What does “spoon-feeding” mean to you?

[CruCru]

Quite often I’ve seen posters on various education threads refer to children being “spoon-fed” - usually in relation to private schools but sometimes in relation to state schools (grammar or CoE comprehensives with tiny cut off distances). I googled what “spoon-feeding” is and got “the process of teachers directly telling students everything they need to know about the requirements of a specific task, thus requiring little independent thought on their part”.

However I don’t think that everyone who mentions “spoon-feeding” means it in exactly the way defined above. One friend seems to use it in relation to any school that gives extra support (not for SEN) or opportunities beyond those provided in the lessons.

I’ll be surprised if many of the most well known public schools “spoon-feed” - isn’t the point of them to teach independent thought?

I suspect that my comprehensive did “spoon-feed” quite a lot in some subjects. They were focused on the GCSEs and it didn’t feel as though there was a lot of extra time to do stuff outside the curriculum.

I think many private schools do spoon feed to ensure good results. A close friend who works at an inde told me she had attended a seminar run by a RG university and the seminar was aimed at addressing the fact that many students entering the uni had great A levels but were incapable of independent study.

Basically the teacher giving the students all of the information they need without allowing/trusting the students to think or research anything for themselves. It's ok for younger students but by year 9 they really should be starting to learn some independence in their learning.

Your friend who worked at an independent school went to a universities seminar where this was mentioned. That doesn't mean it's the preserve of independent schools or common practice in them, or if even aimed at them.

I do see this accusation leveled more at independent schools but I imagine because it's an easy dig to explains away high grades that's hard to prove one way or the other.

One friend seems to use it in relation to any school that gives extra support (not for SEN) or opportunities beyond those provided in the lessons

I'd say this friends use of it is incorrect.

Imagine spoon feeding a baby. All they have to do is open their mouth. No use of dexterity, choice, having to cut or scoop, literally a passive receiver of something and they aren't even choosing the something.

Whilst that may be true, this seminar was specifically organised to address an issue that the university felt was particularly prevalent in students they were taking who had attended indey schools.

Yes, a 'friend' of mine said this about my DS's independent school's approach to GCSEs. What she was referring to was the fact that

• the school taught GCSEs over 3, rather than 2 years, to give a full term left for exam preparation


• the school provided an online 'bank' of all previous past papers and various other worksheets/ exercise papers


• the school provided resources such as links to relevant YouTube videos/ revision apps etc

As far as I'm concerned, the students had the choice to engage, or not, with the materials, and some did, some didn't!

So in my mind, it's a term that used with a degree of bitterness and sour grapes. The problem really lies with the exam system and the focus on grades for progression e.g. to sixth forms and university. The current system doesn't reward 'independent thinking' of any kind - it rewards regurgitation of pre-defined facts within a narrow mark scheme!

@TwigTheWonderKid ok, this is sounding less and less credible. It was a seminar specifically aimed at independent schools? Why would they do that? If they wanted specific attributes in their students they can select for it at the interview process and filter them out. They'd have bonus points for accepting more state students. It's a win-win. Why would they get the independent schools to come to a special seminar and tell them they need to improve. It doesn't make sense.

I've workedin quite a lot of schools, and the private ones were far, far less spoon-feedy, especially the very good private girls' day school. They were excellent at independent learning, research, debate etc.

A lot of teaching now relies massively on spoon-feeding, because exam answers are so formulaic and have to be structured in a set way. Students are drilled and trained how to churn out identikit answers. It's very tedious.

I agree the exam system isn't an accurate reflection of whether someone is an independent thinker, but nor is it just regurgitating facts. There's nothing wrong with spreading GCSEs over 3 years if that works better, and active recall during revision is the best way to make things stick and ensure they're understood.

All schools (I would hope) provide practice questions and do mock exams to prepare them. To not do that is setting them up to fail.

Exams are a challenge to be overcome. To do well doesn't prove you're super creative (in most subjects), but doing well in exams and being creative are not mutually exclusive, you can be both.

Spoon feeding starts with good pastoral care.

