This is a follow-up from my previous post. How can you develop a positive learning culture at home?
4. Real life application
This is linked to constructing meaning for learning. WHY do we learn? We learn in order to solve real life problems.
When I do the topic of Money (Math) with my child, I bring him to the supermarket and give him some money. I give him a list of things to buy and tells him to check if the money is enough.
Then, he needs to find all the items and their prices. Next, he adds them up. This helps him to understand how expensive or how cheap the products are and if we have enough money for them.
Through this activity, he learned to apply his knowledge about money and the addition of money.
5. Extension of Knowledge
Sometimes, Zenith (my P1 child) will be very interested in one topic. This is when I offer to extend the knowledge with him.
For example, he was learning about materials in Science (through a game on my tablet) when he asked a question about the elements in the materials. So, I started a side project with him to list down the first 50 elements in the periodic table.
You will not believe how interested he is in this topic. He bugs me everyday to help him research on the elements.
6. Topic Linking
Topic linking is extremely important for Science and Math.
The entire Science syllabus is based on linking the basics of Science together.
Living things are linked to the six main groups of animals. Non-living things are linked to the materials. Cycles are broken down into life cycles and matter. Matter is then further linked to water.
The entire Science syllabus is a network of topics.
Apart from content linking in Science, it is also important to link the process skills together. You learn observing before you learn comparing. Then, you learn classifying.
Cultivating a good learning culture at home will reap huge benefits in your children's future.
Stay tuned for the next post!
Why is it that the same lessons yield different results from different students?
It is frustrating.
When a lesson does not resonate with a student, it bothers me. I will then spend countless nights reflecting on the cause of this phenomenon.
What is the missing piece?
And yet, the exact methods and lessons I used on my sons all yield the similar results. What was the thing that I did right with them?
After mulling on it for weeks, I narrowed it down to a single factor: the culture at home.
I have a standard template on preparing my children for learning.
1. Construct meaning way in the work before actual learning
2. Set aside specific time for specific learning
3. Establish learning goals for each learning task
4. Apply the learning to real life
5. Extend the learning into projects if the child is very interested in the topic
6. Link the learning to the next topic
1. Constructing Meaning
If your child asks you “Why do we need to study this?”, what would be your answer? It will get harder to answer as the child grows up.
For example, I always asked myself the reason for learning History when I was in Secondary One. No one could answer my question then. It would be much easier for me to learn History if someone gives me a reason to learn it.
It is much easier to answer a child when he starts to ask the reason behind to learn basic arithmetic. The earlier you give meaning to your child’s learning, the less struggle they will have when they grow up.
Weeks before I start the Math topic on measurements with Zenith (my eldest boy), I asked him about the length and height of many things at home.
I gave him real life problems. One of the questions I asked him was “Will that shelf fit into this space here?”
This creates a gap in his learning. Instinctively, he would want to solve this problem. Over the next few days, I saw him using various things to measure the shelf.
Then, at the peak of his curiosity, I introduced the Math lesson on measurements.
2. Specific Time for Specific Learning
My timing for learning at home is 8pm everyday after their shower. I will set up the space and get ready for lessons at the same timing.
The learning usually takes about 45 minutes.
Once you have a standard time set up, there is no ambiguity and there is no power struggle. We do work at 8pm, pronto.
3. Learning Goals
I always communicate the learning goals to my children BEFORE the lessons.
Following the example on measurements, the learning goal was to be able to measure the length and height of objects accurately.
After the lesson, the child must be able to complete a standard worksheet on his own.
PSLE is just around the corner. For those parents with P6 children, have you set up a study routine at home?
Share your problems in the comments section and let’s all support each other in educating our children.
Watch out for Part 2 of this blog as I share about Real Life Application, Extension of Knowledge and Topic Linking.
Good day to you!
The term break is just round the corner and I hope you have planned meaningful activities for your children.
Today, I am posting a video lesson on Math. It teaches the model method (one of the key heuristics) for solving word problems. Establishing a good foundation in model drawing is important in P3/P4 because the questions will get more complicated in P5/P6. Enjoy the lesson!
(You can change the quality of the video by clicking on the gear icon on the bottom right corner of the video.)
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Happy New Year to you!
This year, my eldest son is in Primary One and it is such a big jump from Kindergarten 2. For January, I am setting goals with him and I want to share with you how I set goals using LEGO as a platform.
First if all, I need to ask. Do you set goals with your child?
Goal-setting is important because it gives them an idea of what to aim for. Just like what Stephen Covey said in his book 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People, "Begin with an end in mind."
I strongly believe that all children need to be educated in visualising their goal and how to break the goal down into achievable milestones.
