The teacher, student and content

Tshwarelo Hosia | Monday October 2, 2023 06:00

It is one’s fervent hope that the teachers and school principals heeded the clarion call for the adoption of an all embracing teaching and learning experience, which leaves no single child behind.

The goal is to have a rich and harmonious interaction between the three vital constituents of the teaching and learning process being the teacher, student and content. If harmonised, the triangular relationship should support and accelerate attainment of student improved learning outcomes. The focus on best instructional practices is calculated in the short-term to make our students examinations ready and to assist in the realisation of improved livelihoods in the long-term. As the examination season approaches, it is fitting and proper at this juncture to ponder on the subject of readiness of students for examinations. Are they ready? This is a question giving both high achieving and low achieving schools no respite at all. The examination is a critical lap in the academic journey of students.

It is a final moment of truth where students are expected to demonstrate their mettle following a rigorous training process. Facing an examination is not supposed to be an ordeal or a dreadful experience. It is an opportunity for students to shine and to showcase their prowess. After all the life of a school revolves around examinations and students are no strangers to examinations having encountered a series of quizzes, tests and half yearly examinations. Students should be confident and do what they know best in the exam room.

The best form of preparation begins with the mind. Psychological readiness and a feeling positivity remove out of the equation panic and fear while encouraging calmness and composure. Students do better and unleash their best selves when they owe allegiance to their school in general and teachers in particular. Students should believe in the teaching prowess of their teachers because as they say, no other teacher is better than your own teacher. Allegiance to one’s school starts with a sense of pride and gratification with the work and investments the teachers and the school have put into the preparation of students for examinations.

Approaching an examination with a burning desire to glorify the name of their school and reward teachers for their efforts instils in the minds of students a sense of commitment and purpose. No obstacle, however, so strong, can stand in the way of faith. Another psychological advantage lies in the elimination of the spirit of self-doubt.

Students should believe in their abilities to achieve and reach the highest level of proficiency. There is no achievement gap that is too difficult to close. In actual fact, examinations have a way of increasing some semblance of accountability on the part of students. The last minute realisation that they are now on their own and have to do everything possible to take charge of their destinies could be a game changer. Parental support or any form of pep talk at this hour lands well because it is almost like preaching to the converted. Parents and teachers should never give up on students because there is always room for redemption. The other thing students should realise and accept is that success does not come cheap. Success comes at a huge cost. Success should compel students to ‘clean house.’ This could take the form of forgoing sweet short-term conveniences in order to secure the big prize. It means choosing to unlearn counterproductive practices such hanging out with wrong and misguided friends within and outside the borders of a school.

Examination time is a ‘sacred’ season demanding a lot of discipline and self-restraint. It is a sign of maturity and respect for the exam period to switch allegiance from the usual company of distractive elements to forge new alliances with disciplined, focused and studious groups. On the technical side of learning, everyday presents an opportunity to close achievement gaps.

There should also be no room for complacency or loafing. Proficiency or achievement levels in many education jurisdictions range from basic, proficient and advanced. Students should understand the demands of the examination they are facing.

The examination in our set up is generally a content-based examination and this means covering a broad range of topics in the syllabi is a must. Success on how well students have covered the breadth of the curriculum. Therefore students should read widely and extensively and to master over 80% of the syllabi. Examinations are anchored on the famous Benjamin Bloom’s taxonomy featuring a wide spectrum of cognitive skills students should know. For the uninitiated, these are remembering, understanding, applying, analysing, evaluation and creating.

Briefly remembering involves recalling relevant facts and knowledge from memory. Recall questions do not discriminate students that much and are less taxing and consequently these are lowly graded. However, students should exploit these ‘soft and low hanging fruit’ questions to maximise points. The skill of understanding is a little complex and a bit more demanding. It entails constructing and interpreting meaning from oral, written and graphics sources. It can involve a bit of summarising, concluding, comparing and explaining.

Questions in this class are worth more than recall questions. At the highest level lies analysing, evaluating and creating. Most students are struggling in this class which require judgements and generation of new whole ideas from bits and pieces of information provided. Students need more practice in dealing with high order questions because these are high value questions. They can make or break students.

When working to close their achievement gaps, students should know where they stand in terms of the proficiency bar and should apply themselves fully in order to transition from lower level to the other. When in need of instructional support, students should feel free to enlist the support of their teachers because many teachers are available to offer their services when needed. Besides teachers, studying with peers can be very helpful as it is quite relaxed, fun-filled and less exacting. Some achievement gaps could have been caused by the seriousness of the formal classroom teaching atmosphere.

And working collaboratively with close peers, students tend to relax and offer their best selves. Schools should encourage and support peer instruction because students are very much capable of changing for the better their own performance trajectory. Otherwise, I wish all students to remember that there is no substitute for hard work.