Why Students Need More Hands-On Learning in 2027

As fewer children in America read for pleasure and literacy rates drop, parents, teachers, and school admins scramble to reduce screen time and improve learning outcomes somehow—hands-on learning can help. From screen bans to more stringent AI regulations, a lot of the weight in literacy conversations is placed on technology.

However, could solutions point to more connection and experiential learning? A pediatrician in the UK has expressed that having more honest conversations with children, especially about technology, can help alleviate dependency on it, and hands-on activities can improve subject understanding in children of all ages and even improve literacy efforts in younger kids, as demonstrated by the Montessori method and John Dewey’s educational reform studies.

How schools navigate this through more experiential curricula and edtech tools is key to improvement. Let’s break down these concepts.

John Dewey’s Hands-On Teachings

John Dewey was an American psychologist, educational reformer, and philosopher who conducted much of his studies in hands-on learning. He believed lived experience encouraged deeper understanding in kids when structured correctly.

Rather than doing activities for the sake of it (mere engagement or distraction), his proposal involved planned activities where children put learned concepts into practice with a clear aim, followed by a discussion that helped them make sense of their experiences, learn through trial and error, and apply the lessons in the next activity.

Engaging with the material also sparks curiosity and leads students to test concepts, improve their social skills as they collaborate with others, and develop independent thinking.

The great advantage of hands-on learning is that it can be applied in any subject, whether literature (through play) or hard skills such as math, physics, and chemistry (through real-life scenarios).

Experiential Learning to Improve Educational Outcomes

When running the numbers, hands-on learning followed by intentional reflection helped students grasp concepts more easily and even perform better on tests. For instance, a 2025 study where students used experiential learning during an engineering course and took an end-of-semester cumulative test concluded that over 50% of them showed learning gains and the entire course passed the class on their first attempt. 

Moreover, an earlier meta-analysis found that project- and inquiry-based learning, where students do hands-on activities, enhanced critical thinking skills and improved learning outcomes compared to traditional lecture-based methods. Bear in mind that this specific analysis favored smaller-sized classes and application in technology and engineering courses.

With this in mind, adapting curricula with activities that can engage students’ minds, bodies, and the environment around them can have a significant impact on the skills they develop and how effectively they absorb information.

Blending Hands-On Learning with EdTech Tools

Most people might associate edtech with students glued to screens, endless videos, and silent hours reviewing material on laptops or tablets. However, not all tools are built the same, and it’s important to invest in the right ones to create tangible learning improvements.

For instance, many tools that equip teachers with comprehensive curricula also include hands-on learning activities by sending additional physical elements alongside their digital platforms. This allows students to experiment, create, build, and interact with different materials as instructed by the platform, opening spaces for collaboration, curiosity, and higher engagement.

When it comes to evidence-based tests or activities, it’s possible for students to record physical results in digital form to demonstrate their understanding of certain hands-on concepts. For example, they can write or draw on paper and show their outcomes through an embedded camera and voice feature, reaching teachers as soon as the exam or activity is submitted. 

Quizli has been designed with this feature in mind through the Student Scan App. This tool gives teachers the option to require pen and paper, oral tests, or other interactive results during assessments and activities, allowing students to use their phones to capture evidence and submit it as part of the test. We understand the need for education to go beyond digital approaches, especially when students’ lives are already brimming with screens, which motivated us to develop this critical tool.

Engaging the whole student in activities that test both hard and soft skills through experiential learning can make a sizable difference in how they learn, as evidenced by multiple studies over the years. Today, edtech doesn’t have to exclude hands-on approaches in the classroom, with multiple tools demonstrating that they can involve the physical and digital worlds to better support learning outcomes.

Still in its pilot stage, teachers can download Quizli for free and test it to provide the team with meaningful feedback. If you’re interested in being part of the first batch of educators enjoying our assessment, grading, and lesson-planning platform, contact our team to get started!sc