Every teacher has faced these scenarios:
Scenario 1: In a class IV room, the science teacher wants students to read the chapter on digestive system. Most find it difficult to read basic words like ‘movement’ and ‘available.’ The teacher is frustrated and reads the lesson aloud herself. She is at a loss not knowing if she should continue with the lesson or get children to read basic English words.
Scenario 2: More than half a class III room full of students are unable to complete a division problem. The teacher finds that these children can’t recall basic math like 8 times 7. She is unsure if she should get children to learn multiplication tables or just move ahead with division and hope the children somehow pickup multiplication tables later.
If these scenarios resonate with you, you are most likely not alone. It has become a cliché to criticise rote learning in our education system.
But, we should re-evaluate our stand based on the latest research from cognitive science. It shows that there is a value for memorisation of basics, also called as automaticity. There is no point in rote learning followed in schools where students memorise answers and regurgitate them.
But, it is important that students internalise the basics in English and math, as it will help them answer problems on their own. For that, it is important that key stakeholders in the education system understand the concept of automaticity.
Mastering basics
Automaticity is the ability to do things automatically, without having to consciously think about them. If we ask a child what 9 times 7 is, and she starts adding nine, seven times, we understand she will not be able to solve multiplication and division problems easily. Or, if we ask her to read a passage in English and she reads the words as a-l-s-o and not as ‘also’, we know that with reading at this level, comprehension is a far cry.
This simply implies that if children don’t know the basics to the point of doing it automatically without thinking, they cannot perform more complicated tasks.
This may not be apparent to an adult. So, let us look at how you first started driving. All your attention was on the steering wheel, gears, accelerator, brakes, the side mirrors, the rear view mirror, the traffic lights, the people around and the road in front. You were worried about how to coordinate. But, as you got comfortable with these elements, using these became automatic behaviour. You could then focus on seeing the road ahead and without much anxiety, observe the traffic lights and people around. So, you began driving smoothly to the extent of having deep conversations with your friends while driving. You had achieved automaticity in the skill of driving.
Much of learning in young children is similar. If children know basic math or English vocabulary thoroughly, the brain can focus on solving the math problem or making sense of sentences. We need to understand that automaticity of basics allows us to focus on more complex skills.
This journey will start with an understanding of the ‘why’ and ‘how.’ But after that, it should involve repetitive drills and memorisation of the basics. If we are to successfully teach students, we must help them develop automaticity. This will give them confidence to face any challenge that springs up on their path to learning.
The author is a teacher and also the co-founder of IMAX by ClassKlap
