By Mr Kwok
Recently, we have received many queries from parents about our teaching methods. Do we just give out worksheets to our students to complete, mark and return to them? How are our lessons structured? Do we give homework – how often and how much? Do we give our students a break in our lessons? Understandably, these are reasonable questions in the minds of parents before they sign their children up in any tuition centre. I will attempt to answer them in this post and in the process, provide a clearer picture to the reader of how we teach. (You may also check out Our Teaching Philosophy here.)
Using Worksheets as a Complementary Tool in our Tuition Lessons
We do not simply throw out worksheets to our students to complete. No doubt, the practice is efficient. All the teacher has to do is to collect the worksheets upon completion, mark and return them to the students. Hopefully, the student has the initiative to ask questions when he is doing the worksheet and when the worksheet is returned to him. Hopefully, he understands the teacher’s comments in the marked worksheet. Hopefully, he internalises the mistakes he has committed and makes sure he does not repeat them. Hopefully…
The use of worksheets solely is workable provided the student is sufficiently motivated to clarify his doubts and improve his competency in the subject. Even then, he may not know the right questions to ask due to a lack of knowledge in the subject matter. He probably does not know the best way to organise his learning as he does not have an overview of the subject matter.
Explanation & Examples should Complement Worksheets
This is where the teacher/tutor comes in. The role of the teacher is to organise the content into a concise and easy-to-follow format for the student. This format can only be conveyed to the student through explanation and examples. As time is always limited, she has to streamline her teaching based on the key concepts. Real life examples are given whenever possible so that the student can relate his learning to them. When the class has sufficiently grasped the content, only then are worksheets given out to test the student’s understanding and enhance his content retention.
Obviously, error correction is a big part of learning. Mistakes made by the student in the worksheet should be acknowledged and rectified as soon as possible. Besides that, the teacher is responsible for sharing with the class the common mistakes and misconceptions in the topic being taught. If she’s experienced enough, she can also discuss about commonly encountered questions with the caveat that there can be new questions appearing.
Interaction and Discussion should Complement Worksheets
At another level, the strength of a group lesson for the student is the opportunity for him to interact and discuss with his classmates. Our teacher is responsible in facilitating such activities, keeping them within context and within time frame. No doubt, the student must be willing to open up and join in the discussion. If done properly, he has the potential to consolidate and reinforce his learning more efficiently than studying alone or in a 1-to-1 tuition setting. In the process, he is actively engaged in his learning and gets to discover the gaps in his knowledge and other aspects of the topic unbeknownst to him.
At the same time, through interactions between our teacher and her students, rapport is built over time. Naturally, the students feel comfortable learning in the classroom when they trust that their teacher has their best interests at heart. They also open themselves up to asking the teacher questions when they know they will not be ridiculed. These intangible dimensions of learning are as important as tangible worksheets.
A Variety of Activities should Complement Worksheets
A good mix of explanation & examples, interaction & discussion and worksheets is the staple of an effective classroom. They provide a variety of activities to keep the student’s attention which is all the more important when wading through more mentally intensive topics. Not surprisingly, attention is often cited as essential to learning and memory formation.
Depending on the subject and the topic, we occasionally spice up our activities in the classroom. Mind mapping has been mentioned in our posts several times and we maintained that it is a useful tool for both teacher and student. The student is able to form connections in his content within the same topic and with other topics, strengthening content retention several fold.
Experiments and field trips are especially invaluable in Science as they help the student visualise his learning by bringing textbook concepts to life.
Charades are used in teaching languages since they force our students to think out of the box due to charades’ unconventional nature.
Lastly, who does not like a friendly competition in the classroom. Kahoot!, Spelling Bee and gamification of worksheets can keep the lesson interesting and the students’ attention.
Do we give Homework in Tuition – how often and how much?
Homework can become a source of stress and dread for the student. Stress and dread are never good when they are associated with learning. This correlation has been well covered in many studies. (Here is one.) Homework can also become just another worksheet without sufficient explanation & examples and interaction & discussion.
Therefore, homework in our tuition centre is given out judiciously. Homework should only come in when our teachers are confident that their students are reasonably adept in the content and doing a reasonable amount of homework can expose them to novel questions or improve their responses.
How are our Tuition Lessons Structured?
If you have been reading the section above on the use of worksheets as a complementary too, you should have figured out our lesson structure. Typically, each lesson starts with a recap of previous lessons and ends with a summary of the day’s lesson. In between, we start a topic with explanation & examples and wrap it up with worksheets. Interspersed into these activities, interaction & discussion are always welcome and facilitated if necessary.
Do we have a Break in our Tuition Lessons?
To optimise the learning time of the student while he is in our centre for each 1.5-hour lesson, we do not have a designated break in our lessons. Nevertheless, he is free to take his own individual break to freshen himself if necessary.
A Relaxed Atmosphere
We do not believe in creating a pressure cooker environment in our tuition centre. Our key performance index (KPI) is not the completion of worksheets. Rather, we believe in providing the best environment and teaching system to produce the best learning outcome for our students.
As mentioned above in the section on homework, we do not want our students to link studying to stress. Though it seems obvious, we find it worthwhile to mention that a relaxed mind aided by a relaxed atmosphere offers the ideal condition to study and learn.
A worksheets-only environment is not conducive to a relaxed atmosphere as it instills a sense of worksheet completion being the one and only KPI for effective learning. Imagine the student rushing to complete one worksheet and only to find another worksheet waiting for him. This is precisely the kind of pressure cooker environment we want to avoid.
Final Thoughts on the Use of Worksheets in Tuition
Worksheets are undeniably the bread-and-butter of teaching and learning. As a formative tool, they enable the student (and the teacher) to gauge his progress in following the content. They also engage his retrieval of the content, positively reinforcing his memory. As a summative tool, they allow the student to experience how assessment questions are structured, as well as the skills and knowledge he ought to have in preparation for his school assessment. In short, worksheets are indispensable.
However, worksheets should not become the sole activity of teaching and learning. They have to complement explanation & examples, interaction & discussion and a variety of activities to provide a holistic learning package for the student. Only then can the student optimise his learning given the limited time he has during tuition.