The Learning Well Method Part 3
Hi again,
You probably have read about the first two stages of The Learning Well Method of learning. We now have reached stage 3. If not we invite you to read our earlier two Blog entries before reading this one.
3) The third stage is – Do you know it?
We believe that the important thing when ‘testing’ is for your children to be able to express what they know.
The Memory Map can be used to test what your child or children know about the subject, as written down in their Memory Maps.
At the heart of this system, is creating the habit of expressing what your children know without a judgment about getting it wrong. There is no failure, there are only results. Instead of criticizing, the testing process is about gaining feedback and learning what can be improved on next time. How do you do this?
How long does it take to write a Memory Map? Not long. As your child thinks about what the content of their Map will be, they can express these thoughts and write them or draw them onto the Memory Map.
There is writing involved in creating a Memory Map, but by far the most important thing to do is to encourage your children to speak about the content of their Maps and what they know.
To remind you what a Map looks like here is the one that we had in our earlier Blog about Part two of The Learning Well Method:
When your children have completed a Map on a school subject, or a subject of their choice, to ‘test them’ you will ask them to verbally tell you about the subject of their Map. As we speak at 100-150 words a minute, far far more ground will be covered on a subject by speaking about it rather than if you only ask a child to write down what they are learning as an essay.
Speaking is KEY to the secret of using The Learning Well Method when testing.
When your children can speak it they know it!
Which is why we have a phrase at The Learning Well which really captures the Method;
“SPEAK TO LEARN”
If your child or children can speak about the subject then they know about the subject and can then, when the time comes, write about it. It’s really very easy and if you use the Method it will make a huge difference to your children’s abilities.
In the next Blog we will set out the fourth and final part of The Learning Well Method.
You can see by now how the whole system comes together to make a very strong learning technique.
