It’s not what you know… - Why thinking is more important than knowing
It’s not what you know… - Why thinking is more important than knowing
“Why do we wear uniforms?”
“To represent our organisation; when we step out we want to advertise our values.”
“Good give me another reason.”
“To identify who works where; it can be tricky otherwise to know, especially for public service.”
“Good now give me another reason.”
I subsequently provided three more reasons.
“You’ve got some good ideas - but give me another reason.”
I had no more to give.
Although I felt like I had failed, I had actually passed with flying colours.
It’s not what you know; but how you think. That is the key to passing an academic interview.
My extract above recounts part of my 11+ interview for a private school. The question itself was relatively simple, but could be answered in multiple different ways. Interviewers ask this question specifically because there is no right answer; instead it is the perfect question to examine the way in which a student thinks.
Interviewers keep asking for reasons, even though they know you will run out, to test how you can think on your feet; although running out at five felt like failure, relative to other students it was substantial. This is what matters; they were not looking for a specific number.
Quality is as important as quantity here.
By providing a point and evidencing it, I was bound to do well. Furthermore, by providing a relevant answer, which is unfortunately a rarity, I was along the right lines immediately. Lastly, I had offered a more considered answer than the usual: “because we’ve been asked to wear one”. I had dealt with the question in a general sense, really thinking about why this question had been asked in the first place.
It is quite amazing how much you can tell about a pupil from this simple question.
Without meaning to be arrogant (trust me, I did much else wrong in that interview) I had shown the interviewers that I could engage with academic material, focus my answers, ensure my answers were relevant, build structured arguments, think creatively and communicate a response quickly and concisely. These are some of the key skills interviewers are looking for.
Put quite simply, interviewers are looking for students who are ready to learn. Teachers can teach any number of facts; knowledge is easy to find and communicate nowadays. Most people are born with sufficient memory and the internet has made access to key facts extraordinarily easy.
What they cannot teach so easily is how to think.
This is why they test thought processes rather than knowledge.
A simple way to hone and practise these skills is to ask oneself similar questions; these questions should be puzzles which do not require a deep level of knowledge to answer. They should simply encourage one to think critically. If one really wants to improve their answers they should discuss and debate them with others; nothing improves these skills more.
Example questions one might ask include the following:
If I have a mop and replace its head is it the same mop? What if I also replace its handle?
What is your favourite type of literature? Why?
What is the worst aspect of the school you’re applying to? Why will you still apply there despite this?
I provide answers to these questions, and highlight some key aspects of good answers, in the following article:
It’s the thought that counts.
Author: Kes - Oxford
BA Philosophy, Politics & Economics
In my mentoring, I like to focus on building critical thinking and communication skills, which are fundamental to both PPE. In my experience, the best way to build these skills is through understanding argument structure and then applying it to different scenarios.
