Exploration

Exploration is a necessary and enriching part of the educational process. It involves hands on learning and personal involvement. It provides a learner with real world experience and contributes greatly to both the ability to perceive a subject matter from various angles and the capacity for understanding recurring patterns and intuitive connections. Memory retention is also enhanced as more senses become involved and therefore more areas of the brain are activated. Personal experience not only leads to better memory performance but also influences the way the brain develops and builds connections. It is not the only influential component to creating neural pathways and improving learning, but if experiential environments are created in meaningful ways that provide learners with opportunities for better understanding then more avenues of potential will be awakened and the learning process will be more enjoyable and filled with less stress for the student (and the teacher).

Exploratory lessons incorporated into daily educational activities lead to greater participation and awareness, and they allow students to recognize relevance of what is being learned to their personal and communal lives (which promotes ongoing interest). Involvement in these types of lessons can build confidence and cooperative behavior in students and can teach them how to learn from mistakes, brainstorm solutions, and take responsibility for their own decisions.   How much students learn from such integrative practices will depend on the degree to which teachers allow students to find answers, realize connections, and reach conclusions on their own. Guidance in the form of questioning is better than providing correction. 

(to be continued)