How Does Spoon-Feeding Affect Learning
People aren’t really excited when they hear the term “learning” or even “lifelong learning.” More often than not, they would scoff at the term and then go on to elaborate and recount all of the difficulties they faced in school or all of the teachings they had learned but were unable to apply. Some people even concur that they do not remember what they have studied. Have you ever wondered why these are the typical responses? It’s not unusual, and for many adults, it’s even a normal reaction.
The majority of what students learn in school is for tests. After studying them for hours on end, students forget about them and throw them in the trash as soon as they turn in their exam sheets. This isn’t even learning. Whether or not pupils are learning at all is the question that remains unanswered. It’s a common perception that teachers must pour “knowledge” into students’ empty brains. However, this is undoubtedly untrue. Students already have their own methods of thinking and understanding new information before they ever enter school.
Spoon-feeding has been a problem that’s been highlighted for many years research after research. While some subjects benefit from memorization, repetition, and memorization do the students little to no favor.
Table of Contents
What is spoon-feeding?
As the name suggests, this occurs when a baby or child is spoon-fed by their parents since they are still unable to feed themselves or utilize eating utensils. In the context of education, this basically implies treating the student like a newborn, a blank canvas that teachers or tutors must paint with their expertise. This method is more teacher-centered and “tells” the learners what they need to know.
How does spoon-feeding affect learning?
Though it is typically considered a “no-no” in education, spoon-feeding is nonetheless one of the most common instructional paradigms in use today. In relation to the conventional and standardized kind of assessment, it is also true that some tutors continue to use this teaching methodology. However, tutors will recognize that spoon-feeding isn’t the best approach when they start to ask themselves, “Is my student actually learning?” Here are a few drawbacks of spoon-feeding students and the reasons tutors should steer clear of them.
1. Critical thinking skills may not develop
Here’s a scenario. A tutor just finished opening up a topic to a student and then asks for the student’s input about the given topic. The student may think, “Why is my tutor doing this? Shouldn’t they know better since they are the ones with knowledge?”
Unfortunately, that isn’t how active learning operates. Since the tutor has already studied the subject and may even be an authority on it, they would obviously know more than the pupil. However, learning should involve more than just imparting knowledge to the student. Following the tutor’s explanation and the student’s receipt of the material, the student is free to analyze and share their thoughts on how they understood it.
Students will not develop critical thinking skills if they are only taking in the information without comprehending it. Acquiring knowledge is only one aspect of learning. When the learner lacks the necessary abilities to apply or use them, it is pointless. For instance, when a student knows how to answer a math issue and follow their tutor’s steps, they are unable to solve the problem independently or apply the process they have learned. This indicates that instead of knowing how to do anything, they are simply following instructions.
The students will not develop if they are constantly just given the knowledge they are supposed to have. This can lead to them hitting a plateau in education, with no possible option of progress as their development remains stagnant with what is given to them. They wouldn’t be compelled to ask questions or clarifications. Thus, they wouldn’t develop skills they could use to interpret their knowledge in ways that are useful for them.
2. Loss of interest in learning
As we’ve already discussed, people frequently discuss their bad experiences with learning or claim that it’s not for them when discussing it. For students who are spoon-fed, this might be true. Because of this, they are unable to apply the knowledge that has been “fed” to them and lose any of it.
Giving students all they already know would demotivate them to look for additional ways to learn more. For instance, a tutor might advise a student to read a book since it contains all of the exam answers. This would require the student to commit the text to memory word for word without truly comprehending what it says. If the student hasn’t truly grasped the book’s message, do you believe they will be able to respond to situational questions based on it? Additionally, since the book is said to be all they need, they wouldn’t need to search for additional manuals. What about the most recent edition of the book’s facts?
When people say learning is a lifelong process, they mean just that. By spoon-feeding students, they are taught that whatever is given to them is the ultimate truth when there will always be advancement and development in what was believed to be true years ago that isn’t true now.
The tutor shouldn’t hold the students’ hands all the time while they are learning. They will be more confident in their ability to learn and will be able to enjoy the process if they begin to learn for themselves rather than on orders. They can develop into self-sufficient, lifelong learners who genuinely enjoy the process of learning.
3. Students would lack effort
When students are learning through repetition and memorization, they can only work hard through constantly doing just that with no clarifications or questions about the concept. When students aren’t encouraged to think for themselves, they don’t have a sense of independence in learning, thus developing a feeling of “learned helplessness” that makes them reliant on spoon-feeding.
Poor results may still arise from spoon-feeding since it is more teacher-centered and requires more work from the teacher than the learner. Students who are spoon-fed wait for information to come to them. However, they accuse their tutor of failing to teach them when they believe they have not learned something. The tutor then accuses the pupil of not paying attention or learning. The cycle is excruciating and never ends. For this reason, a lot of people continue to say they haven’t learned anything in school either.
The students who are used to spoon-feeding are also less responsible for their learning process. They can often misplace their workbooks, and answer sheets, forget their homework, get easily distracted, etc. Being used to spoon-feeding can also cause damage to the students when they reach higher education levels. They may get good scores from their younger years but when they are pushed into an environment that encourages independent learning, they may take time to adjust and may even suffer then.
Additionally, tutors who stop spoon-feeding their children or reduce the amount of spoon-feeding they do still teach them. Some may contend that they aren’t carrying out their duties, but in reality, teaching pupils to improve their abilities and learning process is more significant than merely imparting knowledge. Teaching pupils how to learn is also crucial.
4. Low performance outside of school
The students will become dependent after they are accustomed to being spoon-fed. When students graduate and start living outside of school, this could become a problem. They will be required to think on their own, unlike schools. They should be able to think independently and do activities by themselves. They wouldn’t have an instructor or tutor to constantly tell them what to do or how to respond.
The chances of them succeeding if they are unable to cope with the new environment can drop. They can have great scores in school but if they are unable to apply their knowledge in the adult world, they can still face some challenges.
Conclusion
In order to help students create their own learning paths, educators should serve as learning facilitators. They ought to support their students in becoming self-assured and taking charge of their education. Every student can learn, but it’s also necessary to teach them how to learn on their own. Students have the capacity to absorb information like sponges, but when under stress, they may also forget or lose what they have learned.
Carelle
Carelle is a teacher who has been through the ups and downs of the teacher and learner life. She wishes for every learner to gain educational satisfaction that will help embody the people they want to be in the future.
