How To Study

Get over the idea that only children should spend their time in study. Be a student so long as you still have something to learn, and this will mean all your life. Henry L. Doherty



I guess this post is a bit late because the exams are over and the holidays are here soon. Nevertheless, this can be information for you when thinking about your children’s study habits and may help you plan what you can do to help their learning in the coming year.

The New York Times published an article on Sept 6, 2020 entitled “Forget what you know about good study habits” and in it, Benedict Carey dismissed some long cherished notions about how we should study. Here is a summary of the key findings:

1. Psychologists have found no support for the belief that children have specific learning styles i.e. they are either visual or auditory learners or they are left or right brained learners. Catering to their specific learning styles does not help learning.

2. Studying consistently in a specific place, room or quiet corner of the library does not promote learning. Scientists found that students remember better when they study in different locations. They believe that with a change in contexts, the information to be learnt is enriched and that slows down forgetting.

3. Students who study different types of material or different subjects in one sitting recall more information than those who study just one subject at a single sitting. So, it might be better to do a bit of each subject than just all of one subject.

4. Intensive immersion in a subject does not help retention. It’s better to space out the studying, for example an hour a day, an hour over the weekend etc. Such spacing out of the learning allows the brain to pack the information in carefully and gradually. Students don’t have to put in extra effort and they end up remembering more.

5. Testing helps recall because tests not only measures knowledge but they change it. Students who studied some material twice, in back to back sessions, did well on a test given immediately afterwards but they also forget the material after a while. Those who studied the material once and did a practice test in the second session, did well on a test two days later and another given a week later. So there’s something to be said for the teach-test-teach model.

6. The harder the material is, the harder it is to forget. Don’t let difficult material scare your children.

These are interesting claims, and there may just be some truth in them. But some of you may say that we grew up with the old ways of learning and we did okay. True. Indeed, nothing can take the place of motivation and the hunger to succeed when it comes to getting good grades. Without the motivation, these insights may just well be a waste of time. But then again, these ideas may just be what your child needs to go the extra mile.

On a separate but related topic, read what Dr Marvin Marshall has to say about sitting up straight. This is taken from his newsletter Promoting Responsibility and Learning.


When you were growing up, your mother may have told you to sit up straight. She gave good advice because good posture helps you look confident and make a good impression.

It turns out that sitting up straight can also improve how you feel about yourself, according to a study in the October 2009 issue of the European Journal of Social Psychology.

Researchers asked college students to rate themselves on how good they would be as job candidates and employees. Those who were told to sit up straight before filling out a form gave themselves higher ratings than those instructed to slouch while filling out the rating form.

Once again, Mom was right.

Source: MarvinMarshall.com

Once again, we have much unlearning and re learning to do.

Mabuhay!

Miss Philippines and Miss Singapore at the parade of nations

I’ve just returned from a trip to Manila where I presented a plenary paper and conducted a workshop for teachers. That was not my first time there; indeed, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been there but this was probably the second time in Manila itself, and that means along Roxas Boulevard, the Orchard Road of Manila. The other times were outside Manila or in the suburbs.

I’ve known the folks at the Reading Association of Philippines (RAP) since my days in the Society for Reading and Literacy (SRL), and have kept up a friendship with them through my involvement in the regional literacy group, International Development in Asia or IDAC. IDAC is affiliated to the International Reading Association (IRA). The Philippines make many people nervous because of the many negative stories about terrorists and kidnappers. The truth is every country has its bad places. I remember the years when I lived in Oakland, California. Oakland was then known as the homicide capital of the US because of the number of drive-by shootings. But my family and I had a good stay there and never once met a bad guy, if you don’t count the homeless guys along Telegraph who only wanted a quarter for coffee.

Whenever I am in the Philippines, my friends there make me feel safe and I don’t do anything silly to endanger myself. It helps that everyone there thinks I am a Filipino. People don’t just come up and ask if I were a Filipino; they just speak to me straightaway in Tagalog. I am used to this having had the same experience in other parts of the world, even in Europe. My friend, Merlene, taught me a couple of Tagalog words to use as retorts like talaga, which means “really” or “is it?” which I toss out every now and then with the appropriate intonation.

The conference was held at Manila Hotel, which is the Raffles Hotel there. It’s historic and majestic with an old world charm. Filipinos are always warm and friendly and Filipino teachers show their appreciation by taking pictures with you. Filipinos are crazy about photo taking. So for the two days, I acted like a celebrity and was posing for photographs here and there. Some teachers also remembered me from my last visit there several years ago and that was gratifying although I had great difficulty responding to comments like, “Surely you remember me? I was the one who gave you the answer about comprehension.” Sometimes it takes me a while to recall a face; other times, I’m afraid this old brain has too many holes in it. Do forgive my lapses in memory.

Filipino teachers, as you all know, are not well paid but despite that, they participate actively in professional organisations. As part of the activities at the conference, I was able to help sponsor some literacy programmes as well as two teachers to become members of the International Reading Association. It made me think about how few Singaporean teachers find the need to join any professional organisation although they can well afford it and the subscription fees are low. Perhaps being an MOE teacher is already enough since MOE provides everything, but does this mean that professional organisations here like SRL and ASCD have no hope of ever growing a strong membership base among teachers? In a poor country like the Philippines, the Reading Association was able to celebrate their 40th anniversary and their past president, Sally Labanda has the distinction of being the first Asian board member at IRA.

We have such success at ASCD, and Dr Ang Wai Hoong and Miss Betsy Lim have been past board members at ASCD International. But we have a lot more support and resources than the Filipinos. Every time I am at an international event with them, I am constantly impressed with the way the Filipinos present themselves. You can’t mistake the sense of unity and fierce pride they have of their culture and country. Filipinos I meet often sigh with some envy and longing when they hear I am from Singapore; it’s the land of milk and honey for them. Sadly, when I am home, I hear nothing but grouses, whines and complaints.

At the opening of the conference, a group of adorable kids paraded in the costumes of the different nations. Miss Singapore, as you can see in the picture above, really looks the part. Check out the attitude. Miss Philippines also represented the country well. Check out the big smile and the costume.