Experimentation
In brief, this is a process of testing concepts to see how effective they are and looking for more insights. The reason this method can help you to improve your learning process is that there are tasks that require different approaches, gathering data, and reviewing results. All those activities make your brain work harder than usual.
Using experimentation as your learning process can promote active understanding, discovery, and critical thinking. This approach makes studying more engaging and stimulates curiosity and inquiry, where you set your mindset of exploration. You can ask questions, find possibilities, and get answers. This will enable you to retain what you learn and the entire process will be more significant.
How does experimentation work?
Experimentation is the process that guides you through testing ideas and drawing conclusions. The result you get becomes the conclusion from the practice you have done. It starts when you have a question, problem, or curiosity about how or why something works. After that, you can find the answer actively through a structured method.
It is important to follow every step accordingly; otherwise, it can be confusing, misleading, or difficult to understand. What the structure does is to help you stay focused on the goal and not on other activities. Moreover, the structure also encourages careful thinking, planning, and recording. Here are the steps you need to follow for an accurate and clear result:
Ask a question
Every experimentation starts with a question or a problem. A good question can be the guide for the following steps. This becomes the main topic of your practice, seeing how to solve the issue or answer the question. It needs to be specific and measurable. Doing so will increase your focus on your investigation and provide a clear goal for your activity.
Background research
You cannot jump into the research before understanding the topic. That is why you need to learn more about the background of the research. Research helps you to find the things that are already known and factors that can affect the result. In addition, background research assists you in creating a stronger hypothesis.
Form a hypothesis
It is an educated guess about what you think happens from your experimentation. The purpose of writing this is to give you something to test and help you predict the result. This becomes the foundation throughout the research process, supporting you to focus your efforts and analyse results more effectively.
Planning
Just like everything else, an experiment requires proper planning. The reason this part is crucial is that it affects how the process will be carried out. At this stage, you need to pick the materials, write the procedure, and look for the variables (independent variable, dependent variable, and controlled variables).
Conduct the process
After the plan is ready, it is time to carry out the practice. It is crucial to follow the experimentation procedure according to the steps you have taken before to avoid confusion. There is going to be careful observation and consistency to prevent any error because it will ruin your data. Moreover, be sure to follow safety rules and handle materials properly, especially if they involve tools or chemicals. Here are the breakdowns:
- Collect data: Write down what happened during the process of experimentation as data. It could be in numbers or descriptions. The record could be the changes that occur during the practice. For instance, growth, time, and more.
- Review the data: After collecting and recording the data, the next step is to look for patterns or differences. To make it clearer, you can use tools like charts, graphs, or tables.
- Draw the conclusion: The experimentation ends with a conclusion. You need to answer the hypothesis and the original question based on the data you have gathered. The end result should explain what happened and why, using the evidence to support the explanation. After this, you can complete the research and create a report.
