Usage of Spoon-feeding
Method Among Cambridge ALevel Students
Randall C.Z. Chirng
Sunway Pre-University
Conference 2012
Education is the best gift you
could ever receive, because
once you have it, no one can
ever take it from you.
Unknown
Objective
• Identify to what extent is spoon-feeding
methodology utilized in the Cambridge ALevels
• Draw recommendations for both students and
lecturers in giving/getting the best quality of
teaching/learning experience
Spoon feeding in the long
run teaches us nothing but
the shape of the spoon.
E. M. Forster
What is spoon-feeding
• Spoon-feeding method is a popular term that connotes
the act of giving zero opportunity for a person; in this
case student to think or act themselves (Samah, Jusoff,
& Silong, 2009).
• Spoon-feeding is the act of performing a physical
action for students that they can actually do on their
own, or which they are actually ready to learn to do it
with some effort (Mohanan, 2000).
• Lecturers will do everything for the students or tells
everything to them and thus, preventing them from
having to think or act for themselves (Collins Cobuild
English Language Dictionary, 1989)
The beginning of spoon-feeding
• Does high scoring students imply an improvement
in their intellectual development?
• Does examination marks indicate the level of
critical thinking a student has?
• Fact: In most examinations, students are
‘conditioned’ and ‘molded’ with certain questions
in the examination that they are unable to devise
another alternative way to answer same question
The beginning of spoon-feeding
• In sciences, where the laboratory work is
conducted, majority of students will face
‘mental-blockages’ as they are usually taught
on the theoretical aspect.
• Simple solution: Lecturers will change the
method into a step-by-step demonstration for
the students to see first and then only letting
them conducting the experiments themselves.
• This is a classic case of spoon-feeding.
The tendency to spoon-feed students is identified
as a hindrance for students to grow into an
active and lifelong learner.
(Samah, Jusoff, & Silong, 2009)
Possible issues with spoon-feeding
method
• Spoon-feeding will cause a potential
behavioral treatment that allows a student to be
pampered and impedes self-development
(Mohanann, 2000)
• Does this compliment with the demands in the
modern working world?
Does this happen in our local
education system?
http://www.themalaysianinsider.
com/malaysia/article/penanggoes-international...-foreducation/
The Malaysian Insider
06 August 2012
…“My two older children were educated in government-run local schools
and I find that they did a lot of rote learning and memorising which is not
that good so I decided to let my youngest one go to an international school
for a different education system,” she said.
Gooi does not regret her decision and was glad that she and her husband
decided to fork out extra money to send their youngest child to an
international school. “We find that compared to her older siblings, her
command of English is superb, she learned more and her education is not
only confined to memorising from textbooks but includes a more holistic
approach that helped build her character,” she said.”…
• Our local education system had been proven
many a times to churn out students who are not
independent due to the inherent fact of our
national-based assessment (Hashim & HoAbdullah, 2009)
• Allows students to just ‘vomit’ ready-made
answers out on the examination answer sheets
• The effects of spoon-feeding are like a doubleedged sword where it shows the good and bad of
this method; both in the long run and short run.
Spoon-feeding in Education
• Situation: Many teachers are frustrated with
group of students who relies too much on their
lecturers/teachers (More to come…)
• Students are much more passive (fear of taking
responsibility) possibly linked to cultural
practices in classrooms and lacking of
proficiency
• Rampant in tertiary education too (Samah,
et.al., (2000))
• Utilizes heavily on lecture format; making it
teacher-centered and passive learning for
students
• Sad fact: Many teachers perceive spoonfeeding as an advantageous method (Chhem,
2000)
Why is spoon-feeding existing in
education system?
• Minimal preparation by educators
• Minimal updates on the lessons
• Cost saving as one lecturer can handle many
students simultaneously
• Students may prefer it – less participation
needed
But why shouldn’t it be so?
(Chhem, 2000)
•
•
•
•
•
No active participation
No independent learning
Minimal development of creativity
Lesser initiative taking
Poor problem solving skills as they are not
needed to search for information
Education
nowadays…
What is Cambridge A-Level
• 2 parts : Advance Subsidiary (AS) and A2
levels
• Present in more than 125 countries and have
more than 60 subjects in total globally
• The syllabus is created for international
audience and cultural biasness are avoided
• Examinations conducted twice a year; June
and November.
