Ideas for Experiential Learning With at-Risk Teens
Education research shows that young people learn best by doing, say experts at Oregon State University. In fact, young people retained 90 percent of the information they learned when they were performing an activity and talking about it, as opposed to just 10 percent of what they hear and 20 percent of what they observe in a presentation. Experiential learning is hands-on learning, and it works well to keep teens on task. Teens who have been labeled at-risk because of their socio-economic status, disabilities, academic disadvantages, or behavior records will benefit from the chance to demonstrate their intelligence outside of the classroom in an experiential setting.
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Field Trips
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Many at-risk teens come from families below the poverty line, and may have never been to their local museums or zoos. Arrange field trips to sites that relate to your classroom studies, like national parks or theatrical performances. Think about what you want your students to do based on the curriculum, and then find places for your class to go. A follow-up activity helps the kids retain information, so assign something they can work on while they̵7;re there. You could have them each record a question before they leave and find the answer during the field trip, or take a photo for a classroom scrapbook.
Adventure Education
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Adventure education is a growing field in which educators can lead students on field trips that involve outdoor recreation. For at-risk teens, this kind of outdoor fun is likely to be totally foreign and otherwise inaccessible. For the sake of developing teen leadership skills, fostering environmental awareness and bonding as a class, consider finding a more adventurous field trip for your class. Hiking, camping, even zip lining or rock climbing could be options. Involvement in hands-on activities that utilize kinesthetic learning and practical knowledge can be especially inspiring for teens who are at risk due to behavioral issues or ADHD, or teens who show an interest in vocational or technical education.
Skillathon
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The 4-H Club at Oregon University Extension recommends holding a ̶0;Skillathon̶1; in your classroom to help students retain key information. For teens, this means setting up multiple stations at which groups must accomplish a task or play a game. Stations could include mini science experiments, problems to solve or small structures to build. Place an expert (an experienced older youth, teacher or parent) at each station to ensure the success of each group. When teaching at-risk teens, it's important to develop organized, well-structured lesson plans with appropriate accommodations for any learning differences or behavior issues, so provide an adequate number of "experts" with whom teens can consult for help.
Role-Playing Games
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Role-playing games are always good hands-on experience for teens and adults. You can write plausible scenarios on index cards, separate students into small groups and provide them with some tools, and then have them work out how they would solve the problem using the tools they have. Use differentiation to make effective groups, and make time to have each group share their solutions in a follow-up activity for information retention. At-risk teens, who often experience discomfort in the classroom due to self-esteem around learning, will be more comfortable working with a few people than they might feel acting out a scenario in front of the entire class.
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Fraction bars are a fun way to teach children the meaning of and how to use fractions. The different sections of the bar equal one part of the fraction and the whole bar represents 1. It is easy to demonstrate to children the difference between the n
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