A gamified practice app for kids, iChamp, has conducted an in-depth survey among 5000 students between the age group of 5 to 13 years and their parents to gauge the learning trends amongst students of this age. The survey reveals some interesting insights about the likings and disliking of students for different subjects and the areas that they need to improve. Below is the summary of findings.

Mathematics is the most challenging subject of all: Survey shows that students across geographies and demographics find mathematics as the most difficult subject. Schools across the country are implementing new methods for teaching maths, especially during Classes I-V.

However, Indian parents often use Mathematics as a benchmark to measure the intelligence for their wards. They tend to ask their children addition/subtraction related questions more than that of any other subject.

Rather than investing their time in the subject they like, children are bound to pay more time and attention to maths because of the pressure build on them by their parents. The undue expectations from parents make it even more challenging for the kids to perform well in Maths. The stereotype can be seen in all parts of the country. Maths scores do not show any correlation with demographics or geographies.

Students like no subject in particular: iChamp’s study and interaction with students did not find any pattern of affinity for any subject. Most of them could highlight subjects they liked more when compared to other subjects.

Linguistics plays an important role across the nation: Students from metropolitan cities like Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai scored about 15 per cent more marks in English compared to rest of the country in iChamp tests.

Students in tier 2 cities such as Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Patna, Jaipur, Indore, Chandigarh etc. scored more marks in English compared with students from tier 3 cities. However, their scores are less than those scored by tier 1 cities students. Students in South Indian states scored about eight per cent more marks in English compared to the rest of the country.

Hindi is a big challenge for students in metros. Students in tier 1 cities take more Hindi tests on the platform as compared to students from other cities. Feedback from parents is also to add more Hindi content than any other subject.

Competition and rewards driven students: Students like to compete with others, rather than taking the same tests individually. Linking rewards with tests increases the chance of a student taking that test by more than 120 per cent. Even virtual rewards like stickers and badge on the app are a big motivation for students.