To make goal-setting fun, I use LEGO as an example. (If you have not noticed by now, I am a huge fan of open-ended play like LEGO blocks.)
1. Big Picture - Ultimate goal
Before you buy any LEGO set for your child, he will look at the cover of the box. Why?
He is looking at what you are buying for him. He is looking at what he is going to own.
For any goal-setting, the big picture is important. Are you going to aim for 1st in class? Are you going to aim to top the level for Math? Are you going to aim to pass your Mother Tongue?
Without setting the Ultimate Goal is like buying a LEGO set without looking at its box. It will be random and the end product might not be what you wanted.
Hence, the Big Picture is very important.
2. Why? Why? Why? - Reasons behind the goal
The next step is to ask why. Why are you choosing this LEGO set and not the other sets? What is the appealing factor?
This is usually easy for the child when he is choosing the LEGO set. The primary reason would be mostly he likes the set and that is why he chose it.
However, this is not so clear-cut when it comes to actual goal-setting. You have to dig deep and guide your child in this area. Some questions might include:
Why do you want to be 1st in class? Why is this important to you?
Note that this part is the most important part in goal-setting. At difficult times, revisiting these reasons will help the child endure the hardship and persevere to the end.
3. Planning - The Goal-Setting Process
You bought the LEGO set and brought it home. Do you just open the package and start building while you look at the box cover?
No, you look at the Building Instruction Manual and start building from Page 1.
Happy Lego Building = Big Picture + Emotions + Manual
In goal-setting, looking at the Ultimate Goal is useless if you do not have a plan. Therefore, you need to sit down and list down all the things you need to do to achieve your goal. Planning and creating the road map to your Ultimate Goal is important.
It gives us direction on what to do now and what to do next.
Good Goal-Setting = Ultimate Goal + Emotions + Plan
4. Small Parts - Breaking down The Ultimate Goal
For small LEGO sets, it is possible to build the whole model in one session. However, if you are looking at a very big LEGO set, you have to break down the parts you are building.
Thankfully, it has all been done for you when they packaged the set. Usually they have Packets 1 to 5 to break a massive model into different parts.
For your child, you have to break down the Ultimate Goal with him. If you are looking at 1st place in class, how much should you get for your CA1, SA1, CA2 and SA2? To get that type of marks in the major exams, how much practice should we have and what type of marks should we get for those practices?
The small milestones should be actionable and measurable.
5. Process Vs Results - Make it fun!
To the LEGO non-builders out there, you might not know. The maximum satisfaction you get from a LEGO set is not the end result. It is actually the building process.
While it may sound ridiculous to you, the ultimate goal to goal-setting is not to achieve the goal, but to acquire the skill to plan the process of reaching a goal. The planning and troubleshooting are very big lessons the child learns from this exercise that will follow him throughout his life.
With this skill, your child can get many '1st in level' by himself. Hence, I urge you to make the process enjoyable and peaceful. Encourage your child to keep trying.
6. Commitment - Follow the plan
Lastly, have your child build a LEGO set halfway and leave it there for at least 3 days. Then ask him how he feels.
We cannot finish building the set if we do not follow the plan.
When we begin building a LEGO set, we must be committed to complete the model. Any models abandoned halfway will become useless. It is not a toy and it is not rubbish. It is just unfinished.
Hence, teach your child that any goal without commitment will also become something like that. Ask your child for his commitment during the goal-setting process. Is it one hour each day? Is it two revision papers each day?
Get him to write it down and sign his name there.
7. Chaos - They are still just children!
Tackle one LEGO set at a time.
Imagine buying your child 5 LEGO sets and he started all of them together. He will most probably be overwhelmed and will not build all the 5 LEGO properly.
Set one Ultimate Goal with your child first. Track and troubleshoot along the way. Add one more goal when you see that your child is ready for the second one.
Focusing on too many things = No focus
Have fun setting goals. Leave a comment for me if you have found this post useful! Encouragement is always welcomed. :P
(Sign up for my newsletter at http://eepurl.com/WDj6j for monthly tips on how to motivate your child to study. A free ebook on writing is included in the newsletter.)
I am sure many parents are able relate the agony of careless mistakes with me. This is particularly common in young boys. They tend to be more careless and more resistant to change in this aspect.
In my tuition class, I share 5 strategies with my students to eliminate careless mistakes in Mathematics.
1. Write neatly and write big numbers
This is the most important strategy. First of all, it aids in the checking. If the child writes neatly, it is very easy for him to check his work.
Secondly, it eliminates the ambiguity of certain numbers. Can you imagine the teacher has a stack of exam papers to mark and still has to waste time guessing wheither a number is a '0', a '6' or a '9'.
