Home > Just For Kids

Study Looks at Academic Value of Hands-on Crafts

I found a very interesting study that is posted at www.Home-school.com. The study looks at how hands-on crafts can improve academics. To quote a key finding from the study: "Students who spent a greater proportion of their classroom learning time engaged in hands-on projects scored significantly higher on writing and drawing knowledge application tasks. In classes that spent almost half of instructional time on hands-on projects (48%), students scored an average of 83 out of a possible 100 on the knowledge application task. Comparatively, students whose classes devoted a low percentage of class time to craft projects (11.8%) scored an average of 75. The creativity and level of detail students demonstrated on the application tasks also indicated that the hands-on projects left many students with vivid and lasting understanding of both facts and concepts."

Needless to say, kinesthetic and visual learners benefit greatly from hands on activity. Teachers in the study also reported enhanced cooperation, responsibility, dedication, confidence, and time management skills when students participated in hands-on projects.

If you would like to read the entire study, click on the link: www.home-school.com/news/summ.pdf. You'll need Adobe PDF Reader to view this article.

There are so many benefits to making things with your hands. It builds self-esteem, self-confidence, a sense of accomplishment, and expands creativity. Now you can add higher grades in school to that list!