YES! I know you will find the term ‘Students as Teachers’ quite amusing. During my undergraduate years, I could recall that I always had an edge over most of my classmates. It was not because I studied harder, but because I had friends who, thinking that I knew better, expected me to explain further, what we had all been taught in class by the lecturer. I had to organise extra classes for my classmates to help them understand the so-called tough courses. That was how my journey; students as teachers started
All these, I would later come to realise, required a shift in paradigm. Like Steven Covey, I could say a shift in paradigm made all the difference: “I saw things differently and I behaved differently. A paradigm shift led me to approach those courses with better zest and verve. This in turn bred a positive response to both the teachings of the lecturers and to my personal study.
From experience, however, I can tell that helping students by shifting their paradigm from students to teachers is more effective. Therefore, Learning from fellow students, researchers have shown, produces powerful effects.
Jessica Lander, a high school teacher concluded that: The opportunity to teach your peers sends a powerful message. It says to students. “You have knowledge worth sharing and you have a teacher’s trust. Students teaching students is an authentic way to build confidence, leadership, and empathy. But the impact is no less for the students being taught.
As an instructor of English at Light Heights International Educational Services, the importance of this approach still holds sway. I endeavour to help both undergraduate and graduate students learn faster as they prepare for international exams (IELTS, TOEFL, SAT, and GRE)
by creating opportunities that encourage a students-as-teachers paradigm shift. I give them topics to prepare so they can speak to their peers and also share their perspectives on issues I discuss with them in class.
“Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much just by sitting in class listening to teachers. They must talk about what they are learning, relate it to past experiences, and apply it to their daily lives. They must make what they learn part of themselves”
Active learning requires students to participate in class, as opposed to sitting and listening quietly, and the students-as-teachers approach.
Our joy at Light Heights is seeing these students grow intellectually while also helping them build high emotional intelligence by being confident and expressive.
