"You can teach a student a lesson
for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will
continue the learning process as long as he lives." - Clay P. Bedford
Indian students are smart in
memorizing the content and reproducing it effectively during the examinations and
making grades. Is it beneficial in the
long run?
Indian education encourages 3Rs –
read, write and reproduce. Most of the students work hard to cram the content
without knowing its implications and applications. In addition, teachers encourage students by
giving them a lot of notes rather than encourage them to think critically and
conceptually.
According to Sylvia Downs and Patricia
Perry, there are three ways of learning.
First is learning by memorizing which enables the individuals to recall
material in the same form as it was originally learned. Secondly, learning by
understanding where understanding is an active mental process involving
thoughts which link or group ideas in a new way that makes sense to the
individual. Thirdly, learning by doing which involves learning a procedure and
then practicing it until the individual becomes skilful. These three methods of learning can be called
MUD which is the acronym for memorizing, understanding, and doing. When we look at Indian education from the
perspective of MUD, it mostly emphasizes on memorizing, neglecting the other
two areas – understanding and doing. Hence, Indian teachers and students must
equally focus on understanding the key concepts and exploring the things
through practice to learn effectively. They
must think critically, analyze logically, and apply effectively to achieve the
desired outcomes out of Indian education. When the learners understand the
concepts properly they can apply in innumerable areas and reap rewards out of
it. Remember the sage words of James
Truslow Adams: "There are obviously two educations. One should teach us
how to make a living and the other how to live."
“Learning is an active process. We
learn by doing. Only knowledge that is used sticks in your mind.” - Dale
Carnegie
Reference
Alan Mumford: Effective Learning
Email: profmsr12@gmail.com
Born for the Students
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