Training system in Educational technologies™
As an educational institution for in-formal education, Educational Technologies™ creates its own original Training system.
The training system aims not only to achieve high exam results, but also to form learning skills and techniques for long-term memory and use of the acquired information.
In developing our learning system, we step on significant research into the workings of the memory during learning.
The learning process goes through 4 main stages:
perception → comprehension → memorization → application
The first stage – perception – is the most important. It is related to the senses that are actively involved in this process and to the developed intelligence in the student in terms of perception of any information. It is about whether he is an auditory type, a reader, a writer, a visual type or has a body-kinesthetic intellect /learning by doing/.
Behind each type of intellect, the most highly developed perception of information is through images. Therefore, the visualization of information is of great importance to support the second stage of learning – the comprehension of information.
Between the first and the second stage – perception → comprehension – there is an important connection between short-term memory and working memory. The information is stored in the short-term memory at the time it is received. Then, when new information is entered, the previous one is shifted and easily forgotten if it is not handled i.e. if we do not transfer it to the working memory to make sense of it. Therefore, any information in our training system is presented by structuring using diagrams, tables and layout to keep working memory active and easier to remember.
The diagram below presents the amount of perceived and remembered information from the different ways of its perception and interpretation.
Diagram on the information sources and percentage of its storage in the long-term memory
What is structuring of information?
Processing, “deciphering” a text is a reading comprehension skill. This skill is an important tool and refers to “soft skills”.
In teaching our students, each text is presented as “in the palm of your hand”. This text is structured in logical connections with mind maps, diagrams and tables, applying a special technique of learning by modeling. Layout follows a logical connection between the perception of information and the creation of associative images in long-term memory. Thus, “processed”, the text is learned quickly and revised easily. This leads to lasting memorization.
Further, our students acquire this information processing technique and use it at school, at university and in their work in the following years.
Repetition of the study material leads to 75% accumulation of information. The graph below shows the line of retaining a high amount of information in long-term memory and reducing it if this information is not tracked over a period of time.
Given this biological process of forgetting, we have a clear schedule for the pace of teaching new material, revising old and planned time for corrections, as well as clearly regulated dates for mock exams in the format of the exam.
The system of education in Educational technologies™ is carried out through a well-organised educational product.
What does our educational product include?
Ready-made teaching materials – teaching aids in which the content of the examination material in each subject is developed.
Package of training materials – collections, tests, workbooks for those subjects that require it.
Electronic multimedia aids – in Bulgarian language, Mathematics and other areas, developed in the Moodle platform as part of our own distance learning portal.
Consultation – includes teaching in our system of education, exercises, control of the learning process with verification of assigned tasks and training exams with verification and evaluation.
The training system in Educational Technologies™ has a strong motivating effect on the formation of lifelong learning skills, which is one of the main key competencies for personal achievement.
