It has been a privilege to facilitate the learning of exceptional young people in my teaching career. I have taught students who have achieved perfect scores for AP (advance placement) and International Baccalaureate, as well as national rankings in their IGCSE biology exams. These students have done themselves, their families and their schools proud.
But I consider my success stories to be the students who have struggled with biology and who I have helped reach the finish line. Without doubt, the most rewarding experience as a parent and educator is to see students learn and grow.
Which brings us to the question: how do students learn? A brief overview of the key ideas that form the basis of learning and teaching can guide parents on how they can help improve their child's education.
Piaget recognised that students construct knowledge based on their experiences rather than receiving knowledge from the teacher, and that how they do so is related to their biological, physical and mental stage of development. So simply "attending" school or enrolling in an after-school class does not imply that learning will take place.
It is important that students are engaged in their own learning process. When they make their own notes from teacher handouts and class notes, and do their own reading, they gain an understanding of the subject. That's how they learn.