
Today we are talking about exam revision.
One of the most common problems I hear from parents of primary, high school and even from tertiary students when they phone or email to enquire about our programmes is “He/she has no idea how to learn or study!”
Exam time is coming up again and I find that many mothers dread it as much as their children do.
Why?
Because, they tell me, they have to spend hours, after homework, and during weekends, trying to help their child study his or her „learning subjects‟ such as history, geography, natural sciences etc.
They try to help them by doing it in the way they used to study i.e. reading and trying to memorise the facts from notes or text books which are written or typed in long linear sentences and mostly very boring.
They then make summaries which are just as difficult for them to retain……wonderful parents, supporting their children, but it doesn‟t have to be so difficult for you or your child…… Help them learn joyfully.
RESEARCH TELLS US THAT RIGHT-BRAIN VISUALSPATIAL LEARNERS HAVE LONG-TERM VISUAL MEMORIES AND LEARN THROUGH VISUALIZATION NOT MEMORIZATION
Left or Right? The most important thing you can do to help your child to learn more effectively and more joyfully is to know and understand his/her hemispheric learning style !
Our son has no problem doing his homework and studying for exams. I don’t have to worry about him at all…..
Our daughter is very different. She really struggles to learn and remember all the information they need to know... for exams……. Why is my son a happy independent learner and my daughter not?
After years of helping people to discover and use their dominant thinking style, I can almost guarantee that this person’s son is a left brain dominant learner who learns and retains well through listening (in class) and memorizing facts from a text.
The daughter, who is just as intelligent and gifted, but who struggles to understand and remember historical or geographical facts etc through memorization, is a right-brain dominant learner who thinks and learns through 3D images and visualization. The son is an independent and successful learner in school because traditional teaching techniques are designed for the learning or thinking style of left-brain learners. The daughter will always have to rely on her mother if she continues to try to learn using left-brain skills .
When will this change?
Not until the education departments and the curriculum developers understand and embrace these dual, natural ways of hemispheric thinking, and include right-brain thinking skills. Until then, there will always be a definite mismatch between the right-brain dominant student’s learning style and the teaching and assessment methods in the classroom.
Is there anything I can do for my child?
You CAN'T
* change the school curriculum and the left-brain emphasis in school;
* change the way your visual-spatial child has been wired to think and learn best
BUT you CAN
* take time to discover and understand your child’s thinking and learning style.
* help him/her to change to holistic, visual right-brain strategies that include visualization, Images, colours, drawings when studying.
This will take time and effort on your part but will be the best investment of your time as you will be guiding your child towards becoming a happier and more independent learner.
*show you and your visual spatial child that he/she is not a failure because right-brain thinking skills are strengths and not weaknesses, or learning disabilities.
*help to make his/her school experience a happier one as s/he gains confidence in his/her ability to learn.
We celebrate the legacy of Tony Buzan, who died earlier this month from a heart attack. Buzan who created the ultimate visual thinking tool of mindmapping®, now used by millions of people around the world, told Biz News’s Alec Hogg.that “mindmapping was created after he studied 100 historical geniuses and discovered that they did their thinking in full-colour images, not words.” That spurred him into designing a process everyone can use, and which has changed the lives of millions of people of all ages. For visual-spatial students it is a really special learning and thinking tool.that enables them to learn like they think.