Teaching MethodsWhat are educators around the world shouting about science? Practical activities, please! Educators now believe, "Science will touch children if you let them get their hands on it." Gone are the days of sitting at your desk, memorizing formulas, and listening to boring lectures. Nowadays, teachers put aside pencil and paper, if only for a while, in exchange for acute use of the senses. In “The Learning Cycle,” for example, students experience a hands-on activity before they are taught new material. This teaching method allows students to investigate and explore their own ideas about how/why something works, before they are told. Science is not only practical, it is also “mental”. Educators want to actively engage students and make meaning out of science. Additionally, many teachers believe that students can benefit from each other; teachers are starting to use cooperative learning groups and encourage students to work together to solve a problem. Ideas and strategies for hands-on science can be found everywhere…but hands-on science can be found in classrooms...