Children learn quicker if classroom is not ‘dominated by minority’

Posted 06 Sep 2010

People teaching English abroad may be interested in a new study, which has found that children learn quicker if the minority do not dominate the lesson.

This is because children who do not get the chance to answer questions in the classroom, as the brightest pupils are dominating, tend to feel demoralised and "give up", reports the Telegraph.

Professor Dylan William, deputy director of the Institute of Education at London University, conducted an experiment and reached these conclusions.

He also believes that all children should be given a whiteboard on which to write their answers and reveal them to the teacher at the same time.

People teaching English abroad may like to try this approach to their own methods as it may help those lagging behind in class to learn quicker.

Prof William told the news provider about his experiment: "The kids who were used to having a quiet time were rattled at having to do something; the ones who were used to showing off to the teacher were upset."

Another recent study found that girls believe they are more intelligent and better behaved than boys by the age of four.
 

Category: Teaching and Learning