LEARNING BY TEACHING
It seems like the best way to get your message across is through speaking. That's how it's always been. We learn not only by listening but by speaking. When you speak out something, it becomes yours. I always tell my students to speak in class and don't be afraid to make mistakes. If they want the information to be theirs better speak it out. I always want to challenge them and ask them questions to think about, as Bloom's taxonomy put it, higher order skills. I observe that the ones who are bold enough to speak gets the most benefit.
With tons and tons of information to learn in Biology, for teachers, lecture seems to be the way to go. But as I observe my students, there are some who are quick and can easily grasp things even by listening. But most do not. After a "successful lecture" thinking that all the students got it, it is such a disappointment when the test results come. Where did I go wrong? What seems to be the problem? I did go through the lesson in detail, didn't I? These things keep on going through my head as I am correcting the test papers.
Then one day in a faculty meeting, the teachers pursued an article about Learning by Teaching. It is true that the person who learns the most in a classroom is the teacher. So I shared to my class my feeling and they all got my burden. What we did is to change the classroom dynamics. I paired the students up and told them that they will teach their partner today. I will be assigning a certain section and each one will teach their partner. Then after the "teaching session" on that portion, I will be calling up a partner and they will share what they understood about that section. If there are things that need to be added, any one can add. If there are things that are not too clear and need more clarification, then the "head teacher" comes in the picture. We did this for the whole class period. Afterwards, I asked each one their feeling. They all liked it. They said they understand the topic more and they did enjoy teaching.
I was so happy to hear that they all appreciate this set up. We will continue doing this in class and see what will be the outcome. We may have changes every now and then as the need arises. We are still in the experimental stage anyways. I can't wait to see the result next test. I am hoping that there will be a significant increase in their test scores and overall performance.
Mrs. Rosales
Biology Teacher
Archived from 2012 class
It seems like the best way to get your message across is through speaking. That's how it's always been. We learn not only by listening but by speaking. When you speak out something, it becomes yours. I always tell my students to speak in class and don't be afraid to make mistakes. If they want the information to be theirs better speak it out. I always want to challenge them and ask them questions to think about, as Bloom's taxonomy put it, higher order skills. I observe that the ones who are bold enough to speak gets the most benefit.
With tons and tons of information to learn in Biology, for teachers, lecture seems to be the way to go. But as I observe my students, there are some who are quick and can easily grasp things even by listening. But most do not. After a "successful lecture" thinking that all the students got it, it is such a disappointment when the test results come. Where did I go wrong? What seems to be the problem? I did go through the lesson in detail, didn't I? These things keep on going through my head as I am correcting the test papers.
Then one day in a faculty meeting, the teachers pursued an article about Learning by Teaching. It is true that the person who learns the most in a classroom is the teacher. So I shared to my class my feeling and they all got my burden. What we did is to change the classroom dynamics. I paired the students up and told them that they will teach their partner today. I will be assigning a certain section and each one will teach their partner. Then after the "teaching session" on that portion, I will be calling up a partner and they will share what they understood about that section. If there are things that need to be added, any one can add. If there are things that are not too clear and need more clarification, then the "head teacher" comes in the picture. We did this for the whole class period. Afterwards, I asked each one their feeling. They all liked it. They said they understand the topic more and they did enjoy teaching.
I was so happy to hear that they all appreciate this set up. We will continue doing this in class and see what will be the outcome. We may have changes every now and then as the need arises. We are still in the experimental stage anyways. I can't wait to see the result next test. I am hoping that there will be a significant increase in their test scores and overall performance.
Mrs. Rosales
Biology Teacher
Archived from 2012 class