You have to remind your child to write neatly at all times.
2. Time management
Time management in an exam paper will help the child to pace himself properly. How much time should be spent on each question?
The key phrase here is 'Don't linger. Don't dash." for each question. If you get stuck, move on to the next question. Do not waste too much time on one question.
It is also important to remind the child not to be affected by his peers during examination. When a child sees his friends putting their heads on the table to rest, he will be tempted to do so too.
This is a type of peer pressure. It is a very misguided thinking that 'I am faster than you and therefore I am smarter than you'.
Highlight to your child that it is the marks that matters.
3. Test the answers
This is something that I practise often in my tuition lessons. After the student gets the answer, plug answer back into the question to see if it fits.
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Ali and Ben have 30 apples. Ali has 20 apples. How many apples does Ben have?
30 - 20 = 10
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To test the answer, put the 10 back into the question. If Ali has 20 apples and Ben has 10 apples, they will have 30 apples altogether. This confirms that the answer is correct as the first sentence states that Ali and Ben have 30 apples.
Although this is a very simple strategy, it is not commonly taught in schools and hence it is not commonly practised also. You must practise this with your child. It is a very simple and yet very effective checking tool.
4. Watch out for transfer error
I see this very often in some students' work. When the question requires two steps, the answer from the first step is transferred wrongly to the second step. Take a look at the following example.
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Ali and Ben have 30 apples. Ali has 20 apples.
(a) How many apples does Ben have?
(b) How many more apples does Ali have than Ben?
(a) 30 - 20 = 10
(b) 20 - 16 = 4
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You can see that the student transferred 10 wrongly. It was written as 16 in the second step. Marks were lost for nothing.
To help your child in this, go back to Step 1: Write neatly. This will minimise your child from copying wrongly.
Another way is to teach your child to scan for all the transfers before handing up the paper.
5. Practise and practise and practise
Careless mistakes have something to do with accuracy. Ultimately, it is the lack of practice that contributes to careless mistakes. If your child practise enough, how can he get 1 + 1 = 2 wrong?
Help your child to practise addition and subtraction regularly. Test his multiplication tables often.
The key is to help the child practise enough so that they can create the habit and make it stick.
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Holidays are just around the corner! Do you have a plan to bridge all the learning gaps of your child?
I recommend you to have a holiday revision program with your child. Rather than watching television programs or playing games everyday, it will give some structure and aim to his holidays.
There are 5 steps in coming up with a holiday program.
Step 1: Set a goal with the child
This is the most important step. Without the commitment of the child, it is almost pointless to do a holiday revision program. The way to start this discussion is to discuss the recent exam results with the child.
The two key questions to the child here is "How are you going to improve on your grades?" and "What are you going to give up for this improvement?".
Get the child's commitment and get him write it down on a Post-It note. Some examples might be:
"I will put in my best efforts to learn for 30 minutes a day for 20 days."
"I will complete a past year paper everyday for the next 10 days."
Paste it somewhere where the child will see everyday. Get your child to read it to himself everyday. Remember, you want the child to take over the ownership of this revision program.
Step 2: Teaching
The second step is to design the learning for the child. What type of gaps are you bridging? How are you going to teach the child? Some tools might be:
- textbooks
- guidebooks
- videos
- experiments (for Science)
- mini-projects
- mindmaps
- presentation slides
Do not skip this part. This is the visible input that your child will see from you. This is the portion that makes the holiday program a joint effort rather than an edict by a parent.
The key here is to have fun learning with your child.
Step 3: Deliberate Practice
After learning, we have to practice. For more information on deliberate practice, you can read my blog post at http://mrdannylim.blogspot.sg/2014/09/secret-art-deliberate-practice.html.
Some forms of practice are
- worksheets/assessment books/past-year papers
- online educational games
- process writing
- documenting an experiment (for Science)
Tell the child upfront that this is not going to be easy and it creates a chance to learn the character trait 'perseverance'.
Encourage your child often that he is doing well and he is putting in effort. Some children require more encouragement at this stage.
Please don't praise your child. 'Well done!' and 'Excellent' mean very little to children.
Encourage them.
'You are almost there!'
'I can see that you are putting on your thinking hat here.'
'A lot of effort today. Giving up now means wasting all the effort you have put in. Come on! You can do it! Strive on!'
Be vigilant here. If the worksheet is too difficult for the child, the child will give up. Incremental difficulty is the key here. Read my blog post on deliberate practice for more information.
Step 4: Testing
Set a way to test your child after the revision program. It should be like a mini-test with marks. This is to measure the result of the program and to provide concrete feedback on how the child is doing.
