Eleven plus children, and their parents, who are `into’ educational
technology, may possibly, enjoy an advantage over other children. The influence
of modern psychology is strong. There was a Professor Piaget who influenced
much later thought on the behaviour and capability of children. He was focused
on the need for orientation towards the learner. Piaget (1896 to 1980) also emphasised
the importance of maturational factors.
At around the same time professor Skinner (1904 to 1990) was
working on learning. He showed the world what could be done with an objective
approach and an emphasis on a reward in the learning situation.
We can see key words emerging that could apply to at least
some eleven plus children. A great number of eleven plus children will need to
be:
Mature
Motivated to work in an objective manner
Able to enjoy the fruits of rewards for good work
Some elements of the eleven plus syllabus do not seem to
have changed much over the last fifty years. What has changed is the ability to
apply present day knowledge of multimedia to techniques of learning and
teaching. Today’s educational technology is not just about turning on the computer
and linking to a web site. Is more to do with the relationship between hardware
and software and the resulting emergence of new types of thinking.
