Can more teaching equal less learning? By Ola Opesan
In Nigeria, the banking, religious and schooling sectors seem to have an infinite market capacity. For schools and other learning institutes the demand of Nigerians for accredited or formal study appears almost insatiable. Yet, this yearning for more knowledge begs the question: does more teaching or instruction equate with more learning?
For parents that can afford it, the norm is now to send children as young as suckling babes to school: crèche or kindergarten. This innate urge to give our young the best start in life has its upside. For example, it has a positive impact on their reading ability later on in life. SEN (Special Educational Needs) specialists expect children that have schooled in Nigeria to have a reading age that is plus one of their actual (chronological) age.
However, receiving formal teaching at an early age can also lead to educational ‘burnout’. Japan’s recent restructuring of its educational system is testament to the fallacy of starting very young and trying to fill every waking hour with study or instruction under the supervision of a teacher. ‘Officials at the Education Ministry (Japan) acknowledge that the problems of disaffected and poorly performing students enter into the thinking behind the changes. But they say the main issue is that year after year of overworking students has left people exhausted, and destroyed creativity and individual initiative’ (D Jefferies, 2006).
Nowadays, not only does the quest for formal education start sooner, there’s a plethora of strategies for lengthening the school day. Of course, there’s the traditional after school lessons and time-honoured homework. In addition, we now have booster classes, weekend classes, exam classes and lessons during the holiday.
All these extra opportunities to learn often result in increased learning if used judiciously. Yet, are they used appropriately? How do we guard against overloading the keen and eager student? For the sake of analysis, let’s split these extra opportunities to learn into teacher-led learning and pupil-led learning. Both are desirable for students, but to overdo either can lead to diminishing returns and in rare cases, mental breakdown.
Some parents and teachers mistake teaching as a synonym for learning because of the interminable link between the two activities. In my student life and teaching life I’ve sometimes considered the two activities as being interchangeable. Alas, more teaching does not always equal more learning. An inverse relationship can actually occur if individual needs are not considered.
If the vast percentage of learning comes from a teacher, how is a student expected to develop independent study skills, research expertise or investigatory proficiency, which are crucial for graduate and post-graduate studies.
Unless this extra teaching is delivered by a very skilled professional, who is cognisant and ready to apply ‘non-passive’ tools such as team work, group discussion or brain gym, the learning becomes monotonous and in effect, amounts to a waste of time and money.
Furthermore, the power of independent study and discovery can not be overemphasised. How many times has someone asked you incredulously why you’ve failed to understand a joke and the more you’ve tried to process it, the less you’ve comprehended its mirth-making potential. However, minutes or hours later, you’re alone and you burst out laughing because you’ve now figured out the joke. Again, it’s the same as trying to locate hidden images within a picture. The more you stare, the less you see; until one day it’s there. Crystal clear, right before your eyes. That’s learning - sometimes it only happens within that ‘private space’ or ‘interior world’ within the mind, in your own time; and no amount of questioning, exposition, cajoling, ridiculing or even physical intimidation can induce clarification.
Friedrich Froebel, often regarded as the founder of the kindergarten, expressed the same thought by urging teachers not to ‘interfere with this process of maturation, but act as a guide’ (Simon, 1999). Simon highlighted that this was linked with the process of development or ‘readiness’. This means, the child will learn when he or she is ready’ (ibid).
A good teacher without setting traditional or compulsory homework, will find ways to ignite the senses of the learner outside of the class room. When independent study takes place away from the class room this can be deemed student-centred learning. This form of learning has been associated with the work of renowned educationist, Piaget. It emphasises ‘the concept of the student’s choice in their own education … the student doing more than the lecturer (active versus passive learning)’ (T. McMahon et al, 2008).
This write-up is not a testament to eschew hard work or extra lessons. It is a call for students not to become too dependent on receiving the bulk of their learning from a teacher. In effect, students should avoid being spoon-fed. Also, it is a call for teachers and parents to realise that they can only take the student so far. Deep-seated learning and new discoveries take place when learners are let loose to forge their own way, tread new paths. Can you remember where Archimedes was when he shouted: “Eureka”? Let’s give the youth time to grow.
Ola Opesan trained at the University of Greenwich, London. Previously, he has held different positions: Head of Maths and Assistant Headteacher in London Comprehensives. He is currently the Principal of Meadow Hall College, Lekki.
