Qualifications Mean Little Without Deeper Learning
Studying to pass an exam and forgetting the information the day after is not useful learning. To really learn, we need to remember it a year or longer.
Skills shortages are common in many industries today.
- Is this because education focuses on getting people qualified faster, rather than training capable people in the time they need?
- Is that piece of paper really as important as getting in-depth learning and knowledge?
- When people are required to study by an accreditation system, they enrol because they must, rather than because they are motivated to learn.
- When funding is tied to passing exams, students and colleges, are both more incentivised to find loop holes to pass, rather than meaningful ways to learn.
Passing an exam or having a qualification means very little if you have not learned something properly.
Learning
Understanding how learning happens is the cornerstone of how we develop and deliver education.
Short Term Learning
Short term learning is learning that enters our brain quickly and leaves quickly.
Too many courses deliver short term learning, then quickly assess the student before the knowledge disappears. That approach can get more students qualified for less investment, but ultimately leads to short term knowledge and skills shortages.
Long Term Learning
Long term learning is learning that stays with you a long time. Long term learning is deeper learning that results in us retaining useful knowledge for years to come.
Deeper Learning
Deeper learning is not just learning information by rote. It is a way of helping students and individuals to –
- Apply their knowledge to a range of contexts and situations.
- Core mastery of their subject
- Think critically
- Collaborate with others
- Solve real world problems
- Improved communication
- Develop the individual’s believe that they can succeed.
- Develops the individual’s discipline and persistence to learn.
Deeper learning tends to be –
- Project based
- Encouraging students to do their own research
- Encourages active engagement
It also helps students to prepare for the demands of modern life and their future career, by understanding the topics studied clearly, and being able to apply that knowledge to real world problems.
Deeper learning encourages –
- Creativity
- Resilience
- Collaboration
- And, most importantly, a curious and inquiring mind
ACS IS DIFFERENT BECAUSE WE FOCUS ON LEARNING
- We start by ensuring people study subjects that they are motivated to learn about.
- We construct courses as a learning journey, enabling repeated exposures to information and different contexts to ensure the information passes into the student’s deep memory.
- We provide support to keep students motivation and progressing through their course.
THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING
Our approach has been refined and polished over almost 5 decades. We continue to self evaluate and improve.
Our students are successful.
Even those who might not complete a course tell us they learned a lot and are successful because of what they learned.
If you would like more information on our courses, contact us at admin@acs.edu.au or view them at www.acs.edu.au