Some ideas might be:
- past-year paper
- a writing test
Whether your child has done well or not, praise him on his effort. This is positive reinforcement and will set the pace for the next revision program.
Step 5: Reflection
At the end of the program, have a reflection discussion with your child to analyse it. Some questions might be:
- Did we get the results we wanted?
- What went wrong?
- What were the right things that we did?
- Was the length of study too long?
- Was the environment distracting?
- Were the worksheets too difficult?
If you want to guide the child to have a consistent study program during normal school days, ask the following questions:
- Was this revision program useful?
- Do we need to do this only during the holidays?
- Shall we have a plan for 'keeping up' rather than 'catching up'?
Explicitly tell your child that learning can be fun, but deliberate practice to level up can be hard work sometimes.
I will say this again. The success of the revision program hinges on the level of commitment you can get from the child in Step 1.
This incremental improvement can be addictive. If you can get your child to do this consistently, it will become a habit to him and self-regulated learning can be very near!
Have fun learning and enjoy your holidays!
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When people look at my blog, most are tempted to engage my services. I received many queries everyday and most of them are valid concerns. Here are the top 3 most commonly-asked questions about my tuition class:
How can you guarantee results?
The truth is ‘I can’t’.
There are too many factors involved. To tell the truth, I used to naively think I can. However, after six months into giving tuition, I realised that I can’t.
I can raise the motivation of your child. I can teach him all the orthodox methods in learning. I can even set up homework systems to ensure he completes his tuition homework.
However, I am not with the child 24/7. I can only influence the child during the two-hour session. The fact is that the child forms most of his habits and values at home. I cannot change that.
I can promise you that your child will enjoy my tuition. I can promise that I can make learning fun for your child. I can promise that your child will see learning in a different light when he attends my tuition.
You can expect regular updates from me and how your child is doing according to my analysis. You can expect recommended strategies to apply at home for your child.
On your side, you need to grow values like resilience, self-control and integrity in your child. Only with these values, my tuition will be life-changing to your child.
Along the same line, some parents were concerned that they are going to pay a few hundred dollars per month in exchange for a service that is not guaranteed.
For your benefit, I am just telling the plain truth up front. I will try my best to motivate your child and grow self-discipline in your child, but I cannot guarantee that your child will be transformed overnight.
The younger your child starts tuition with me, the easier I can mould the child. When a child is younger, his values are not firmly formed yet and it is easier to influence the growth of his values.
Let me ask you a question. What is the worst case scenario if I should fail to meet your expectations?
It would be just one month of tuition fee.
But, what if I can influence your child and you let go of such an opportunity?
It would be the loss of the service of a good private tutor to help your child reach greater heights.
Weigh them and you will see which one is a bigger loss.
My son is not motivated, will he change after he attends your lessons?
I get this question a lot too. To jump start a cold engine, you need to warm it up first. The beginning is definitely difficult and tedious. I use mainly extrinsic rewards to jump start the motivation in the beginning. Then I transit into intrinsic rewards down the road.
To get to the intrinsic motivation part, it is a very long process.
In my tuition classes, I have not failed to motivate any student before. However, their motivation growth are not the same. Some have grown to become very motivated and self-directed in a very short period of time. Some are growing at a slower pace, but they are getting there. Improving even by a bit is also a victory, isn’t it?
My motivation strategy basically works in three dimensions:
- autonomy on their revision
- visual feedback on their level of mastery of the subject
- learning with a purpose
What differentiates you from your competitors?
If you are reading my blog, you will instinctively know how good I am.
How many private tutors maintain a blog and share their methods?
I share nearly all my techniques in my blog and all my resources in my newsletter. However, it is very not easy to copy what I do exactly.
This is my calling and this is my meaning in life. I teach not because I can. I teach because I must.
If you know me personally, you will know that I had my success in the corporate world. However, that was not my calling.
My calling is to help children love learning.
In my free time, I read about
- child psychology (how children think)
- game theory (what makes gaming addictive)
- children's motivation
- learning and pedagogy
- habits/values creation
- deliberate practice
I incorporate some of the above into my tuition class to make learning more systematic and effective. My lessons are created at a macro level with a final goal and then are translated into individual lessons for each tuition session.
It is time consuming and a lot of work. But, my students love my lessons and they are very reluctant to miss my tuition class.
Lastly, the greatest differentiating factor and your child will feel it:
I teach from my heart.
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Note: My Saturday slots are all taken up and there are only 2 available slots on Tuesday left. Drop me an email if you are interested about the Tuesday slot. Cheers!
