I agree. Many questions in "O" level examination question are very 'data-based'. If you memorise the entire book, you would surely know the answer. Only a small percentage of questions consist of 'Higher-Order-Thinking(HOT) questions. Just like Social Studies, you have to literally lift out the passage from the textbook to answer the questions in the paper. Which requires heavy memorising. "O" level should be changed to "M" level. "Memory" Level Examination.
I disagree. Nobody memorizes a piece of composition and reproduces it in the 'O' Levels; the examiner will mark him down with copying. Same goes for art, you can memories a piece of art and reproduce it in the O levels but, you'll get mark down for originality. What does one usually do before one goes in and sit for one's 'O' Level mathematics paper? Practice! Sure you can memories all the mathematics formula in the world and go in and "wack" it all out onto the exam paper, but, you won't score full marks for mathematics. Mathematics is all about testing your application skills. How you apply the formula to a certain problem. When you're working, say an engineer, your boss won't go: "hey count the amount of engine thrust for me" and give you the formula to that, he would expect you to know it, and even so, don't know, find out yourself! MOE expects students to UNDERSTAND what they are learning, not memorize. However many parents and students are getting this wrong. They think that by memorizing "study dead book" as they call it in Chinese, helps. However, the original agenda behind MOE is that by understanding, you won't have to memorize, because you will be able to reason out the answer since you understand the topic. Take a look at Design and Technology, they require you to think of solutions to a problems. No formulae you can memorize can give you the answer to that. In accounting, it's just the formula to memorize, the rest is all application. As such, MOE is constantly improvising and revising their syllabus.
i strongly agree to the statement made by alvin. kian hong stated that social studies is equal to "literally lift out the passage from the textbook to answer the questions in the paper". i strongly disagree with it. many students feel that topics like social studies and histroy requirealot of memorising. That is a wrong way of studying those subject, that is why students are not doing well in it. Topic like social studies and history require UNDERSTANDING and not so much of memorising. Of cos you must know your facts before you can do this topic. but you need not memorising everything, instead one should read through the passage a few time to really understand the topic. having to understand the topic, i see no need to memorise. it is through alot of understand and good debating skill which allow you to score well in this subjects.
I agree that "O" levels requires more memorising rather than thinking..If u analysed it carefully and in detailed, you can find that we actually memorise how to answer the questions. For English, I'm sure that most of us, if not all of us, memorised the various formats for letter writting, arguementative essays and etc. For maths, we basicly memorise the formulas n how the answer should be like(for graphs and transformation), it is just a matter of practising what we remember over and over again. For science, we have to remember list down the correct formula or compound names. As for DnT, we basicly memorised the processes and which type of tools are suitable for which operations.. and then we drew diagrams out to show what we meant. Social Studies? hey, we just have to remember the main points and spell it out onto the paper during the examination n also describe more about the points!
There are only few 'Higher-Order-Thinking' questions as Kian Hong mentioned in his comment. They are there because the examiners just want to separate the normal and the good ones. Thats all...
I think that the O Levels are just a test of the students' memory skills. Take for example the 10year series that all of us are so familiar with.
The reason behind do them? It's obviously because through a ten year period, the questions set in the papers of different subjects are almost similiar. Be it social studies, history, mathematics, science, or any other subject, the ten year series is there to prepare you for the questions that will come out in the actual thing.
However there are always the more difficult questions at the back to filter out the good ones that can really think out of the box, and that is enough to determine which student has the advantage in academics.
But in short the o levels is mainly a test of students' memory skills, which would only help us to get into the next stage of our education, not preparing us for the workforce.
9 Comments:
I agree. Many questions in "O" level examination question are very 'data-based'. If you memorise the entire book, you would surely know the answer. Only a small percentage of questions consist of 'Higher-Order-Thinking(HOT) questions.
Just like Social Studies, you have to literally lift out the passage from the textbook to answer the questions in the paper. Which requires heavy memorising.
"O" level should be changed to "M" level.
"Memory" Level Examination.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
I disagree. Nobody memorizes a piece of composition and reproduces it in the 'O' Levels; the examiner will mark him down with copying. Same goes for art, you can memories a piece of art and reproduce it in the O levels but, you'll get mark down for originality.
What does one usually do before one goes in and sit for one's 'O' Level mathematics paper? Practice!
Sure you can memories all the mathematics formula in the world and go in and "wack" it all out onto the exam paper, but, you won't score full marks for mathematics.
Mathematics is all about testing your application skills. How you apply the formula to a certain problem.
When you're working, say an engineer, your boss won't go: "hey count the amount of engine thrust for me" and give you the formula to that, he would expect you to know it, and even so, don't know, find out yourself!
MOE expects students to UNDERSTAND what they are learning, not memorize. However many parents and students are getting this wrong.
They think that by memorizing "study dead book" as they call it in Chinese, helps. However, the original agenda behind MOE is that by understanding, you won't have to memorize, because you will be able to reason out the answer since you understand the topic.
Take a look at Design and Technology, they require you to think of solutions to a problems. No formulae you can memorize can give you the answer to that. In accounting, it's just the formula to memorize, the rest is all application.
As such, MOE is constantly improvising and revising their syllabus.
i strongly agree to the statement made by alvin. kian hong stated that social studies is equal to "literally lift out the passage from the textbook to answer the questions in the paper". i strongly disagree with it. many students feel that topics like social studies and histroy requirealot of memorising. That is a wrong way of studying those subject, that is why students are not doing well in it. Topic like social studies and history require UNDERSTANDING and not so much of memorising. Of cos you must know your facts before you can do this topic. but you need not memorising everything, instead one should read through the passage a few time to really understand the topic. having to understand the topic, i see no need to memorise.
it is through alot of understand and good debating skill which allow you to score well in this subjects.
I agree that "O" levels requires more memorising rather than thinking..If u analysed it carefully and in detailed, you can find that we actually memorise how to answer the questions. For English, I'm sure that most of us, if not all of us, memorised the various formats for letter writting, arguementative essays and etc. For maths, we basicly memorise the formulas n how the answer should be like(for graphs and transformation), it is just a matter of practising what we remember over and over again. For science, we have to remember list down the correct formula or compound names. As for DnT, we basicly memorised the processes and which type of tools are suitable for which operations.. and then we drew diagrams out to show what we meant. Social Studies? hey, we just have to remember the main points and spell it out onto the paper during the examination n also describe more about the points!
There are only few 'Higher-Order-Thinking' questions as Kian Hong mentioned in his comment. They are there because the examiners just want to separate the normal and the good ones. Thats all...
i've gt a question about elearning.
are we suppose to do our own blog or just comment on yours?
I think that the O Levels are just a test of the students' memory skills. Take for example the 10year series that all of us are so familiar with.
The reason behind do them? It's obviously because through a ten year period, the questions set in the papers of different subjects are almost similiar. Be it social studies, history, mathematics, science, or any other subject, the ten year series is there to prepare you for the questions that will come out in the actual thing.
However there are always the more difficult questions at the back to filter out the good ones that can really think out of the box, and that is enough to determine which student has the advantage in academics.
But in short the o levels is mainly a test of students' memory skills, which would only help us to get into the next stage of our education, not preparing us for the workforce.
Post a Comment
<< Home