“At the Foundation, every freshman admitted participates in an intensive learning methodology training. The first part of this training is held during the freshman camp, while the remaining parts take place at the beginning of the school year in community houses.
This year, a total of 49 fourth-grade students were admitted in Kaposvár, Mohács, and Szeged. After the exciting camp in Sarlóspuszta in July, they eagerly awaited to meet their groupmates, so the second part of the training started in a very positive atmosphere.
The primary goal of the learning methodology training is to prepare students for the upper grades of elementary school. Before studying learning methods and getting to know new techniques, a self-assessment is necessary. This assessment explores their attitude towards learning, their current study habits, daily schedule, and the internal qualities that support learning.
To develop good habits, the right motivation is essential, as well as an internal drive that encourages learning, which is greatly influenced by one’s value system. Therefore, we discussed motivational elements and the values they consider important in detail. Achieving results is always preceded by setting goals, so it is important to be able to define both short-term and long-term goals.
From the very beginning, we focus on ensuring that our students can work together in pairs or teams, accepting and helping each other, effectively conveying the knowledge they have acquired, and being equipped with proper relaxation techniques.
During the training, alongside fostering critical thinking, we focused on the following development areas (without aiming for completeness): highlighting key points, making outlines, organizational skills, visual memory, observation exercises, tolerance for monotony, text comprehension, clear speech, constructing coherent explanations, and reducing anxiety.
We enriched the lessons with meaningful quotes, writings, poems, and life stories of well-known, famous scientists and writers, bringing us closer to figures like Albert Szent-Györgyi, Gyula Illyés, or Archimedes. Of course, we also included tasks that required creativity, which literally added color to our enjoyable sessions.
A lot of useful topics were covered in just a few hours, so everyone can take away the idea that it’s sometimes necessary to rethink our schedule and strive to develop good habits that significantly impact our lives.”
Piroska Szabóné André, Learning Methodology Trainer