• Types of assessment:
Formal written examination, practical, projects ;
depending on the subjects taken
Source: University of Cambridge International
Examinations
Results and Discussion
• n = sample size required
• N = total population size
• d = precision level = 0.05 (95% of confidence
interval)
• z = number of standard deviation unit of
sampling units of the sampling distribution
corresponding to the desire confidence level =
1.81 (from t-distribution table)
• For students,
N = 550
Therefore, n = 205.5 ≈ 206
(Obtained 372 responses)
• For teachers,
N = 30
Therefore, n = 27.56 ≈ 28
(Obtained 19 responses) – it is a convenience and
snowballing method. It is adequate in getting an
internal generalisation in qualitative studies
(Creswell, 2002)
• Two sets of near-similar questionnaires
adapted from literature reviews; one for
students and another for educators
• Using simple frequency analysis to analyze the
data provided
Students’ response
Part I – Students’ perception in their learning style
Semester
Rely heavily on the teacher
(%)
Self-reliant (%)
1
49
51
2
34
66
3
31
69
Overall
40
60
Independent learner
Dependent learner
• Students’ perception on their decision-making
skills in learning
Semester
Cannot make decisions Can make informed
about your learning (%) decisions about your
learning (%)
1
23
77
2
24
76
3
32
68
Overall
26
74
Independent learner
Dependent learner
• Students’ perception on identifying their
strength and weaknesses
Semester
Students do not know their
own strengths and
weaknesses (%)
Students are
aware of their
strengths and
weaknesses (%)
1
24
76
2
23
77
3
11
89
Overall
21
79
Independent learner
Dependent learner
• Students’ perception on their connection of
their classroom’s lesson to the real world
Semester
Students do not connect
classroom learning with
the real world (%)
Students connect
classroom
learning with the
real world (%)
1
35
65
2
32
68
3
29
61
Overall
32
68
Independent learner
Dependent learner
• Students’ perception on whose responsibility is
it in their learning
Semester
Solely the teacher (%)
Students take
responsibility in
their learning(%)
1
13
87
2
9
91
3
18
82
Overall
13
87
Independent learner
Dependent learner
• Students’ perception in knowing their learning
methods
Semester
Students do not know
the best way to learn
something (%)
Students plan
their learning
and set goals
(%)
1
31
69
2
36
64
3
34
66
Overall
34
66
Independent learner
Dependent learner
• Students’ perception in their source of
motivation
Semester
Students will only work
when extrinsic
motivators such as
grades or rewards are
offered (%)
Students are
intrinsically
motivated by
making progress
in learning (%)
1
22
78
2
38
62
3
44
56
Overall
33
67
Independent learner
Dependent learner
• Students’ perception on their reflection in their
learning process
Semester
Students do not reflect
on how well they are
learning and the
reasons (%)
Students often
reflect on the
learning process
and their own
progress (%)
1
23
77
2
30
70
3
43
57
Overall
30
70
Independent learner
Dependent learner
Part II - Students’ preference
• Student-centered or teacher-centered?
Semester
Student-centered (%)
Teacher-centered
(%)
1
50
50
2
48
52
3
54
46
Overall
50
50
Two-way learning
Lecture format
• Active learning or passive learning?
Semester
Active learning (%)
Passive learning
(%)
1
77
23
2
70
30
3
62
38
Overall
71
29
Two-way learning
Lecture format
• Symbiotic learning style or dependent learning
style?
Semester
Symbiotic learning style
(%)
Teacherdependent
learning style(%)
1
80
20
2
76
24
3
66
34
Overall
75
25
Two-way learning
Lecture format
• Decentralized classroom or classroomcentered?
Semester
Decentralized
classroom (%)
Classroomcentered (%)
1
66
34
2
56
44
3
55
45
Overall
60
40
Two-way learning
Lecture format
• Teacher responsibility, student accountability
or teacher responsibility only?
Semester
Teacher responsibility,
student accountability
(%)
Teacher
responsibility
only (%)
1
94
6
2
91
9
3
89
11
Overall
92
8
Two-way learning
Lecture format
• Interdependence with group members or
working alone?
Semester
Interdependence with
group members (%)
Working alone
(%)
1
71
29
2
67
33
3
48
52
Overall
64
36
Two-way learning
Lecture format
• Teachers as facilitators or Teacher as central
focus in class?
Semester
Teachers as facilitators
(%)
Teacher as
central focus in
class (%)
1
78
22
2
73
27
3
66
34
Overall
73
27
Two-way learning
Lecture format
• Not syllabus bound or syllabus bound?
Semester
Not syllabus bound (%)
Syllabus bound
(%)
1
82
18
2
77
23
3
63
37
Overall
76
24
Two-way learning
Lecture format
Educators Responses
Part I – Describing yourself
• Is it a necessity for students to be spoon-fed to
achieve great results in their studies?
Yes
No
11%
89%
• Reliance of the students towards the educators
Relied heavily
Not relied heavily
63%
37%
• The ability to identify students’ strengths and
weaknesses
Unable
Able
5%
95%
• Connecting classroom learning with the real
world learning
Yes
No
11%
89%
• Responsibility in the students’ learning
Solely the teacher
Shared responsibility
(Student-Teacher
responsibility)
0%
100%
• Adapting to different teaching methods in order to
accommodate different learning styles of students
Unable
Able
16%
84%
• Expectation settings
Not voiced out
Voiced out
11%
89%
• Reflection on students’ learning process
and the progress
No
Yes
0%
100%
Part II – Teaching style
preference
• Central focus
Student-centered
Teacher-centered
95%
5%
• Learning style for students
Independent learning
style
One way learning
(Dependent)
89%
11%
• Classroom learning arrangement
Open, decentralized
classroom
Structured, centered
classroom
11%
89%
• Responsibility for students’ learning
Teacher responsibility,
student accountability
Teacher responsibility
100%
0%
• Teacher’s role in the classroom
Facilitator and
environment setter
Central figure in class
100%
0%
• Teaching content
Expanded – beyond the
syllabus
Traditional – strictly
syllabus bound
68%
32%
Additional pointers from
teachers
• Most of these students are being spoon-fed since they
were young; hence their dependency on it remains. In
reality, most students do need to be spoon-fed. It is a
bad habit of relying on rote-memory in order to
succeed. Only a handful of high-achievers will do more
than what a student ought to do.
• Most students fail to inculcate a ‘thinking’ mind and
improve their analytical and problem solving skill. This
is made worse by some who are unwilling to work
hard, and solely wanting to depend on the teachers
only.
• Time constraint is one of the MAIN factor of teachers
to use spoon-feeding method
• There are many teachers who still go the
second mile by implementing a two-way
learning process rather than just plainly
teacher-centric based classroom.
• Some even try their utmost best in relating
whatever taught to their daily lives.
Conclusion
What can a teacher do?
SERVE
•
•
•
•
•
See the future
Engage and develop
Reinvent continuously
Value both results and relationship
Embody the values