Running Head: LEARNING BY DOING

Learning by Doing
Loredana Perrone
MAT 670: Theory Best Practice Teaching
Dr. Carroll Anthony Green
National University
September 6, 2015

LEARNING BY DOING

2
Abstract

This paper will include a brief explanation of Deweys concept of

teaching meaning learning by doing. I will then create two standardsbased learning tasks that involve students in creating meaning through
learning by doing that include two California Spanish State Standards.

LEARNING BY DOING

Learning by doing, also known as experiential education, is an

instructional approach based on the idea that ideal learning occurs
through experience. Learning tasks require the active participation of
the student in hands-on opportunities and must connect content to the
students life. [Additionally, it] combines active learning with concrete
experiences, abstract concepts, and reflection in an effort to engage all
learning styles (Coffey, 2009). John Dewey was the first person to write
about this type of education stating there is an intimate and
necessary relation between the processes of actual experience and
education (Dewey, 1938/1997, p. 7). Dewey emphasized that there
must be a hands on approach in the learning process along with
learning the content. Having students be actively learning through
experiential education also allows students to develop their own
opinions of concepts based on interaction with the information
(Coffey, 2009), which allows students to think independently and on a
deeper level.
Two California State Spanish Content Standards that I would use
experiential education with are: Content 3.1g " Students address
concrete and factual topics related to the immediate and external
environment, including: Media, Internet, television, radio, film and
Content 2.1h Student address topics related to self and the immediate
environment, including: Transportation, lodging, itineraries, geographic

LEARNING BY DOING

features and landmarks focusing on the geographic features and

landmarks. (California Department of Education, 2009, p. 2).
For the first standard, Content 3.1g, I would put my students in
groups of 2. They would then look up current events, news going on,
weather, and sports from a Spanish speaking country. They would then
have to construct their own news broadcast and preform it in front of
the class. One student would do the current event/special news
section, and the other student do the weather and sports section. This
activity follows the learning by doing theory that Dewey introduced
because students will look up their own information to include in their
project and will then use their communication skills to provide the
information to the class. Additionally, as mentioned above, Dewey said
that every students experience with hands on activities would vary due
to different experiences (Dewey, 1938/1997, p. 7). This project is a
great example because there may be some students that do not really
see the news, some that see the news regularly and other that have
never seen a news broadcast on Television. However, because this is a
team project, the students will be able to share valuable information
from their experiences to make the best broadcast they can.
For the second standard, Content 2.1h, my students would build
a paper mashie of the country we are studying. The students would
study the important geographical features and landmarks of the
country and create a landscape paper mashie. The students would

LEARNING BY DOING

have to identify on their project what each thing is and write a few
sentences about each landmark/geographical feature and why they
included it, on the back of the project. After this project they will have
to take a geographical test that includes all the important cities,
landmarks and geographical features we studied. Having my students
do the hands on activity about this topic will help my students
remember where everything is thus preparing them for the test.
In conclusion, these two activities are a great way for me to
incorporate Deweys theory of learning by doing. It is a great
resource for my students because I have also noticed that when
students do hands on activities they are having more fun than siting in
a lecture style class, thus they are more likely to remember the
information.

LEARNING BY DOING

References:
California Department of Education. World Language Content
Standards for California Public Schools: Kindergarten Through
Grade Twelve. 2010. California Department of Education.
Sacramento, CA. Retrieved on September 6, 2015 from
http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/worldlanguage2009.p
df
Dewey, J. (1938/1997). Experience and education. New York: Macmillan Co., p. 7

Coffey, Heather. 2009. Experiential education. Learn NC. UNC School

of Education. North Carolina. Retrieved on September 6, 2015
from http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/4967