We often say that “the best way to learn is to teach.” In a classroom setting, this often means peer-teaching.
At Strathmore High School, Grade 10 Science students were challenged to create engaging and informative lessons for Grade 8 students at a partnering school, George Freeman School. Each group of students were focused on the same topic: the structures of plant and animal cells. The student co-‘teachers’ brainstormed ideas, experimented with different teaching strategies, and refined their own understandings of the core Science 10 concepts. When the big day came, the ‘teachers’ traveled to George Freeman School, lessons in-hand and ready to connect with their ‘pupils’.
Peer-teaching is an effective strategy to engage students in their own learning as well as enhance their understanding of subject content. Our Grade 10 student ‘teachers’ could not have agreed more! The Grade 10 student ‘teachers’ reported that the teaching opportunity required them to engage more deeply with the material. This allowed them to develop greater understandings of cell structures than would have been possible with the more traditional approach of classroom teaching. Students demonstrated a stronger awareness of their own learning preferences, as well as a greater consideration for the implications of their teaching methods on the learners.
Similarly, our Grade 8 ‘pupils’ at George Freeman School also described immense positive benefits, highlighting the greater level of engagement they experienced while learning about cells.
Overall, from this local partnership between Strathmore High School and George Freeman School, students were provided a valuable opportunity to both teach and the learn from students. They were more engaged, developed deeper understandings of the material, and had opportunities to collaborate with each other, as classmates, but also with students at other schools. Through this example, we’ve learned how powerful these strategic school partnerships can be for students.
