Suara Hati Ayahku

Salam

We have two words here called learners and teachers.  Both exist because of each other.  A teacher is in schools because there are students s/he can teach while a student comes to school because there is a teacher to help him learning.  The next question is what to learn/ teach?

The answer depends on 2 things.

(1)  I was sent to Rengit Primary School by my parents ..  and it never come across my mind that there is a subject called Mathematics.  If I have known that maths is such a beautiful subject on logic, I would have gone myself to the school age 5. So here .. I was forced to school.

2)  The policy of the government is to give free education to all citizens from age 7 to 15 in this country.  Therefore , I was sent to school because my parents do not have to pay anything to hire teachers to teach me 20 different subjects called maths, english, sciences, electrical wirings ,  physical education, religious study, history, geography, arts and craft, biology,  chemistry, physics, Additional Mathematics, english literature, malay literature, cooking,  painting, making friends, talking, socializing, arguing, defending your ideas in debates, and many more.

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Today I would like to introduce you 2 things called deep learning and surface learning.

(1)  surface learning -  you learn the name of capitals of  many countries such as Paris is the capital of France and London , the capital of England. This knowledge is called surface learning because you are not required to solve any problem regarding London the capital city of England or not. If Paris is the capital city of England,  so what?  You are not required to think anything more than just , mere knowing that the late Diana married a handsome Prince in London.  After their marriage, you did not care much what they did after that.  It was not your business.    Surface learning does not require critical thinking, reasoning, problem solving, analysis, synthesis and many more as put in  Bloom Taxonomy (1956).

(2)  deep learning -  you must organize certain elementary concepts thus enabling you to compare, relate things to existing information,  translate new information into certain engraved concepts and relate it to their life experience.  Existing thinking philosophies change some how during this process and the learned material is assimilated within the students' perceptions web ( B. Offir et al, 2008).  Example:  an ustaz who got islamic masters from UIA (Malaysia) and furthering his education at PhD level in Edinburgh. The teachers there are orthodox  jews and christians.  During his learning for Ph.D some of his ideas are sold , compromise , defending, agreeing , seeking deeper, researching, summarizing his so called faith with the new bought ideas from his teachers ..thus gaining his contemporary Dr title from the western 'GURU'.  As such that ustaz know  things on islam from many perspective i.e., so much knowledge but no amal what so ever or little knowledge and little amal as well.

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So as a teacher where are we going to stand?

Are we going to teach from a surface / deep learning point of view?  The choice is ours.

I think that's all for today.  See you again .. as learners .. you absorb what come may from your teachers right?

Wallahu aklam.