Student learning improves when
classroom lessons incorporate
hands-on craft projects.

Students who spent a greater proportion of their classroom learning time engaged in hands-on projects scored significantly higher on writing and drawing knowledge application tasks.

In classes that spent almost half of instructional time on hands-on projects (48%), students scored
an average of 83 out of a possible 100 on the knowledge application task. Comparatively, students whose classes devoted a low percentage of class time to craft projects (11.8%) scored an average of 75. The creativity and level of detail students demonstrated on the application tasks also indicated that the hands-on projects left many students with vivid and lasting understanding of both facts and concepts.

Teachers said that hands-on projects help students understand basic ideas (90%) as well as broader concepts (86%), and 82% of teachers said that handcrafted projects help their students apply information in new or different situations. Eighty-five percent (85%) of the teachers surveyed also agreed that long-term hands-on projects give students a greater depth of understanding than more conventional instructional methods.

“Kinesthetic and visual learners really benefit. They are much more apt to transfer their expertise and enthusiasm to reading and writing activities after
having experienced the concepts with their eyes and hands.”
—Research Participant–Educator

Please feel free to send us your comments and suggestions regarding any RainbowBrush® product by e-mail.

Click photos to see them bigger