Experiential Learning
Experiential learning (or "learning by doing" or "hands-on learning") permeates every part of the Inly curriculum, at all levels. Experiential learning is a progressive approach to education in which students actively engage in relevant, authentic experiences that reinforce academic lessons or teach skills. These hands-on experiences deepen understanding and have lasting impact. Students make discoveries and experiment with knowledge themselves instead of relying solely on the experiences of others. Experiential learning in the classroom
Experiential learning is more than just one field trip to see a "real world" example of what the students have been studying in class. It is structuring the lessons so the students can do the work for themselves and meaningful engagement with the subject. The student does not passively receive information from a teacher, but actively participates in the work.
Hands-on learning: For toddlers and preschool through elementary and middle school
In Toddler House, for example, toddlers actively engages in learning about the states of matter by having a water table in the classroom. In the winter, the table gets filled with ice and snow and the toddlers observe what happens when the snow stays inside a warm room. They get to touch and taste, and see and feel the changes. They learn the concept through their hands.
In Middle School, the students learn about government by making their own. They don’t simply listen to a lecture from a teacher about how countries govern themselves, the students actually write their own guiding constitution for the class. Read a student's account of this process in an Inside Inly blog post, By the Inly Middle School, for the Inly Middle School.