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How to make my child smarter?

January 11, 2017By Clarice Lim

Don’t most of us want to know that? The answer is, fortunately, easier than we thought. Apart from good genes, we can make our children smarter by using the appropriate praises.

Research has shown that those who believed that ability is fixed, doesn’t feel that they need to put in effort to score in a test, they believe they will get good scores just because they are born smart. Even when they have gotten answers wrong, they won’t bother to find out what went wrong or how to fix it because that will show their disability in being smart.

Whereas those who believed that ability can be improved, will always want to know what the right answer is and how to get the right answer, so that they can become better. Therefore, they will always put in the effort to learn more and remember more. That’s not all, students who believe they can become smarter, are also more persistent in times of failure because, if you believe you can become better, you will naturally not be beaten by a one-off failure and look forward to correcting your failure.

What we can do as parents to instil the correct mindset towards ability/intelligence, will be to always emphasize on the effort, so your child will develop the mindset that it is effort that did the magic, or that it’s the lack of effort, that made one fail.

Praises that you should use will be like “Good effort!”, “Good persistence!”, “Good patience!” etc.

Never, NEVER, say, “So clever!”, “Smart boy!” etc. without injecting elements of ‘effort’ into the praise. The moment your child feels that he is born with it or he is naturally good, he should not need to put in the effort to improve, and he might never want to try again at the first instance of failure because he might have somehow “lost” the ability to be good.

For example, say “Good use of colours! I like your effort in making the picture so colourful.” Instead of “What a beautiful picture! You can draw really well.”

The difference between the 2 types of praises is that one tells specifically what is good, so the next time the child wants to create another picture, he will put in the effort to use more colours. In a way, you are not just encouraging your child to work hard, you are telling your child what exactly he is doing that is right.

In conclusion, in order to ensure your child becomes smarter, be sure to use the right words when praising. Praise the effort, the determination, the decision-making, the choice of level of difficulty, the improvement, the attitude and so on. Your child will thus want to learn more, know more, become more persistent in the face of failure and therefore, become smarter.

Image courtesy of jk1991 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Don’t Fall for “Assessments” Done on Your Child

January 5, 2017By Clarice Lim

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Most of us won’t mind having our children assessed once in a while just to know where they stand relative to other kids. However, don’t buy it totally, especially if it is done at an enrichment center.

The most recent case I’ve heard was an assessment done on a 4 year old boy. Parents wanted him to work on some Mathematics skills and chanced upon this St****** enrichment program. After some 20min of assessment, one of the conclusions given to the parents was that their son did not understand the concept of Place Values.

Place Values?? Seriously? Did they seriously expect a 4 year old to understand Place Value? What is the value of that assessment? To identify prodigies in Maths? What’s the reason for a 4 year old to understand Place Value anyway? So that they can add 3 digits by 2 digits? Come on! He’s only 4!

So the next thing they said to the parent was, “He needs to pick up the skills and our program can help him.” Well, I’m sure the child can learn if he was taught but does he really need it at 4??

Assessments are great for an educator to find out which level of learning is most suitable for the child, but when assessments are used as marketing gimmicks, alarm bells should be rung and the parents should simply walk away from such underhanded stunts to pull in more customers.

Unfortunately, that is not the only center that pulls such stunts to ‘scare’ parents into signing their children up. Many centers out there do that. This also explains why every time I mention “assessment” to parents, they give me a fearful look and start saying that their child does not know how to read yet or that their child is not able to even add. This is really sad because if you are looking for a center to outsource what you can’t teach at home or gain access to in school, you shouldn’t need to feel like your child is inferior in any ways!

A good “assessment” should, therefore, target the learning ability of the child, discover what the child can potentially achieve and learn and not what the child already knows. If the test is about what the child already knows, then the smarter kids will simply be placed into a class with older kids and a slightly slowly kid be placed into a class with younger kids. Neither of the situation would be an optimal learning environment for the poor child. Besides, a kid who has higher prior knowledge may simply have been privileged enough to be exposed to more content from schools or home, but it does not mean he/she is ready for even more abstract concepts. Likewise, a kid with lower prior knowledge may simply be deprived from exposure but it does not mean he/she cannot be exposed to more abstract concepts.

