Why face-to-face learning gets results

Did you know that babies are not able to learn to speak by watching TV? Patricia Kuhl of the University of Washington’s Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences conducted research focusing on babies under two years old with different native languages and discovered that these infants only developed linguistically when they were actually in the presence of a caring adult.

But what does that mean for teenagers today? It isn’t a great leap to see that whilst some of the online learning which took place during the depths of the pandemic was of the highest quality, nothing beats being in the classroom with your teacher. This year for the first time, students who have suffered the gaps in face-to-face teacher time, and the academic distress of lockdown during their exam years, will have to actually sit exams. We can help!

I believe that Active Revision has never been more important. We know how being actively engaged with your revision help you to improve your grades, teaching others and answering questions, but what about your body? How can it help you to achieve your full potential?

Sitting at the computer writing this article for five minutes has already given me a crick in my neck, I can’t imagine how tense your growing adolescent muscles must have become after weeks of sitting alone at your computer studying. It is time to move, time to get outside and it is time to be together with your caring adults and to learn with them. Make the most of every minute of being with your maths teacher to ask even the smallest query, go to a playpark with your friends and explain the laws of physics in action, or act out Romeo and Juliet with your family, being sure to describe the characters they are playing.

The Gordonstoun Active Revision Course provides structured, teacher-led support for one week of the Easter holidays. It is open to GCSE, A level, Nat 5 and Higher students from all schools and uses the latest research to deliver a programme that intersperses small-group classroom learning with brain boosting, high-energy activity sessions. For more information visit www.activerevision.org.uk or email gibsonk@gordonstoun.org.uk