Supporting social development – Whilst activity-based learning encourages kids to take responsibility for their own learning experience, group-based activity work also helps students develop teamwork and social skills. These skills will later prove essential to their work and social life.
- Emphasising the relevance of educational material – Kids don’t always understand the relevance of learning material when simply putting pen to paper. Activity-based learning, on the other hand, helps kids understand the ‘real-life’ relevance of learning material by encouraging them to explore and solve realistic problems and scenarios.
- Encouraging kids to express themselves in different ways – Activity-based learning encourages kids to be creative in the way they express their knowledge. This learning method provides students with the opportunity to express what they have learnt through the act of doing as well as through the act of verbal presentation.