Rote learning kills critical thinking, creativity and application: a study

Updated on: Tuesday, January 17, 2012

In a recent survey conducted by Wipro EI Quality Education study 2011 across 89 schools in India covering around 23,000 students and 800 teachers and principals revealed several shocking facts.

These findings are drawn from 89 of the country's top schools, each that had a library, a laboratory and enough computers, and 93 per cent stated they had internet facilities. And 63 per cent of the parents of these children hold a degree, post-graduate degree or doctorate, and more than 41 per cent of the fathers were into their own business.

In the survey conducted at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore, the shocking fact is that performance of schools and students in Chennai were found the lowest.

This study was carried out on aspects like student performance in Class 4,6,8 in Science, Social Sciences, Mathematics and English; student attitudes and values; learning environments & organizational aspects of the school - structure, decision making; leadership's vision and thinking, classroom practices etc; and co-scholastic areas - perspective and facilities provided.

On the academic front, students in the top schools of our country exhibit rote learning. Their performance in class 4 is below international average, but as they reach class 8, they are on a par with the global average. Not because of conceptual thinking, but basically due to answering questions that require straightforward use of techniques or learnt procedures. Another important finding is that misconceptions acquired in lower classes continue in higher classes without being corrected.

Drawing a correlation between the students' lack of analytical thinking, the study says, as these schools follow rote learning causing deception and seems like apparent learning, but does not allow the students to develop higher order thinking skills such as critical thinking, creativity and application. Resulting in non-rational thinking and the inability to discriminate between what is good or bad.

Students revealed perse thinking on questions on gender equality, acceptance of cultural and religious persity, civic, citizenship and ecological responsibilities. It also seemed that children were not getting exposed to different perspectives on these issues and thus that their thinking is not well-informed.

Most principals think that co-scholastic areas are relevant for building students' self-confidence, self-control, sportsmanship, solidarity, teamwork, competitiveness and health. But on the other hand the study pulged that the school curriculum did not emphasis on these areas. Among co-scholastic areas, sports, art and craft are given higher emphasis than music, dance drama and debates.

Greater student achievement is based on the ability of the students to read at least 60 minutes each day other than textbooks, students being able to read as well as do their homework independently, being taught by maths teachers with a masters degree in education and students who share their school problems with their parents.

Rote learning kills critical thinking, creativity and application: a study

More Education news