Wednesday, 29 January 2014

Why is conventional education system wrong?

Here is one of the interesting excerpts I came across while I was reading through one of the books on methodologies we need to adopt for effective use of our brains. The excerpt is as quoted below:

"The way in which we learn the best can be easily slotted into one of three categories: visual learning, auditory learning, and kinesthetic learning.

Seeing (Visual Learner):
A Visual Learner is someone who learns best by seeing a representation of what he or she is studying, either in pictures, or written words, or an actual demonstration. Good visual learners tend to-

>> Be strong readers (usually fast, but not always);
>> Be good spellers (usually because they can "see" the word);
>> Prefer, after a certain age, to read for themselves rather than have stories read to them;
>> Find it easier to remember things they see rather than just hear (such as having instructions written down rather than spoken, or using a map rather than listening to directions);
>> Doodle when thinking, talking on the phone, or during a meeting, and
>> Remember visual material presented in videotapes

Hearing (Auditory Learner):
An auditory learner is someone who learns best by hearing things. Such learners prefer hearing material in a lecture or classroom setting. Good auditory learners tend to-

>> Prefer talking to writing when describing something,
>> Prefer making a telephone call to writing a letter,
>> Become distracted by noise more than are visual learners,
>> Have a strong sense for music than for visual arts such as painting, and
>> Remember when they hear more easily than what they see.

Doing (Kinesthetic Learners):
A Kinesthetic Learner is someone who learns best by actually doing it. Moving, touching, and experiencing something firsthand are often essentially to this type of learner. Good Kinesthetic learners tend to-

>> Speak and write more slowly than the other two modalities of learners, but have confident fluid physical movements;
>> Use hand gestures more often;
>> Prefer hands-on learning to just seeing or hearing about something,
>> Have difficulty sitting still for extended periods when younger (not because of any "disorder", but because they are used to moving and exploring their world, and formal school discourages this);
>> Memorize things better and more easily when being physically active (such as walking around the room when reciting); and
>> Understand things better when they are acted out. 

Research indicates that each of us has an initial preferred learning mode and that the distribution among the three modalities is roughly equal. In fact, the most common, by a small margin, is the Kinesthtic, and the last common is the visual. Yet our formal education system is set up to favor the visual, tolerate the auditory, and actively discourage (even punish) the kinesthetic.

Think about it. From the earliest grades the children who sit quietly and read or write are rewarding. Those who walk a lot and need the teacher to verbally explain things again and again are considered irritants. And the kids who forget, move around, and cannot sit still are labelled "problems".

Just because one mode of learning tends to be stronger than the others, it does not mean that we cannot become adept at learning in other ways. The fidgety "problem" child can develop excellent ways of learning visually and auditorily. But that physical way of learning should not be undervalued or declared a deficit of some kind. The more we find ways to study and learn that force us to use all three modalities, the more effective we become in the same amount of time."

Excerpt from: "Study smarter not harder" by Kevin Paul, Jaico Publishing House, Pg. 23, 24 and 25