In spite of catchy (and often cheesy) mission statements from schools, colleges and tuition centres, educational methods are commonly based around memorisation of content – focused on learning specific facts and concepts with a specific exam in mind. Students are expected to memorise a ridiculous amount of information to regurgitate in an exam environment. Even though this method has been used for decades, it has been proved largely ineffective.
In the US, Lawrenceville school conducted an experiment to test the effectiveness of an education model based solely on memorisation. Students’ grades from their final exams in June were taken and an average of B+ (87 percent) was found. After their summer vacation, returning students were required to retake a simplified version of their exams (the school removed low-level “forgettable questions”). The results were alarming. The average grade of these simplified tests plummeted to an F (58 percent). Not one student retained mastery of the concepts they had learned the previous term! These findings bring about a concerning questions regarding our approach to teaching students:
If what was learned has vanished so quickly from students’ minds – was anything actually learned to begin with?
This is a major issue for parents preparing their children for examinations, especially those designed to gain a place at coveted, prospective schools. Parents often try to help their children by encouraging them to memorise all the key information, concepts and topics needed for success in their exams, without acknowledging that this is an ineffective learning method; one that can actually be detrimental in the long term. Even if this method is successful in passing the exams, students often fall behind and experience difficulty in keeping up with peers at their new schools.
It is essential, as parents and teachers, that we form a clear education strategy that serves to prepare children for success in life; teaching them how to learn, as much as we teach them what to learn.
Engaging our children in varied learning workshops and creative writing courses help unlock kids’ creativity and boost confidence in how they think, feel and work. Choosing the right kind of supplementary course is an important decision to make: the class environment should be interesting to them, as well as fun, engaging and challenging. This will ensure they internalise the skill sets taught and develop key character traits required for a successful, happy and fulfilling life.
If you are in need of expert advice on how to get the most out of your child’s learning, contact the team at 11 Plus London (email info@11pluslondon.co.uk or call +44 207 384 2792). If you like what you’ve seen or heard here, please share your thoughts and comment below. Also feel free to share this with other parents and become a part of the Sharing Parent community.
Original content sourced from: 11 Plus London.
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