Top 4 Reasons Why You Prefer Hands-On Learning

You want to increase your earning power and open yourself up to new job opportunities. As part of this career development, you’ve considered continuing your education.

There’s only one issue: traditional classroom settings have never been the best way for you to learn new skills. You prefer to learn by doing. For example, you may remember your last woodshop class more vividly than your last social studies class. In the former, you learned a specific skill and applied it to a reallife situation. In the latter, you may have mentally checked out, not because you wanted to, but because you didn’t feel intellectually stimulated in that environment.

People who prefer hands-on learning experiences may be more likely to choose careers in trade industries. In our last blog, we explained the six benefits of hands-on trade training.  Below, we’ll explain which kinds of people excel in hands-on learning environments and why.

1. You’re Left-Brain Dominant

The neuroscience theory called brain hemisphere dominance explains that every person’s skills, personality traits, and learning preferences stem from the side of his or her brain that’s more dominant.

People with right-brain dominance are intuitive, whereas left-brain dominant people are fundamentally analytical. They make calculated decisions based on facts, not feelings. Instead of creating lofty, unrealistic expectations for their work performance, they set reasonable, achievable goals for themselves.

Because of their analytical nature, many left-brain dominant people do well in hands-on, technical fields. They have no problem following directions and completing tasks in an appropriate order. They also tend excel in science and math and enjoy researching things thoroughly.

To find out if you’re left-brain dominant, take this free brain dominance test.

2. You Get Bored During Lectures

According to Science Magazine, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students are more likely to fail a course taught in a lecture format than one taught in a hands-on environment. If you struggle to pay attention during lectures, you might do better in a trade school, apprenticeship, or other active learning experiences.

3. You Like the Schedule and Measurable Goals of Project-Based Work

Electricians and other tradesmen may pursue this project-based work because they prefer to the linear progression of each project. Every job has a logical beginning, middle, and end, and each phase is based on realistic, achievable steps in a specific timeframe.

The same idea goes for hands-on learning. Your lessons involve starting a project with the skills you learn. You create a work schedule and set a goal for the project’s completion. Then, utilizing your skill set, you execute your plan and, hopefully, finish the project on time.

4. You Want Feedback About How You Can Do Your Work Better

During every project you work on in a hands-on learning environment, you strive for an end product. For example, if you are learning to rewire a freight elevator, the success or failure of the project is tangible and easy to see. Either the elevator operates or it doesn’t. The feedback you get from your instructors and from the success or failure of the project is concrete and specific.

Many people who prefer hands-on learning not only welcome this feedback but they also use it as an opportunity to improve their performance and do a better job during the next project. This feedback also helps you prepare for jobs after your training. The more feedback you get during your training, the better you can do after you’ve been certified in your trade.

If you learn better by doing, then an electrician apprenticeship might be right for you. The Independent Electrical Contractors of Cincinnati offer unique, hands-on training programs to help jumpstart your career as an electrician. Call us for more information about how you can get started today.