How does supplementary learning help my child improve in school?

It’s commonly accepted that a child’s formal education is mainly received in school, where they listen to their teachers’ lectures, complete assignments and attempt tests to evaluate their understanding of the subject topics.

But there are times when just studying in school isn’t enough. For one reason or another, they need extra guidance for their studies, more than what their school can offer.

That’s when supplementary learning may come in useful for your child.

If done right, the supplementary learning material provided in tandem with the pace of their school syllabus can help make the concepts stick longer, add fun to their learning experiences, and make way for a well-rounded understanding of any subject.

Supplementary learning in a nutshell

Supplementary education refers to lessons and resources provided for the academic developmental enrichment of students beyond the classroom. These resources include study sessions such as tuitions or learning tools like Geniebook. As they are supplemental in nature, students can choose to engage with them, but they don’t have to if it’s unneeded.

The key to making supplementary learning a success is by emphasising the optional nature of this education method. The absence of forced schedules and compulsory learning can actually make learning easier and more engaging for students.

But how does supplementary learning actually help? Let’s say your child learns about verbs in his/her class today, which is a part of the core curriculum of the English language subject. But after exhausting the examples in their textbook, your child then tells you that they want to learn more about the topic, like how verbs can be used properly in sentences such as those in the storybooks that they liked to read.

This is when supplementary learning materials can come in handy. For online learning tools like Geniebook, it’s a simple matter of pulling up pre-recording of an English GenieClass that goes over subject-verb agreements and following up with a customised worksheet on GenieSmart to strengthen your child’s understanding of the concept. And since it’s web-based, your child can access these resources anytime and anywhere, allowing them to enjoy the learning process in their own time.

With enough practice and exposure to supplementary learning, they will better understand English verbs and how to apply them in their schoolwork, allowing them to boost their learning in school – potentially ahead of their peers. This is one of the most immediate benefits of supplementary learning.

Advantages of supplementary learning

Boosting learning methods and habits
Supplementary resources often help introduce related theories and concepts beyond those taught in school. This helps your child reinforce the original topics that they learnt in their curriculum and improves their recall of these concepts, and also nurtures a holistic approach to their learning.

Going beyond curriculum restrictions
It’s common for parents to ask this question: “Why can’t my child just learn everything in school instead?” It’s entirely possible to do so, but by allowing them to learn much more outside of normal school hours, the knowledge that they gain can strengthen their knowledge foundation further beyond what they would normally receive in school.

Unshackling aspirations
If your child has specific interests, he/she will benefit immensely from additional learning support. For example, if your child displays an aptitude for mathematics, don’t hesitate to indulge them in their pursuit of knowledge – who knows, they might pay dividends beyond your wildest expectations.

Shoring up learning gaps
Let’s be honest: most parents view supplementary learning as a method to reinforce subject weaknesses for their children, and it’s an entirely reasonable argument for employing it. For example, a significant number of students in Singapore struggle with their mother tongue subject, be it Chinese, Malay or Tamil. In such cases, supplementary learning can do much to help pull up their grades. With that said, it’s important to remember that these optional learning resources shouldn’t be forced upon your child to maximise their motivation to learn.

Practice Makes a Student Perfect

One of the most important functions of supplementary learning tools is that they allow children to practise or apply the concepts they are learning in school. We all know practice makes us better, faster, and more efficient with our work, which is especially important during exam periods.

To get your child started on his/her supplementary learning journey, feel free to explore Geniebook’s suite of online tools where you can get personalised worksheets and other learning resources, and sign up for a complimentary strengths analysis for your child below.