Assessment of the child’s learning ability is a much better tool to advise the parents on what is suitable for the child and which level of learning is more appropriate.

The next time you go shopping around for enrichment programs for your kid, don’t fall for “assessments” that tests content knowledge. If they did present the shortfall of your child to you, be sure to ask, when would that knowledge be necessary in a child’s learning journey.

Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

4 Tips for Choosing a Secondary School

November 25, 2016By Clarice Lim

It’s never easy for any kind of parents. Be it the hands-off type or the “kan cheong” type. Many see it as a determiner of the child’s future, which sort of explains the emphasis placed on the PSLE results. But no matter the results, now is the time to consider what school to choose. Many parents had sought my advice on this and these are the top 4 tips on how to choose a secondary school:

1. What is the level of competition you want your child to face?

To put your child into a good school means competition will be intense. Competition is healthy if everyone studies for the sake of learning, but it becomes stressful and undesirable if it’s all about being Number 1.

Regardless of whether we have faith in our children, we need to remind ourselves that the universal truth is that there is always only one who is Number 1. The rest of the thousands of students are not. To strive for excellence in comparison with others guarantees failure 99% of the time, adding on unnecessary pressure and developing the hatred for learning.

Of course, you wouldn’t know the culture of the school before you step into one. It’s the attitude and mindset before you enter that matters. If you and your child have chosen a school because it’s a good school where students with high aggregate enter, then you have inevitably stepped into the realm of unhealthy competition. Your child will already feel the “pressure” even before the first step into the school.

2. Choose a school that value-adds

We have to admit that not “All schools are good schools”, because different schools have different focus and direction and if they don’t align with the values we embrace, they cannot be ideal schools.

Therefore, choose a school that could value-add to your child’s current strength. Value-adding can come in different forms, like CCA, values, culture, subjects offered etc. Bear in mind that your child is still developing and growing, he/she needs all the opportunities to learn new things or to further a skill. For example, if your child is already playing violin, enrol him into a school that has an orchestra. If you want your child to become more immersed in the Chinese culture, send him to those with an emphasis in Chinese culture e.g. All Secondary 1 students in Chung Cheng Sec will undergo a tea chapter under the Appreciation of the Chinese Culture (ACC) education.

3. Choose a school that doesn’t require long hours of travelling

As a little red dot, how far can a school be right? But do consider the time taken to walk to the nearest bus-stop, waiting time of the bus, traffic jams, transfers required etc. A school that is 4km away that doesn’t have a direct route to your house can require more than 1hour of travelling time to and fro on a daily basis. This time could have been better used.

4. Don’t leave the choice entirely to your child

I’m not saying you shouldn’t consult them, rather, you should discuss with them and talk about it at length. It’s a great opportunity to teach your children how to decide on life events. Use decision-making tools like a matrix, pros and cons listing to help him learn prioritization of different factors. This whole process can open up a whole horizon of analytical skills which he can use in any other situation that may pop up in future.

In a nutshell, discuss the school with your child based on point 2 and 3 above, don’t focus too much on the aggregate even if it is of utmost concern to you. When using the decision-making matrix, aggregate should only be discussed because it affects the chance of getting into that school, do not address it in the form of the O Level results he will get.

This is an important decision that the family has to make together, make sure it is properly analysed and discussed as a family. Ultimately, a family that works out an issue together bonds closer together, and that’s already a good start for better things to come.

Injustice of an ADD boy

October 29, 2016By Clarice Lim

I was cleaning the windows of my center due to the huge amount of finger prints left behind after a busy weekend of classes. It was Monday afternoon and there usually ain’t any enquiries. Then she appeared. I noticed how lost she looked in her eyes and almost thought she was just asking for directions.

“I would like to make an enquiry please,” the lady began.

OK, I was wrong. I quickly led her to a seat at our counter and put away my rag and glass cleaner. I asked her how old her kid was so I could recommend the right program to her. To this question, she told me it was a long story… I was bewildered. Age had never occurred to me to possibly contain a “long story”. I straightened my seat and got myself ready for it. I noticed how beautiful her eyes were yet sorrowful at the same time as she related her story to me.

