Why Worksheet is Important for Students? Guidance for Parents and Teachers

Parents are told to start worksheet activities for their children to enhance experiential learning. However, the internet is full of new and attractive worksheets that are very useful for students, but they will not be worth it until you understand the importance of worksheets for students.

Worksheets are not only learning aids but parents and teachers can introduce them as a game for children, making it more effective for their learning. We have listed a few important aspects that highlight the importance of worksheets for children, especially those studying in elementary or primary schools.

Worksheets are instructional materials  

A worksheet is not only a questionnaire or a demographic representation of cartoons and other items for kids but it is prepared psychologically according to the learning efficiency of the student. Worksheets follow a procedure where students are provided with simple questions at the beginning, which progress to more complex topics.

While solving the worksheet, students not only answer the given questions but also gradually develop a concept of the specific learning. For example, if a student is solving a worksheet to create the English alphabet, suppose “A,” they will first draw straight and horizontal lines, and then combine them to create the letter A.

So it is the step-by-step instruction, which is not directly told to the student but used in the worksheet, that allows students to follow all the steps to complete the learning.

Worksheets are an extension of learning  

Worksheets are not the primary source of education or information, but they serve as an extension of learning. If you introduce a worksheet on a specific topic without educating learners about it, it will not work efficiently for the student.

Instead of providing a worksheet at the early stages of learning a specific topic, if a parent introduces the worksheet afterwards, it will help students recall the topic and use their creativity to understand it better.

For example, if second-grade students are expected to learn the names of 10 wild animals, it is better to first discuss all the animals with the children and then provide them with worksheets to find out the animal’s name or match the animal’s name with its sound. This will extend their learning and encourage them to think more creatively.

Worksheets follow video game patterns  

Kids nowadays are accustomed to using smartphones, where they usually play video games for hours without getting bored. But what if I told you that a good worksheet follows the same patterns as video games? This means worksheets can be more effective if introduced or prepared by following the psychological patterns of learning and reinforcement.

First, think about what video games do. A video game will first share the entire story of the game with the player and then assign them a specific task. The next step is to train the player with special keys.

Then the user enters the field and is instructed to follow the guidelines to win the game. It usually starts with a very easy level where the player wins, increasing their confidence and motivating them to move to the next level. As the player progresses, the difficulty increases. Players are also rewarded during the game to boost their performance and motivation.

The same pattern is followed by psychologists and teachers when preparing a good worksheet. It is not just a printable page where students have to colour a few items or match correct items; it follows a pattern that increases the learning capacity of the student by using multiple reinforcements, rewards, an easy-to-difficult pattern, etc.

Documenting student progress  

Worksheets are very useful for documenting the progress of students. Parents and teachers can collect all the responses of the students from the beginning of their learning to the end of the session. It helps us track the student’s progress from the start of the course to their current standing.

For example, if a student only knew about dogs and cats but, after taking sessions at school, can now identify and differentiate between domestic and wild animals, this progress can easily be seen in the collection of the worksheets completed by the student.

Helping to analyze and modify learning  

Worksheets are very helpful for personalized education or creating personalized lesson plans for special children. As we already know, everyone has a specific intelligence and personality that helps them choose a career in the future. If we can identify a student’s personality at an early age, it will be very helpful for parents and teachers to modify the student’s learning in a specific field where they are naturally gifted.

Worksheets can be very helpful in identifying the student’s needs, as they not only include text-based information but also provide pictures, colouring activities, games, and other opportunities for students to express their personalities.

Teachers can collect students’ worksheets and analyze their performance, such as how creative the student is when drawing, colouring, or defining a story. Afterwards, they can create a specific program or modify learning to enhance the student’s natural abilities.

Diagnosing the learning gap of the student  

Identifying learning gaps is very important for educators and parents to create personalized lesson plans that allow students to catch up with the mainstream. Teachers can analyze students’ worksheet responses and then prepare the next worksheet to focus only on the topics where the student is struggling. This helps to determine where the student is confident and where they have learning gaps.

For example, if a student can calculate single-digit numbers, such as 3+6=9, but struggles with two-digit numbers in the worksheet, the parent or teacher should note that the student understands how to add but has difficulty with two-digit numbers. Instead of re-teaching basic addition, parents can extend the student’s learning from single-digit numbers to two-digit numbers, making it easier for them to grasp.

Hands-on experience  

According to Bloom’s taxonomy, if students only read textbooks and explanations, they can only memorize concepts. But if students are allowed to explain, classify, match, and recognize items, it helps them understand concepts.

The next step is to draw the concept, demonstrate it, and solve questions. All of these activities are covered in worksheets, where students can increase their experience. The more they engage in the activity, the more their understanding and clarity of the concept will increase.

Conclusion  

In conclusion, worksheets serve as powerful tools in a child’s educational journey, especially for those in elementary and primary schools. More than just instructional materials, they foster step-by-step learning and support experiential engagement. When introduced correctly, worksheets can extend classroom learning by challenging students creatively and helping them recall and apply concepts.

By following psychological patterns similar to video games, worksheets motivate students with incremental challenges and rewards, ensuring continuous engagement. They also act as a means to document and track a student’s progress, allowing parents and teachers to modify learning plans and identify learning gaps.

In doing so, worksheets offer personalized education opportunities, especially beneficial for students with unique learning needs. Overall, they provide hands-on experience, reinforcing concepts through active participation, ultimately enhancing a student’s understanding and application of knowledge.

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