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02, Less Is More – SCUs Or Not, Students Will Learn More If They Were Taught Less!

This is a teacher speaking – one with an open mind and open notes of knowledge gathered from googling. I’m saying after observing education via secondhand news, from Argentina to England to the Philippines, in schools or in homes, in private schools or SCUs: Students are taughtfacts – which is unmindful teaching!

Facebook sharing: In the Philippines, Mila Concepcion (not her real name) is saying, “I have declined to teach in 3 universities where I (taught) before the pandemic, because I am not sure I will be as effective as in the traditional face-to-face-interaction in class.” Ms Concepcion typifies teachers who think teaching is imparting knowledge 100%. Ms Concepcion, hindi ka nag-iisa. You are not alone; there are millions and millions of you.

Here’s news for everyone! “Educators Around World Seek To Take Axe To Exam-Based Learning[1],” says Bethan Staton (23 January 2021, Financial Times). Her lead sentence is:

“Covid era prompts push to ditch one-size-fits-all approach in favor of skills and independent thinking.”

Goodbye standardized exams! Ms Bethan says, Bill Lucas, Director of the Centre for Real-World Learning at UK’s Winchester University, “believes traditional assessments unfairly (standardize) children of different abilities, fail to capture essential skills and put young people off through (their) rote-learning, one-size-fits-all approach.”

The teacher gives the exact same exam to students in a class, and the next class, and the next. Historically, the school has been a factory of learners since classes began! (That may be Roman Catholic in origin, as during “the Early Middle Ages, the monasteries of the Roman Catholic Church were the centers of education and literacy[2].”)

“Survey after survey says creativity, critical-thinking and communications are what we need. Exams don’t assess those things,” Mr Lucas said.

I will now call those The 3 Cs of Teaching. Whatever you are thinking, from Agriculture to Virology, you have to be intelligent and/or inventive. Creative, Agriculture – To fight pests naturally, plant beautiful flowers that attract those pesky insects instead of feasting on your crop! Critical, Law: There are how many ways of looking at this case? Communicative, Math – Ms Bethan says, in Newfoundland, “one (math) assessment, for example, involved younger children putting knowledge into practice with a recipe.” Everyone enjoyed, everyone learned!

Here’s more. Ms Bethan says:

The project-based curriculum of Animas High School in Colorado offers another alternative. Instead of end-of-year tests, students publish “digital portfolio” websites that showcase their work, goals and interests. Older pupils choose a topic and explore it through a 15-20 page research project, a talk and an initiative in the local community.

There is no end to enjoyable learning if there is freedom in both teaching and learning!

Ms Bethan says:

In the US, some schools and districts have adopted “graduate profiles” setting out competencies or skills such as compassion, determination or creativity. Shelby County, in Kentucky, expects students to be responsible collaborators, life-long learners and critical thinkers, which are necessary requirements in a “knowledge-based economy that emphasizes ideas and innovations.”

All educators must be re-educated!@517


[1]https://www.ft.com/content/9d64e479-182c-4dbd-96fe-0c26272a5875?fbclid=IwAR3Q7AhrciTYLL558piE9p2NeK0GBerkhMXaPFWFvKWUzjTwVpsK_cT7igk

[2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_education

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