She had recently received her son’s psychological report that he was suffering from ADD. My judgemental self told myself that, “Alright, small issue…”. She continued, “He was kicked out of kindergarten because of the report.”

I was aghast and immediately cast the question, “What school is that?”. To be exact, in my mind, I was screaming at the absurd and disgusting reaction of the school. That was the first I’ve heard of schools that would be so blatant in ostracizing children with special needs to the point that they would openly ask the parents to withdraw their children immediately. The forgiving mother, though, did not wish to disclose the name of the school to me and I knew, I had to collect myself to continue offering the professional advice that I am capable of providing her.

Before coming to me, she had in fact enquired at all the nearby kindergartens and was turned away either due to a lack of vacancy or they were not willing to take in a child with ADD.

At this, I couldn’t help but interrupted her to let her know that many researchers had already agreed that ADD doesn’t exist, that there is even an institution dedicated to “treating” children with ADD by putting their parents through parenting courses.

She held my hands and said, “Thank you for telling me this, it’s really nice talking to you.”

“He was really upset, he kept asking me why he was not sent to school. He loves learning and wanted to attend school so much. Does your center accept ADD children?” the lovely mother continued.

Tears welled up in my eyes. The poor chap had to suffer because the society had sought the easy way out in labeling these beautiful souls with a nasty name that causes nothing but suffering.

Without hesitation, I told her, “Mdm, ADD children does not exist in my center.” She looked at me with bewilderment, as if already accusing me of hypocrisy in her mind. I continued, “Children who are diagnosed with ADD blends in perfectly in our classes, one wouldn’t be able to tell he’s an ADD.”

She could not believe what she was hearing and asked me to explain how we have managed to do that.

It’s very simple actually. At ILLAC, all our lessons are activities based, customised to the learning ability of the child. Students aged two to six goes through a “sorting” activity to determine his learning ability before being allocated into a class. Inside, learning is extremely hands-on, fast-paced, challenging and filled with fun, music and movement to stimulate their working memory, mental flexibility and inhibitory control. We also do breathing exercises and self-awareness activities to help students improve in their self-regulation so that they can blend easily into a big class setting in primary 1. Students aged 7 to 13 are given worksheets appropriate to their ability and customised to their needs. Students are challenged and motivated to achieve greater heights with our goal-setting activities, speed reading training and character education discussions, all within the two hours time frame of each lesson. Most interesting of all, our Primary 1-Secondary students sit on gym balls and they are free to bounce and waggle all they like while working in ILLAC. There is never a dull-moment in the classroom of ILLAC and none of our students would end up walking around restlessly or drifting out of task.

At this point, I could see sparkles in her eyes. She could already envision her child in our classroom and not feel let down by the society again.

She held my hands and shook it with gratitude for my sharing with her.

She and her son are the reasons why I run my center, to make a difference in the lives of those who were academically-rejected and to shed light to point the right direction when all seem lost.

I went back to cleaning my windows as soon as her registration was done, with a different sense of accomplishment and purpose.

The struggle between academic achievement and training another Joseph Schooling

August 16, 2016By Clarice Lim

I had wanted to write an article about Joseph Schooling and his academic achievement to discuss the balance that one can achieve between studies and sports. However, I can’t seem to find anything about his results in school. Then it struck me… seriously… who cares? Who cares if Joseph Schooling had done well in school when he is now a world champion. However, many parents will want their children to have the back-up plan, in case they don’t achieve their sporting goals… come on, there can’t possibly be too many Joseph Schooling anyway.

Joseph Schooling had, most probably, in my opinion/assumption, done very well in school because academic achievement and athletic performance have been found to go hand-in-hand in many situations.

In a study conducted over 4 years at a highly selective liberal arts college and an Ivy League university, about 1000 student-athletes and non-athletes presented some really positive research results. In that study, it was found that the academic performance of the athletes was not below what would be expected based on their entering profiles. In fact, the athletes were found to surpass non-athletes on sociability/extraversion and self-reported well-being in each annual wave of the study. Athletes were also reportedly not isolated from the rest of the student body; they spent over 50% of their time with non-group members and belonged to non-athletic extracurricular groups every year (Aries, McCarthy, Salovey and Banaji, 2004).

