The Power of Engaging, Hands On Activities - posted by Chris Wakefield

One of my favorite classes I have been to was Mark Richard's class at Strood Academy.  When I walked into class the students were buzzing and excited, because down the hall a bit was a crime scene that Mark and his teaching assistant set up to help teach the students about what it takes to do a proper CSI (Crime Scene Investigation). The crime scene included a victim who was stabbed in the back, fake blood, hair samples, footprints, and two (fake) knives.   Mark rotated teams of about 7 or 8 students to go through 12 minute evidence collecting times at the scene while he stayed in class for a discussion.  At times it seemed like some kids were not focused on doing the investigation.  One student in particular popped her head into another class to say hi to her friend.  If an Ofsted inspector had been there, they would have been upset that students where not focused 100% of the time.  What those Ofsted inspectors would have missed was the powerful exchange I saw the next week.  The student who popped her head into her friend's class the 1st week volunteered to help a student who was absent the week before.  At first it seemed like she only wanted to see her friend again.  As I casually observed the interaction between the two students I slowly realized that this student who seemed like she was off task the first week was actually absorbing the material.  After a few minutes, I started asking her harder questions to see if I could stump her.  She was able to tell me how to collect, store, log and process each piece of evidence in the crime scene.  Not only had this student understood all of the material, she also helped build the classroom culture by helping another student who was absent.  If this student could absorb so much information in one hands on activity, imagine her progress if more of her lessons were delivered in this manner.

Rob Riordan, Emperor or Rigor at High Tech High, told me that when he observes teachers he looks for two things, Student Learning and Student Engagement.  The students in Mark Richard's class were engaged as they learned concepts that the teacher wanted them to learn.  I can't wait to work with Mark to develop more activities like his crime scene.