For a child to understand a concept fully, they must be able to explain it to someone else. Research has shown there are many many benefits when students can apply their learned information by sharing it with others. According to John Nestojko, a researcher in psychology at Washington University in St. Louis, “When compared to learners expecting a test, learners expecting to teach recalled more material correctly, they organized their recall more effectively, and they had better memory for especially important information.”
Some of the advantages include the following:
- Students receive more time for individualized learning.
- Direct interaction between students promotes active learning.
- Peer teachers reinforce their own learning by instructing others.
- Students feel more comfortable and open when interacting with a peer.
- Peers and students share a similar discourse, allowing for greater understanding.
- Teachers receive anecdotal evidence of which students need more practice with the concepts taught.
As our science units come to a close, students are given opportunities to choose ways they can showcase what they have learned. Performance based assessments are a large way of how we ensure mastery of science concepts. For example, 4th graders are asked to teach science concepts of energy, forces and motion, properties of materials, and states of matter to a kindergarten class. The assignment involves 4th graders taking complete ownership of planning the lesson, ideas, and materials necessary to fully explain important scientific concepts.
During one lesson, students were engaged in stations regarding sound energy, chemical energy, density, buoyancy, states of matter, structural properties of matter, and engineering design. Fourth graders taught specific curriculum while encouraging the kindergarteners to think beyond the materials and ask deeper questions for future investigations.
Research also indicates that peer learning activities typically yield the following results for both tutor and tutee:
- Team-building spirit and more supportive relationships.
- Greater psychological well-being, social competence, communication skills and self-esteem.
- Higher achievement and greater productivity in terms of enhanced learning outcomes.
As a science lab teacher, it brings such joy and pride to see my students shine among their peers. Listening to their conversations with younger students as they encourage each other and refer to concepts learned in class:
Look at the various coverings around the cups. Which one do you think will keep the snow from melting?
How does a scientist complete further investigations? What do you think will happen when we add the food coloring to the oil?
Scientists claim a hypothesis before they design an experiment. How do you think we could design an experiment with these materials?
What do you think is inside the bubble? Listen closely, do you hear that?
I think that bubbles could mean that there is a chemical reaction. It is changing. Whoa.
Feel this material, what do you think it is?
It is sticky and greasy, is it oil?
Awesome, did you see that? How did it do that?
It beats the paper and pencil version each time.
– Nami Stager P ’30 ’32, lower school science specialist