This goes to show that academic achievement and sociability need not necessarily be sacrificed for athletic performance.

Furthermore, in another study that included about 8000 undergraduates from the University of Montana in 1997,it was found that national collegiate athletes displayed a higher level of “hope” when compared to the non-athlete undergraduates (Curry, Snyder & Cook, 1997). Which means, athletes in schools were found to exhibit more goal-directed behaviours with specific plans to reach their goals. They are generally more self-disciplined and determined in reaching their goals both in court/pool and otherwise.

Sadly, we don’t have similar studies done in Singapore. However, one can make reference to the performance of the students in the Singapore Sports School (SSP).

In the news on 5 Jan 2016, it was reported that 13 out of 19 of the school’s first batch of International Baccalaureate (IB) graduates attained at least 40 points out of a maximum of 45. Its cohort of student-athletes achieved a 100 per cent pass rate, slightly higher than the national pass rate of 98 percent (Straits Times, 2016).

Additionally, in SSP’s Review Report for the year 2011, it was reported that of those who sat for the GCE O-Level Examinations, which constitute about half of each SSP cohort, the distinction rates for many core O-Level subjects are higher than the national averages.

These reports go to show that sporting achievements and academic performances do go hand-in-hand and parents can really put their hearts at ease in allowing their children to further their sporting talent!

However, just a caveat, the dream to achieve must come from the child and not the parent. If the parents are the ones who want their children to pursue a sporting career, the results wouldn’t be ideal…

Play it well! Academic achievement with sporting success is possible!

A teacher’s viewpoints of the new PSLE grading system in 2021

July 14, 2016By Clarice Lim

Many websites have written about it, netizens have criticised it, but of course, some defended it as well. As a teacher of 14 years and a private educator of 3 years, I would like to present the changes and the impact it might have on children, their parents and the industry from a teacher’s point of view.

Everyone knows, every child is unique. Each of them have their own learning preferences, cognitive ability and achievement motivation etc. To analyse the new PSLE grading system, I will broadly categorise the children into 3 groups: The High Ability (HA), Middle Ability (MA) and Low Ability (LA). (Every teacher who has been through NIE will find these terms extremely familiar 😉 ).

From 2021 onwards, “pupils’ scores will not be benchmarked against their peers. Instead, they just have to do the best they can in each subject. Their marks will be converted according to the new scoring bands of Achievement Level (AL) 1- AL8.” (Straits Times, 13 Jul 2016)

(Source: MOE Press Release)

My analysis:

HA (AL1-2)

Before 2021, in order to get into a good school like Raffles Institution with cut-off point of 264 in 2015, a HA student can afford to get 85-89 raw score in any two of the subjects (given an average cohort score of 65, a standard deviation of 20 and that the other two subjects are 90 and above) and safely qualify for entry into RI.

After 2021, assuming RI’s cut-off maintains at the same standard which is around 6 (AL1 + AL1 + AL2 + AL2), the child will still need to work extra hard to score that 90 marks.

Conclusion: No difference for the HAs.

Discussion: In fact, the usual gauge parents use to determine if their child is doing well is usually their performance in school, which is not measured using T-scores. Many parents do not know the details of the calculation of T-scores and hardly talks about how the school cohort is performing compared to their own child because such information is not readily available. Therefore, to say that parents are pushing their kids for that one extra mark because T-scores are used is not accurate in my experience. Rather, parents are pushing their kids because they want their HA kids to safely land a spot in the best school and not risk a borderline performance. Thus, removing the T-score would not make a difference to the HA kids and their parents.

MA (AL3-5)

Before 2021, children who are scoring 65-84 are considered ‘A’ and ‘B’ grades in school and are usually treated as potentials for entry into good schools. All they need is a little pushing and they might just fall into the ‘A’ or ‘A*’ category, thus, these are usually the kids who are sent for tuition.

