On Cultivating The Students' Hands-on Ability In The High School And Elementary School

Hands-on ability is an important aspect in human development. It is also one of the important aims of education. Due to historical and practical reasons, this aim has been ignored in Chinese high school and elementary school. Lacking practical ability among Chinese students has been a recognized fact. The development of science and technology demands high hands-on ability from individuals. At an increasing speed, modem technology has entered into every part of our life, that is, in the manufacture field, work, management, and family life. Those who have quite some theoretical knowledge but lack practical ability and technique will not only have difficulty in work and social communication but also will face great challenges in survival and life. The present type of compulsory education which centered around book knowledge is more and more challenged. Facing this situation, school education should shoulder its responsibility in cultivating the students?hands-on and practical ability. This dissertation probes into the main problems in cultivating the students? hands梠n ability in high school and elementary school. There are four sections in this dissertation. The first section has an overview of the students?hands-on ability, it analyzes the denotation of hands-on ability, the features of students?hands-on activities and the significance of cultivating hands-on ability. The second section examines the present situation of students?hands-on ability and analyzes the factors that have lead to the lacking of the students?hands-on ability. There are three factors: the limitation of education itself~ the limited conditions of school construction including lacking teachers with hands-on ability and material establishment; the problems with exam-oriented education which lead to the aim of just pursuing higher testing score instead of emphasizing the doing process; the influence from the traditions of education, that is, Confucius education tradition and western intellectualism. The third section presents some strategies on cultivating the students?hands-on ability. This part includes perfecting the aims of school education, adjusting the contents of the curriculum, emphasizing activity teaching and strengthening the research in the field of cultivating the students?hands-on ability.