RACE Research results

RACE research reveals ineffective creative method

Research for Advancement of Complete Education (RACE) conducted a research on the effectiveness of creative system in primary level, problems and the level of understanding of the issue among the students and teachers. The surveyors interviewed the 100 teachers and 80 students of 21 schools in the country's 16 districts between April and November last year. More than half of the 100 primary school teachers, who took part in a survey, are still unclear about creative education method introduced five years ago to bring a qualitative change in the field of education. However, more than 1,000 students from class three to five were included in a written test for their opinions on the method. Research for Advancement of Complete Education (RACE), a non-government research organization, unveiled the findings of the report at Drik Gallery in the capital on 24 January 2016 under the title “Ambiguity in understanding among teachers and students render creative method ineffectiveness -- a study on primary school in Bangladesh,”

The report shows that the principal problem of creative system is the dependence of students and teachers on note and guide books. Instead of trying to make them creative students mostly depend on guide books of the market. 92 percent students depend on guide books and 67 percent take the help of house tutors  to prepare for the examination based on ‘creative method’ (?) . The method is still vague and hazy even to the teachers let alone learners. The report says that more than fifty percent teachers still don’t have transparent idea about creative method. 42 percent teachers understanding in this regard is very meagre and 13 percent teachers are absolutely ignorant of the method. The report also shows that 47 percent teachers use note and guide books available in the market to teach the students and to prepare them for the examination.  35 teachers talk about it with their colleagues and then give teaching.  18 percent teachers teach the subjects according to their own way and understanding which is sure to make a mess. We can also learn from the report that 39 percent students are afraid of English as this subject seems very difficult for them, 33 percent think mathematics is very difficult and 25.65 percent feel both mathematics and English difficult.

Some recommendations have been made in re response to these revelations. Special training arrangement for the teachers, quality teacher employment which is actually a matter of time, making the question papers comparatively easy so that students can answer those from their textbooks without going through unnecessary hassles to pass or to obtain good grades in the examinations. Making digital materials such as projector, computer and internet available for the students and teachers. Of course, it’s a general recommendation as the government is supplying these materials to the schools in phases. Another chronic issue has been touched by these recommendations that the students and teachers of hill, coastal, scattered areas, borders and far off lands should be given special importance and a separate arrangement can be made for them to develop their teaching learning situation.

Columnist Abul Makshud says, “this kind of research really deserves praise done in non-government sector though this kind of research should be conducted by the ministry of education which we don’t see actually.’ Cognitive research reveals that even with what is taken to be good instruction, many students, including academically talented ones, understand less than we think they do. With determination, students taking an examination are commonly able to identify what they have been told or what they have read; careful probing, however, often shows that their understanding is limited or distorted, if not altogether wrong. This finding suggests that parsimony is essential in setting out educational goals: Schools should pick the most important concepts and skills to emphasize so that they can concentrate on the quality of understanding rather than on the quantity of information presented. People have to construct their own meaning regardless of how clearly teachers or books tell them things. Mostly, a person does this by connecting new information and concepts to what he or she already believes. Concepts—the essential units of human thought—that do not have multiple links with how a student thinks about the world are not likely to be remembered or useful. Or, if they do remain in memory, they will be tucked away in a drawer labeled, and will not be available to affect thoughts about any other aspect of the world. Concepts are learned best when they are encountered in a variety of contexts and expressed in a variety of ways, for that ensures that there are more opportunities for them to become embedded in a student's knowledge system. But effective learning often requires more than just making multiple connections of new ideas to old ones; it sometimes requires that people restructure their thinking radically. That is, to incorporate some new idea, learners must change the connections among the things they already know, or even discard some long-held beliefs about the world. (Ref. effective learning and teaching project 2061).

‘If students are required to go to coaching centers, why should they enroll at schools?’ Professor Anu Mohammad asked expressing his reaction to this report. And it is known to us that coaching centers don’t make our learners creative rather they cram their brain with many unnecessary details just to prepare them for the examination. This creates a conflicting situation between creativity and public examination results. On creative method, Anu Muhamamd again said, ‘Invited by Asian Development Bank, some people of our country visited some countries to see their education systems and then they introduced this method here. But where teacher-student ratio is nearly 1 for 80 and lack of adequate classrooms is common, providing multimedia devices will not gain much there.’ He continues saying” the government run after pass rate for political reasons. Side by side, serious type of education business continues in the country.  Future may be dark if this trend does not stop. Students of primary level are overburdened with books and they are to undergo serious pressure both mentally and physically which don’t allow them to be creative.” This issue calls for serious attention from the relevant people of education in general and the ministry concerned in particular.

Masum Billah