After 2021, these children will no longer be ‘A’ or ‘B’ but AL3, AL4 and AL5. Let’s say they wanted to go into Victoria School (2015 cut-off was 247), if they maintain the standard, and assuming the new established cut-off becomes 8 (using the same assumption as the calculation above for consistency), students scoring 84 will no longer stand a chance to enter schools such as ACS (I), Cedar Girls’, Anderson, Nan Hua, River Valley etc. Because at 84, they are merely an AL3. If they get AL3 for all subjects, they are only a 12, they would have missed the cut-off point by a lot. Unless they can score an AL 1 for 2 subjects and AL3 for the other 2 (=8), they could still make it. Of course, there are many possible combinations that can be tabled, but the point is, an average score of 84 for all subjects will not get you into Victoria under the new system.

Conclusion: More stressful times ahead for the MAs.

Discussion: But what about the lower MAs (those scoring 65-74)? They will be choosing schools with previous cut-offs of around 200 and postings will be based on order of choice rather than by their aggregate score. They were previously at least able to choose schools of a higher cut-off (around 218).

Yes, the range of choice has increased for these lower MAs so in a way it’s a good news and parents can indeed relax a bit if their kids are in this category. However, from the parents whom I have spoken to, “kiasu” and “non-kiasu” ones, the one common thing they talk about is to give their children the best that they can afford. Still holding the mindset that a good secondary school makes a whole lot of difference to the child, none of the parents I know will say “It’s ok, just maintain at this level will do, no need to work so hard.”

Therefore, the group of parents that the new changes are targeted at might just end up giving their children more help by sending them to more tuitions, buy more assessment books etc.

LA (AL 6-7)

Before 2021, scoring 60 would fetch the child a ‘B’ and a T-score of 190 (assuming the same is scored for all 4 subjects with the same calculation assumptions as above). The child is still eligible for Express Stream in 45 schools (according to 2015 cut-off points).

After 2021, scoring 60 would fetch the child an AL6. Assuming the same for all subjects, the child would have accumulated a total of AL24, thus failing the criteria of a minimum of AL22 for the Express Stream in the new system.

Conclusion: An average score of 60-64 will land you in Normal Academic in 2021

Discussion: To some parents, going to the Normal stream is unacceptable. They will do everything they can to prevent that from happening. Without any other changes to the current education system, they will simply have to resort to what had worked for most students in the past, tuition, tuition and more tuition…
*There is no change to the old system for students scoring below 20. Therefore it is not included in the analysis above.

As a caveat, a lot of assumptions had to be made for the analysis above. For e.g., in order to calculate the T-scores and it’s aggregate, the cohort average is assumed to be at 65, the standard deviation is 20. Many other combinations of these numbers can easily fetch many different outcomes.

The above analysis is purely subjective. They are based on my experience as an educator (both government and private) and my day-to-day interactions with parents. Everyone has their rights to their own opinions and do feel free to leave your comments below if you feel otherwise.

Ultimately, it is really up to the parents to decide what is the next best course of action for their children but I personally feel that knowledge is what allows everyone to make informed and wise decisions. Even if tuition is the way forward for at least another 5 years till 2021, please make sure it is a center/tutor that knows how to motivate your child, knows how to bring out the love for learning in your child, and knows how to keep you informed of their progress for your decision-making. Tuition, can make or break your child’s future, just like the school that he/she attends.

Tuition – Social evil or confidence booster?

July 14, 2016By Clarice Lim

I read with great concern as more and more articles surface addressing the “social evil” of tuition; how this industry should be considered a bane to the happiness of children and thus should be eradicated.

I have been running a tuition center for 3 years now. I was previously from MOE teaching for the past 14 years, I was even awarded the best trainee teacher in my time and a medalist in my university days. When I first decided to venture into the business, I barely dared announce it to my friends and relatives, feeling like I had decided to join the “dark side” and should be treated with disdain and loathe. That I had abandoned what I was taught in NIE to join the money-spinning industry that feeds on the fear and kiasuism of parents and strips away the happiness of children.

Quite the opposite. I have joined the much-needed-yet-negatively-recognised industry because I still remember what I have learnt in NIE. It is precisely because I want to put what I have learnt into practice that I have joined the “dark forces”. I want to put the smile back onto the faces of children and tell their parents that grades are not everything.

