Now that students are on a long break, there are various activities to engage in.

As much as the holiday seems like the perfect time for social activities, educators say students shouldn’t forget academic work.

And one effective way to do this is through student-to-student learning.

Jane Nakaayi, the head of the department of languages at Riviera High School in Kigali, says older siblings can help younger ones with their work. 

In schools, she says, teachers carry out what is called ‘peer learning’, where they get students who are academically strong to teach others. And so, the same thing should be practiced at home, where a parent or older sibling takes the role of the teacher. 

It is also important for parents not to just make rules; they should take part in the learning process, and that means monitoring them from time to time.

Importance

Mathias Nkeeto, a mathematics teacher at Green Hills Academy, says when students are allowed to learn by themselves and from each other, some of the benefits include being able to share responsibility for learning and discuss different understandings, and it promotes direct interaction and active learning.

He notes that, apart from that, students are able to have more time with their peers, allowing for a more personalised learning experience.

On the other hand, Nkeeto says peer helpers gain a deeper understanding of what they teach to other peers, which benefits them as well as the one they are helping.

"The students are able to feel more comfortable and will open up and willingly interact more with other students, rather than parents or guardians,” he says.

Through this, he says, it gives them a sense of pride in their knowledge.

Peer-to-peer learning is an effective learning method, experts say. Net photo.

Diana Nawatti, a counsellor and head teacher at Mother Mary Complex School, Kibagabaga in Kigali, says student-to-student coaching is important in the sense that learners are able to get inspiration within the family, which is very essential.

She points out that by encouraging this kind of learning, it helps keep children busy during the holiday.

"In this sense, they are not going to be straining the parents. However, in all situations, monitoring is key,” she says.

Nawatti points out that parents should have a calendar where they monitor their kids on what activity should take place on specific days.

Ronald Wandira, the head of the humanities department at Riviera High School and year leader—advanced level—at Rwanda Education Board (REB), says some schools during the holiday time give learners holiday package.

The package, he says, normally includes questions; tasks that a learner is expected to complete during the holiday time.

"Most of these packages have new topics to ensure that before the learner goes back to school, they have some fresh knowledge,” he says.

Wandira adds that parents should also follow-up and ask questions on the tasks that they assign to their children whenever they are home. By doing this, it will reduce the pressure given to teachers when school opens. 

Wandira says peer-to-peer learning is helpful because children have a common voice, and they know their weaknesses better, so whenever they correct each other, its grasped because they take it as ‘part of the game’. 

The challenge, he says, may come in when both parties are not quick learners. In this case, he says, if parents do not monitor, learners will end up not benefiting from this kind of learning.

"Parents should encourage their children not to give up. They shouldn’t keep their children idle and leave the work to the maid,” he cautions.

Challenges and how to overcome them

Nakaayi says as much as peer-to-peer learning is essential, it’s good to note that there are hindrances which include TV, the internet, and socialising. 

To ensure successful child-to-child learning, parents should find a balance for these issues. 

Nakaayi notes that sometimes, older students might want to teach younger ones but the latter might not be willing to be taught.

For this reason, Nakaayi says it’s important for parents to step in and organise the children so that they understand why this kind of leaning is helpful to them as learners.

She also says that in some cases, older students might be too busy to create time for learning. So parents, she says, should guide this learning process to ensure its success.

Alphonse Uworwabayeho, a lecturer of mathematics and head of early childhood and primary education department at University of Rwanda-College of Education, believes that training a sibling to a good level of knowledge will require the trainer to have that knowledge in the first place.

This, he says, requires parents to ensure that older students have enough knowledge concerning the topic they are helping out with.

What to consider

When we talk about learning among students themselves, Nakaayi says there are many things these children could be learning from each other, including bad vices.

Parents need to find out what exactly students need to learn from each other, and that’s why monitoring comes in.

This can be achieved by following up what they have been taught and at the same time, what others have been teaching.

Besides, John Nzayisenga, Director of Kigali Harvest School, says guardians and parents should know the friends of their children, which is very important. 

Wandira says most of the time, parents tend to be too busy, leaving children with the house-helps, expecting them to do all the work.

He says in most cases when this happens, it means parents are training the house-help rather than their own children, and at the end of it all, it’s the house-help who ends up benefiting.

"Parents should shift that energy put on the house-helps to their children. They shouldn’t only limit children to books, instead, they should make them help out with some chores,” Wandira notes.

He further mentions that some of the questions in examinations come from the work these house-helps do, including cooking, hygiene, washing utensils, and et cetera. 

So if children are kept away from house work, Wandira says, they are missing out on a serious part of their lives.

THEIR VIEWS

For student-to-student learning, parents should also invite children from other families, especially those in higher-levels to help out.

When it comes to this kind of learning, it doesn’t necessarily mean that learners will only focus on academics. There is a lot to be learned from older students, especially being role models to young ones.

Setting aside time for this is important because it allows parents and children to have time for each other through interaction. No matter how busy parents are, following up on everything is important.

Finding out the weakness of these children is important, and this should be done by parents. This will help provide necessary assistance as far as leaning is concerned.