Developing winners in education
TAYLOR’S International School (TIS) Kuala Lumpur is a leading centre of academic excellence. Dedicated to producing top scholars, its students have received 22 Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards across all subjects since 2012.
Furthermore, in the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), the school has been producing Top in Malaysia and Top in the World award winners for Mathematics and Additional Mathematics since 2014.
Last year’s Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards winners Joshua Toh Weng Ho and Jeong Dong Hoon gained the highest scores in the world for IGCSE Mathematics.
“It was beyond all expectation. I worked hard and my efforts paid off in the end. It feels great to be on top,” says Joshua.
Initially, Dong Hoon had trouble with mathematics, but his hard work bore fruit.
“Once I reached the point where I could apply formulae and equations in all the right places, I stopped looking at hard questions as unsolvable problems,” says Dong Hoon.
Both students’ achievements are partly thanks to Albert Pang, their mathematics teacher. Pang believes that nurturing confidence is the first step in unleashing students’ true potential.
“At TIS Kuala Lumpur, we build a solid platform for students to develop personal qualities. When we teach, we want to create a sense of self-belief in students so that they use their personal strengths to reap success in life.”
Creativity is the secret behind Pang’s teaching strategy. During lessons, he introduces treasure hunts and card games to enhance student engagement.
“We use visuals, mind maps and games to simplify all the steps while learning mathematics. A creative approach in presenting our subject knowledge makes lessons approachable,” he shares.
Paul Lim, TIS Kuala Lumpur’s head of mathematics, believes that variety is important to keep mathematics from becoming a mundane subject.
“I believe teachers have to evolve with the times. If you want to draw students’ interest, you have to evolve and add variety to teaching,” says Lim.
Joshua says, “The learning environment is enjoyable and our teachers are passionate. Sometimes, they use my classmates and me as examples so we can recall the equations better.
“Whenever there are long formulae in maths, my teacher shortens them and creates acronyms so we can easily memorise them.”
Embracing new teaching methods is part of the school’s commitment to academic excellence. Principal Peter Wells knows it best.
“Teachers need to be well prepared to challenge students and this means giving them access to all the tools they require.
“This includes access to up-to-date training and exposure to new and exciting ideas.
It is important to build solid, supportive relationships in the classroom for students to thrive on,” says Wells.
Under his leadership, TIS Kuala Lumpur is preparing early for this year’s IGCSE. The principal stands by the school’s core purpose, which is to educate the youth to become global community leaders.
“As a school, we are continuously adapting to focus on what students need for the future. We question what we do and make the necessary changes to give students the confidence and skill to be successful.” For more information, call 03-9200 9898 or e-mail admissions@kl.tis.edu.my