Children have different learning preferences, from kinesthetic to audio and visual combined with many different permutations and combinations. Children also have many different learning obstacles from short attention span to low cognitive ability. They need the option to learn in small groups, to have different methods used in teaching and learning, to have teachers who act as mentors to listen to them and to guide them. Schools, unfortunately, doesn’t provide such a channel to 100% of the students. In a big class of more than 30, teachers hardly have the time and attention span for all of them, usually only the top and the bottom kids get the attention. If tuition is not available or easily accessible, who is going to attend to these “middle-child”?

No puns intended, the “middle-child” syndrome applies even in the classroom. How do u think the child feels about not getting attention in class? They either act up or sink low, depending on their personality. Tuition provides the attention these children require and gives them the guidance they need apart from their busy parents.

To say that the public education system is sufficient in catering to all children in classes of 30 to 40 is equivalent to thinking that all coffee is perfect without the need for additives. Sadly, this is not the case. Coffee is perfect only to a few individuals who knows how to appreciate it neat, but to many, additives of various amount are preferred.

Part of my job running a center includes talking to parents, giving them the much-needed advice in ensuring a great education for their kids, teaching them how to teach concepts, sometimes even correcting their grammar so they know how to correct their kids. Most of the time, I also take on the role of counsellors teaching parents how to best manage their children to ensure both academic and non-academic performance. I will also not hesitate in telling them to put less focus on grades and give the child more exposure in the outdoors and other interests.

It is true that certain parents are overdoing it. They deprive their children of their needed childhood. However, see it this way, if you are not performing at work, are always producing results that are mediocre compared to your co-workers and your boss does not show much interest in you, would you feel happy about your work and wish to focus instead on travelling and enjoying yourself outside of work? Children are sensitive to their own achievements and how others see them. To ask them to ignore their inability to perform is equivalent to asking them to “switch off” for the entire 8 to 10 hours in school and only “switching on” again to enjoy playtime and childhood after school. Human beings are competitive by nature because it’s innate in us to want to progress as a species, as a civilisation. Children, unfortunately, cannot ‘switch’ on and off as easily as adults and tuition, therefore, is the saving grace to help them regain their confidence in school and increase their self-esteem.

Tuition, if to be seen as an evil, is a necessary evil that helps children reach their maximum potential. However, evil as it is, it also helps to boost a higher confidence level in learning and in life. Furthermore, it helps to comfort parents in areas where they need assistance with. Of course, I don’t speak for all tuition teachers and centers but neither do articles that try to cast a shadow on this industry.

Calling all parents whose children are receiving tuition, do not be ashamed by these “forces” that wants you to stop stressing your kids. Be a proud parent who is genuinely seeking help for your child just as you would when they are having a cold.

Why not teach reading?

July 12, 2016By Clarice Lim

This has to be one of the most common questions asked to me. The answer is quite simple.

Research has shown that children who acquire reading skills at an early age did not have an added advantage in reading comprehension later in life. In fact, those who were late readers (e.g. those who started reading fluently at 7 or later), when compared to early readers who started reading at 4 or earlier, caught up and matched the reading abilities of their earlier-reading counterparts within a few years.

Some studies had even shown that late readers develop much better comprehension than early readers due to the focus on development in other areas;

“Because later starters at reading are still learning through play, language, and interactions with adults, their long-term learning is not disadvantaged. Instead, these activities prepare the soil well for later development of reading.” – Dr Sebastian Suggate, 2009.

However, we cannot ignore the fact that our education system expects the students to be able to read by the time they reach Primary 1. Most schools still practise examinations every 3 months although they use words like “mini-quiz” and “review test” instead of the stress-associated terms like “SA1 Examinations” or “CA2 Test”. What’s worse is that parents are given the feedback during Parents-Teacher Meeting that their child is not performing, can’t read, can’t write etc. These all add to the stress that parents face, thus leading to them seeking help for their children to be able to read at an earlier stage.

Moreover, being able to read later in life doesn’t result in any disadvantage but focusing too much on reading when your child is still not ready will, on the flipside, turn them off from learning altogether.

This is precisely why I had focused my early childhood enrichment programs on enhancing the learning ability (ie. working memory, mental flexibility and inhibitory control), while infusing elements of phonemic awareness into the program as a secondary teaching objective rather than the primary. It is more important to gear the children with a heightened learning ability while developing their reading skills than forcing them to pick up an advanced skill and neglect their general learning ability, thus resulting in a delayed development.

