Chemistry beyond textbooks happens to students when they enter the chemistry lab and take on the experiments live. Imagine if you could do all this and much more just sitting into your classrooms in a ‘Virtual Chemistry Lab’. Read on to find out more.
By Rachita Jha, Elets News Network (ENN)
Every child is unique and so is the way they learning. More often than not these learning outcomes come from experiences beyond the classrooms. Is it justified to expect all the students to learn and grasp equally by following just one classroom instruction medium. As proposed by Howard Gardner with this Theory of Multiple Intelligences, there are nine different intellectual learning orientations. Each orientation corresponds to a set of learning styles. Kinesthetic orientation learns best with experimentation and activities, linguistic by reading, musical through association with rhythms and rhymes. While we connect with them with regular classroom instructions and discussion, only a part of the class connects best with these sessions. Science subjects become part of the real word when students experience the theories and concepts hands-on in the laboratories, as in chemistry when all the reactions and equations come alive in the lab!
Application-oriented Experimental Space
Any Learning Lab provides for holistic learning approach and better understanding of theoretical concepts by providing concept simulation and assembly, interesting reading of subject topics through the comic books, animations and videos detailing the concepts etc.
It acquaints students by not just elaborating the concept but also their applications. The retention of concepts and, thus, the learning outcomes are maximized as students relate to these concepts. This also helps in developing a scientific temperament amongst the students and inculcating innovativeness in them. The same is applicable for Chemistry – a virtual lab experience with access to many elements and reagents sparks the imagination and curiosity in students pushing them to self-learn which builds the continuous learning approach among them.
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A Learning Lab for 9 styles of learning
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Iken Learning Lab developed by Mexus Education sparks the imagination and curiosity in students pushing them to self-learn which builds the continuous learning approach among them. The Lab enables a school to bring together several modes of instructions that relate with all of the nine styles of learning. The kit comprises of Iken zing – a series of interactive touch-read books, Iken Joy– A range of curricular concept developed to inculcate activity-based learning model, Iken Math – A worksheet designed to take students through mathematical concepts in creative and engaging fashion, Iken Pro Series – A wide range of self learning short films on global best practices, Iken Library that seamless integrates digital content repository and a Learning management System and many more learning tools for a fun-filled teaching-learning environment.
Chemistry Virtual Labs
There is a growing focus on practical classes especially in science subjects across schools in India. As a result we see the rise in popularity of simulations in science subjects and its effectiveness in learning outcomes that has led to the arrival of virtual platforms of learning in the education sector. Experimental work is core to the learning of chemistry, however although we get introduced to the chemistry concepts in 4th or 5th grade, the live experiments in the laboratory only happens in the 9th grade. An early exposure to these concepts in a virtual simulations environment coupled with scenario-based learning activities, and concepts tests incorporated into a variety of teaching approaches as pre-labs and in-class activities for individuals or groups can make the subject more interesting for the students and help them revisit the chemistry concepts as they move up in to higher classes.
Virtual blast!
The arrival of leaning labs has set a remarkable paradigm shift in Indian Education scenario. Assembling Science and Math concepts in the form toys help in taking students through the lesson while weighing them down with tedious theories and textbook concepts. As the attention span of kindergarten children is very less, through the interactive touch-read books, there is both audio and visual connect which retains their attention for a longer duration making it possible to read through the concepts. This also pushes up the engagement level of the class. The teacher also benefits from this platform as formative assessment system offers the schools a tool to measure the effectiveness of the session and identify the level of the basic understanding of the class. This allows teacher to us, practice remedial teaching, thus, allowing continuous assessment.
