2016 Student false beliefs E Generic

I need to write down what you say

I don’t need to listen to the teacher

Learning is writing

Homework is a waste of time

Experienced teachers will be familiar with the student who insists on copying down what the teacher has written on the board -often- precisely at the same time as he/she is presenting orally the next section of the lesson!

In the mind of such a student-and there are many of them-writing down what the teacher writes on the board proves (to himself) that he has  learned something important: this is much more important  in his view than listening to the teacher.

We teachers know better.

The only way to deal with this type of student is to stop talking and stop them writing.

"You can't write and listen a the same time!" is a useful intervention

The rationale for this behaviour is that the student believes  'If its not written down it is not worth learning'

In many countries this idea is strongly embedded in the learner: Speaking and listening are not important but reading and writing are. The reason for this is that writing is easy to test for the teacher. The pedagogy of many countries is therefore based on what is  convenient  for the teacher-not what is good for the learner.

The reasoning goes like this..

What do we teach?

Hmm...maybe this ...?

How do we know they have learned anything?

Well...we get them to read something and then give them a written test.

No need to listen to teacher - just read and and write: the instructions will be on the test

Another attitude that often goes in tandem with this is that homework is not important.

At the beginning of the academic course homeworks often involve readings and this type of student doesn't  do them. This slows down the pace of the class the next day.

Again this false belief stems form the lip-service which teachers pay to rules in overregulated and overly prescriptive systems in many countries. Teachers set homeworks because they are required to, not when they are necessary. It is the policy of the institution. The homework is often irrelevant and the student learns to do the minimum.

In some countries I set very little homework as only a quarter of the class would even attempt it!

I could not set homeworks, the completion of which was necessary for the next day's class. I fi did , a quarter of the class would have done it and the other three quarters would not-so I could not do the class which I had planned.

Later on in academic courses in Australia written assignments are set which attract some type of sanction if not completed so there is not such a problem.

I have tutored  many able and keen adult students as tutees who will not do homework because this false belief is so deeply entrenched.

Patience is required to restore the faith of the student in the need to do homework!