Reflections on "How do people learn"

The chapter revolves around the different types of learning, namely learner centered, knowledge centered, assessment centered and community centered learning environments. It also touches on other factors as well as the rigorous demands in learning as we progress.

Well in Singapore, I figured that our education is skewed towards "PSLE centered" learning. A lot of importance has been placed on this examination, so much so that teachers in Singapore are simply working and striving towards one goal: to help the pupils achieve good results in the PSLE examinations. Good results are deemed as passports to premium secondary schools whilst poor ones cause pupils to end up buried, almost dead.

Over the years, there had been the surfacing of new teaching initiatives such as "teach less, learn more", "learning circles", "multiple intelligences", just to mention a few. Such policies aim to encourage pupils to move away from the traditional mindset that excellence in academic results is everything. These initiatives serve as a platform for pupils to be engaged in more independent learning, to promote creativity, and thinking out of the box. When DSA (direct school admission) was first introduced, the key goal was perhaps to place less emphasis on academic results. Instead, pupils are given the support to pursue their interests in areas such as sports, arts, music etc. Nonetheless, I suppose this DSA scheme be taken with a pinch of salt. A common report saw parents pulling their children out of the Singapore Sports School, fearing that the lack of academic depth as compared to other educational institutions will deeply affect their children in the long run. Another sight would be the ubiquitous engagement of private tutors for the children. Both the points above illustrate the fact that the current mindset of Singaporeans remains rather conservative and down-to-earth, whereby a sheet of qualifications is still believed largely to be able to do wonders.

Coupled with high expectations coming from parents and pupils alike, and the personal calling to provide the best for every child, teachers are more often than not, left to shoulder the immense responsibility. So what happens to us teachers who are working on the ground? Well, finding ways and means to help pupils achieve good results, conducting remedial, supplementary and extra-curriculum classes. Whatever it takes, we will do it! Just that we got to stop at the last resort: helping our pupils sit for the major examinations.

Moving into the 21st century, teaching methods should progress in line with technological advancements. Besides, we teachers can look into the aspects of learning environments to see how we can help pupils to learn better with ease and comfort!! Of course, we aim to help pupils achieve the best results and fulfill their short-term goals using the shortest time and hopefully least effort. As learning is a never-ending process, spare time and extra energy can then be used to further equip our pupils with additional knowledge and skills.

Hopefully with the module that I am taking now, I can look deeper into and gain a clearer understanding on how to provide better assessment centered learning. Basically, assessment centered learning gives us an overview on how teachers can conduct an assessment. Issues that were brought up include over emphasis on recall work, and also how teachers tend to overlook on the feedback provided by students and move onto new chapters and lessons instead. These feedbacks will serve to be very useful especially when doing revisions with the pupils.

Personally as a teacher, the piles and piles of worksheets that I have to mark every day actually serves as a good feedback for my teaching. The mistakes that the pupils made serve as an indicator on how well or poorly I have taught the topic. It allows me to have a better awareness of the learning ability of each pupil, and also be able to identify the areas where these pupils require more assistance. When I find pupils making a particular mistake, I will grab the opportunity to correct the misconception they have, or to further build on with examples out of the textbook or syllabus. Not only will this minimize rote learning, it will also serve as a catalyst for deeper thinking and inquiring.

As a teacher, we cannot escape from setting exam papers. Even though it is impossible to completely move away from recall questions, the examination format has evolved through the years. From a more recall based examination in the past, we are slowly but gradually moving towards a “thinking” examination. Pupils are expected to have a good grasp and understanding of the topics learnt, together with the ability to process the knowledge and then further applications in out-of-the box scenarios present in examinations. The underlying implication is simple: teachers have to assist pupils in truly understanding what is being taught rather merely reproducing from the drill and practice approach.

In addition to the above points, there are also other various factors that will influence pupils' learning. Family background is certainly one of them. Family values and upbringing is extremely essential and crucial in shaping a child’s character and learning capacity. Within a few years in my teaching profession, I had a chance to work with pupils from both good upbringing families as well as single-parent family. From past experiences, I discovered that the learning abilities of these separate groups of children differ greatly. The former has a more positive learning attitude whereas the latter tends to be more laid-back. Furthermore, a lack of parental support and attention has a negative impact on a child’s learning journey. Young children, especially, look towards recognition from the adults, be it parents or teachers. As such, children coming from supportive families tend to work harder, compared to their peers from families which shower lesser care and attention.

In conclusion, a child’s learning is largely affected by the community and the society. Therefore, it is of utmost important to have a good comprehension and insight of our pupils' learning environment. In this way, we will then be able to make necessary changes to social banes or further build on positive attributes to promote enhanced learning.