It is not telling students the answers - that will not help them at all.

Errr….

• State school start teaching GCSE stuff about 6 months to a year before too. My dcs school certainly do that.
• bank of past papers is available online to all. They are well known websites (eg in maths or physics)
• link to YouTube videos etc… Is that not part of normal teaching? Teaching can take many forms. It doesn’t have to be a PowerPoint presentation and letting pupils finding out any other sources all on their own.

Its a strange way to interpret spoon feeding I agree that it sounds like bitterness.

Exams are a challenge to be overcome. To do well doesn't prove you're super creative (in most subjects), but doing well in exams and being creative are not mutually exclusive, you can be both.

In the subject I teach (MFL), it's not just that exams don't prove you're super-creative (being super-creative really doesn't need to be the point in most GCSE subjects anyway). It's that the exam doesn't really prove you're proficient at speaking the language. It favours kids with a photographic memory rather than kids who are good at the language.

In English some subjects there is so much super-structured, mechanistic bollocks, governed by daft acronyms and impenetrably complex peer-marking procedures that it's almost like writing formulae rather than expressing your understanding and appreciation of the text.

State school start teaching GCSE stuff about 6 months to a year before too. My dcs school certainly do that.

The poster referred to teaching GCSEs over 3 years. This is apparently frowned upon by Ofsted, because it makes kids choose and drop subjects too young. My dc's school did a 3 year GCSE for a few cohorts, then reverted to 2 years because of the Ofsted view. I imagine other schools will do the same.

I'm not sure spoon feeding is as easy to do as it once was with the new A-levels.

Spoon feeding to me is giving them all the information so all they've got to do is put it together with minimal brain work, and then they can't do it without the help.

For example I remember my dbro's A-level maths papers.
A question would say:
Show that you can do this using that method.
Then do this using different method.
And another method show a further bit.
Then using all the above show function of (x) = correct answer.

4 years earlier my A-level maths would have just said:
Find what function of (x) is.
You would have to do all of the above, but you had to work out which method at which bit, and get the right answer at the end, which is harder when you haven't been given it.

Dbro tried one of my papers and gave up saying he didn't even know how to start.

Thing was he was capable of doing them, but he'd never had to think about which methods to use, and work out answers from just being given the question, so he wasn't practiced in them.

So he was like a baby who was used to just opening their mouth and having the spoon put in, who is then given a bowl and spoon and told to get on with it-they might well not use the spoon and if they do might hold the spoon upside down/backwards etc. Not because they are less capable than their friend over there who is eating beautifully, but simply never being shown how to and lack of practice.

Now I think A-level papers are now trying to avoid that as much as they can.

Ah, interesting. Yes, I think that the reason references to “spoon feeding” bug me so much is they come across as quite sneery - a bit of a put down.

‘Spoon feeding’ is a very extreme levels of ‘support and guidance’. Just short of ‘doing the work for them’.

For example, the teacher:

Does ALL of the research/ background reading for the student requiring them to do nothing independently.

The teacher plans the assignment/practical work/essay for the student and gives them a very detailed structure/step by step/ how to guide. No planning, independent thinking required by the student.

The work the student does is closely monitored and ‘edited/adapted’ using notes written by the teacher.

It’s an essay or assignment done in the same way a ‘colour by numbers’ painting is produced. Everything is planned and prepared for you and comes in kit form! 😅

Students might get the desired grade but learn very little!

I think it can be sneered at in some cases.
It depends on context.

I would expect a Year 11 grade 5-9 student to work at a more advanced level than I would a Year 7 student.
If students are in the process of skill building, step by step ‘spoon feeding’ is appropriate.

The problem is, many teachers are pressurised to continue this way past this stage of learning. Hence my ‘one step away from doing it for them’ comment above.

Perfectly put Margaret

Spoon feeding to me is giving them all the information so all they've got to do is put it together with minimal brain work, and then they can't do it without the help

@MargaretThursday what you are describing is an issue with A levels and the DoE.
It has nothing to do with private vs state schools. They all sit the same exams after all.