Why modern education fails miserably
Let’s be real here, I only read the abstract, okay. When I looked at the actual paper, it just looked like a lot of technical stuff that is unrelated. Let’s see the abstract for “Productive failure in learning math”, then:
When learning a new math concept, should learners be first taught the concept and its associated procedures and then solve problems, or solve problems first even if it leads to failure and then be taught the concept and the procedures? Two randomized-controlled studies found that both methods lead to high levels of procedural knowledge. However, students who engaged in problem solving before being taught demonstrated significantly greater conceptual understanding and ability to transfer to novel problems than those who were taught first. The second study further showed that when given an opportunity to learn from the failed problem-solving attempts of their peers, students outperformed those who were taught first, but not those who engaged in problem solving first. Process findings showed that the number of student-generated solutions significantly predicted learning outcomes. These results challenge the conventional practice of direct instruction to teach new math concepts and procedures, and propose the possibility of learning from one’s own failed problem-solving attempts or those of others before receiving instruction as alternatives for better math learning.
Right, need I say more? I can’t forget where I found the following piece of information, but someone claimed that the success in learning is strongly correlated with effort. I always knew this instinctively, but somehow I never made this statement that makes perfect sense (to me). People ask me, how did I learn English so well. For years I’ve been telling people that I liked music, but the lyrics were in English. By the time you pick 5 favourite bands, let’s say you listen to 5 albums (on average) from each band, let’s then say each album has 10 songs, you have 250 songs on your hands. Now, learn them by heart (OK, I didn’t do that, but I did follow along many times with my full attention) and translate them and I’d be surprised if you didn’t speak as good English as I do. Was it hard work to translate The Islander by Nightwish word by word, applying the grammar myself? Google Translate did exist at the time and I did have access to it. Yes, it was hard. But I simply cared too much about the song, that I was eager to put effort into understanding it. And by exerting such effort, I learnt English as a by-product. Neat.
So, what can we take away here? Well, a lot of people (a lot of normies) say that they would learn the subject in question, if only their tutor was good. Well, personally, I agree that having a good tutor helps, but my university rector told us during the inauguration:
Should a student decide to not learn anything, they will succeed. Should they decide to learn something, nobody can stop them.
And I think the resolution to this problem is, that learning depends on motivation and unless the motivation comes from within (intrinsic motivation), it will be hard for the student to successfully master the subject at the best of conditions. Simply said, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. No matter how good your tutor is, if you don’t exert the effort required to learn the subject, you won’t learn it. In fact, the “good tutor” might perversely affect your ability to learn. This is what we’re talking about.
The study tells us that presenting the subject first and then letting students apply it, leads to worse outcomes than letting students try for themselves first, despite not knowing how to do it and only then teaching them the subject. Do you see the problem? If the “good” tutor tells you everything beforehand, they lower your ability to learn!
In conclusion, if you are interested in learning something, make sure you try for yourself first. Good mentors make an incredible difference, but if you don’t do your bit, a good mentor will be wasted on you.
P.S. What my university rector said seems to be a variation on one of Zig Ziglar’s quotes, but I haven’t been able to source the correct one. But, this Zig Ziglar dude said some motivational stuff I can get behind. I include here a digest from a Forbes article about him, that I won’t link, because the website is intolerable. For your enjoyment, read the following:
- “If you can dream it, you can achieve it.”
- “Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.”
- “A goal properly set is halfway reached.”
- “If you go looking for a friend, you’re going to find they’re scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you’ll find them everywhere.”
- “Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes.”
- “People don’t buy for logical reasons. They buy for emotional reasons.”
- “There has never been a statue erected to honor a critic.”
- “People often say motivation doesn’t last. Neither does bathing—that’s why we recommend it daily.”
- “You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.”
- “Remember that failure is an event, not a person.”