This is not new. Kids love to touch stuff and work with actual things in their hands. When I first began teaching middle school science nearly two decades ago, we used the FOSS kits. FOSS stands for "Full Option Science Systems". The kits and lesson guidelines fostered collaborative group work and learning activities based on building conceptual knowledge as well as an understanding of experimental design. While they were not as inquiry-based as I would have liked, they engaged students and got them DOING science.
Schwartz profiles the Alternative School for Math and Science in Corning, New York. The school was started when data showed that only half of the area's eighth grade students were meeting standards in math and English. The school partners with Corning which provides free facility space and funding for financial aid.
Not every school can partner with a big name private sector business. But every student can benefit from the kind of hands-on, authentic learning experiences, the kind that has brought success for students at ASMS.
Turning traditional learning on its head, providing experiences that don't lead to a single answer, understanding failure as an expected (and necessary) component of learning and purposefully teaching 21st century skills like collaboration, creativity, communication and critical thinking all blend into an educational experience that sets kids up for success in the real world as well as in school.