To conclude, do not fret if your child is still not reading, carry on the stimulation of the mind and the training of the general learning ability to ensure that when they are ready to read, they can fly with the newly acquired skill.

How to score in primary school Science?

July 12, 2016By Clarice Lim

I love teaching Science. Partly because I get to do all those fun experiments with the kids, but the main reason is that ALL my students are ‘A’ graders. (They did not come to me with ‘A’ grades though. I don’t “cherry-pick”.) It is therefore the least stressful subject to teach!

The most frequent grouses from parents and children are that they don’t know what are expected in the questions or they just can’t get that full marks.

My approach is simple. A Study Map™.

No, not mind-map. A Study Map™ is derived from the same principle as the Mind-Map only that it’s more effective for presenting academic concepts. Instead of single-word branches with lots of colours and drawings, a Study Map™ summarises concepts using short phrases with minimal colours and drawings. Example:

light

A Study Map™ is a much more effective tool for studying because it doesn’t take up too much time to produce (You don’t have to be artistic and you won’t be spending time trying to make it colourful and nice, I did the above using Prezi within 5min. Of course, you can easily produce one using pen and paper.) and it doesn’t take away important information that helps students answer questions in the examination.

With a Study Map™ that summarises each topic, you can easily answer any questions in the testpaper and get that perfect score.

For example:

a) Explain how the shadow is formed on the screen. (1m)

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

b) Will the shape of the shadow cast on the screen be the same if we switch the positions of the ping pong ball and the large piece of wood? Explain your answer. (2m)

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

.(Source: Past Year P4 Examination Paper)

Common ways of answering question (a) are

Light couldn’t go through the object.
The object blocked the light.
The object covered the screen.

All of the above answers make sense but they are definitely not going to fetch you a single mark.

To answer the question, we have to remember that teachers are always looking for evidences that you have learnt the concepts and are able to apply them. Therefore, you have to write the specific concepts that were learnt as the answer.

This is when I will remind my students what they have learnt by recalling what was recorded in the Study Map™.

Refering to the map above, we see point 4 in the center circle that “Shadow is formed when light is blocked.” That’s precisely the concept the question is testing. Of course, you have to answer it in the context of the question, therefore, the answer should be:

Light from the torch is blocked by the piece of wood thus casting a shadow on the screen.

For question (b), most students struggle with answers like:

Yes, because the wood is bigger than the ping pong ball.
Yes, the ping pong ball is smaller than the wood.

These answers will fetch at most 1m for the “Yes”. The other 1m requires the students to use concepts they have learnt in the answer. Therefore, the answer should be:

The ping pong ball is smaller than the piece of wood so it blocks out the same amount of light no matter whether it is in front or behind of the ping pong ball.

The “blocking of the light”is the key concept tested here.

In a nutshell, to ensure students score, all we need to do is to help them identify the key concepts for each topic, present it in a digestible Study Map™, give them a few practices to ensure ease of application and viola, the ‘A’ is theirs.

The above map only showed one topic, I will usually summarise the entire year’s topic in one A4 size paper for children to revise before their examination (only a single-side is used, try it out!)

CAPS or lower case?

July 5, 2016By Clarice Lim

Which is the correct answer?

I really love my grandfather.
I really love my Grandfather.
I really love grandfather.
I really love Grandfather.

The correct answer depends on how you address your grandfather.

The general rule is that all proper nouns should be written with a capital letter. Proper nouns refer to names of things. e.g. Clarice, Keming Primary School, Sony

Common nouns are names of things in general. e.g. woman, school, television. These words do not come with capital letters.

Therefore, Option 1 is correct because “grandfather” is simply used as a common noun that refers to the person as your father’s father because of the word “my” before it.

Option 2 is therefore wrong.

Option 3 is also wrong. Without the word “my”, “grandfather” becomes a proper noun rather than a common noun. Given that all proper nouns should come with a capital letter, Option 4 is correct.

In short, if you call your grandfather “Grandfather”, it must come with a capital letter. If you have the word “my” before “grandfather”, it must come with a lower case “g”.