Unlocking learning
How students learn best: key insights for effective teaching
In my work, I’m often asked to facilitate workshops with pedagogical and middle leaders who are striving to build greater consistency in the quality of learning and teaching across their schools. I usually begin these sessions by sharing a simple visual—one that prompts leaders to pause, reflect and discuss: What’s really going on when students learn?
This question becomes the entry point to a deeper exploration of how the brain works. I introduce leaders to the excellent SENTIS animation series, which illustrates the mechanics of working memory, long-term memory and the formation of mental models in a clear, accessible way. These videos provide an engaging hook, helping educators connect cognitive science with the practical realities of classroom practice.
What follows is a distilled overview of the principles we explore together—principles that shape how students learn best and how teaching can most effectively support that process.
How learning happens
Learning is fundamentally a change in long-term memory. Students take in new information through working memory—our limited mental workspace—and store it in long-term memory, where it becomes part of increasingly complex mental models. Because working memory can only process small amounts of new information at once, students learn most effectively when content is introduced gradually, clearly and with expert guidance.
What students need to learn well
Students thrive when teaching aligns with four key learning principles:
- Learning requires long-term memory building: Teachers plan what knowledge students need and help them connect new ideas to what they already know.
- Working memory is limited: Breaking down tasks into manageable steps, offering scaffolds, modelling, feedback and guided practice prevents overload and strengthens retention.
- Mastery develops through practice and retrieval: Students build fluency by repeatedly recalling and applying knowledge. Retrieval strengthens memory, supports transfer to new situations and frees up working memory for more complex thinking such as problem solving and creativity.
- Engagement drives learning: Focused attention is essential for moving information into long-term memory. Students engage more deeply when they experience success, understand the purpose of their learning, feel culturally safe and have strong, positive relationships with teachers.
Why guidance matters
While students can learn through exploration, novices benefit most from structured, expertly sequenced instruction. Without guidance, misconceptions can easily form and become embedded in long-term memory. Clear explanations, well-designed examples and feedback help students build accurate mental models they can later flexibly apply.
Building deep understanding
As students gain knowledge, they begin to see how facts, concepts and procedures relate. Over time—and with well-timed practice, feedback and retrieval—these connections form complex mental models. These models support deeper understanding, creativity, critical thinking and the ability to tackle unfamiliar problems.
Research consistently shows that the most impactful teaching practices align with how the brain learns. In practice, this means teachers:
- deliberately plan the knowledge students will build
- manage cognitive load by breaking down learning and providing support
- strengthen mastery through frequent retrieval, practice and application
- create a learning-focused environment where students feel safe, valued and motivated
When students feel a strong sense of belonging and trust in their learning community, they are better able to focus, persevere and retain new knowledge—laying the foundation for long-term academic success.
Linked pages
The following pages explore these themes in a lot more detail and provide you with material to construct your own mini-workshop for your school.
How do students actually learn?
Creating the optimal conditions for learning
How do we think? All about the brain