Teachers that handle the candidate class in any secondary school should help them fill the learning gaps. This is one of the Best Academic Practices that entices peak performance in KCSE. School arrowheads should ensure that this important practice takes place at the right time in the Teaching and Learning (TL) process. Candidates should not be left to face the final exam when they feel that they are inadequate or ill-prepared.
Ostensibly, in most cases, filling learning gaps happens when school have covered the syllabus. Some of the gaps I can point out in this disquisition include: Gaps on content mastery, gaps on interpretation of questions, gaps on emerging trends, gaps on exam presentation, gaps on Form 1 and 2 content and gaps on morale and motivation.
- Gaps on Content Mastery
Peak performance in KCSE comes with proper syllabus coverage, content mastery, content retention and content delivery. After every exam, teachers should detect glaring gaps in content mastery when candidates leave some blank spaces in exams. The perfect antidote to the filling of gaps in content mastery is cyclic reading of notes and more exposure to core-course books. Candidates should read notes from Form 1-4 more frequently. They should also read the KCSE set texts.
Gaps in content mastery also manifest when candidates fail to score full marks in exams. Schools can cure this disease when they compel candidates to focus on intensive review of past papers. This helps the candidate to conceptualise the pattern in setting and marking of KCSE. It also exposes candidates to the format of exams. Focusing on remedial lessons can also entice hope and help.
Then, as part of remedy, there is the making of marking schemes, which entails getting question papers, and using them to get answers from the core-course books. In this approach, books remain the object of study, but questions act as the good guide on what and how to study. Consequently, let there be guided exams.
In this stupendous strategy, teachers guide candidates to read given areas where they have set examinations. Then, there is the approach of topical revision, whereby at the tail-end of every topic, candidates make notes and respond to end-of-topic-questions through evaluation. Likewise, research-based learning can wrought miracles. In this learning model, candidates should get the work that requires research. They make presentations in the full glare of their peers in class.
Moreover, candidates should read ravenously. Schools should use symposiums and hot sittings to seal some learning gaps. In hot sittings, they field questions from other students. Any question that they find challenging becomes a gap that require some serious filling. In the whole scheme of things, candidates grasp the content when they participate in subject-based contests. Meaning, they read given topics. Then they sit for an exam in those selected area.
- Gaps on Interpretation of Questions
This gap manifests when candidates sit for an exam, but fail to respond appropriately to the exam questions. Some even end up setting their own questions. What is the solution? Schools should expose candidates to several exams. Failure to respond to questions in the required breadth and depth end when schools train candidates on how to provide main points in exams, which must also be supported with proper illustrations.
Candidates should change their attitudes towards exams, and get prepared to sit for several exams as a means of practice and preparation. Candidates should sit for several set of exams. Marked and revised. The massive mistake that is committed by some schools is that candidates sit for exams just for the sake of formality. Teachers handling the candidate class serve the exams to please the top guns of the institution. They just do it because it features in the school calendar of events, or it is spelt out in the Academic Action Plans (AAPs).
- Gaps on Emerging Trends
This gap manifests when candidates fail to evince High Order thinking in exams. It also manifests when candidates evince poor content mastery. Candidates can find medicine to this disease only when they pay meticulous attention to subject experts and examiners. Teachers should study the KNEC reports, and implement the raft of recommendations therein.
Consequently, schools also manage to fill this gap when they expose candidates to standard exams, which are in fine line with the Bloom’s Taxonomy. In 1956, Benjamin Bloom with four collaborators – Max Englehart, Edward Furst, Walter Hill and David Krathwohl – published a framework for categorising educational goals known in popular parlance as: Taxonomy of Educational Objectives also known as Bloom’s Taxonomy. Exams obeying this model tests: Knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation.
- Gaps on Exam Presentation
This gap depicts itself when candidates fail to plot work on paper in an appropriate manner. This could be lackadaisical layout of essays, lousy labelling of diagrams, bad balance of work on paper, bad handwriting, laziness, carelessness, wrong flow of Mathematical equations and failure to present balanced chemical equations in Chemistry.
To mitigate it, there should be personal administration of complete exams and group exams. There should be intensive and extensive practice. Let them study marking schemes in an in-depth manner. Let them give every exam the seriousness it deserves.
- Gaps on Form 1 and 2 Content
This comes when candidates fail dismally to score marks in questions that test topics taught in Forms 1 and 2. This gap is sealed through cyclic reading of notes and quality quizzes. If a candidate only grasps Form 1 and 2 works, s/he stands a chance to score a D+. Mastery of Forms 1 and 2 content can possibly attract a C (plain). Mastery of Forms 1, 2 and 3 content can beckon a B- (Minus).
From this trail of thought, it is clear like crystal that mastery of Form 4 work positions a candidate to scoop good grade A. I can assert. Comprehensive analysis of KCSE 2019 props up my proposition. It was 25 per cent Form 1 work. 25 per cent Form 2 work. 25 per cent Form 3 work. 25 per cent Form 4 work. Candidates who grasped Form 1 and 2 work escaped the D+ and below mark. Unfortunately, some top achievers lost it, because they saw no need of focusing on Forms 1 and 2 work. They missed A’s.
- Gaps on Morale and Motivation
This manifests when we see low levels of targets set. Lack of commitment. Low levels of discipline, lack of self-drive and or poor data analysis. The teachers handling the candidate class should help them set and stick to targets. Schools should organise academic and career talks to inspire students to evince excellence. Candidates should see sense in the wise words of Dr. John C. Maxwell, “Motivation keeps us going, but discipline keeps us growing.”
By Victor Ochieng’
The writer rolls out academic talks and training programmes.
vochieng.90@gmail.com. 0704420232
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