Tutorial:
'Peer Teaching in teams of 3'
An engaging, collaborative peer-teaching competition for your students.
Ideal for revising or reteaching units of work.
We learn 10% of what we hear and 90% of what we teach
We have all heard this before - we learn 10% of what we hear and 90% of what we teach. I read recently someone taking objection to this mantra, saying there is insufficient data to back it up. I'd say, speaking from experience, the principle is true. Is it 90%-10%? Who knows? Who cares? The fact is if you want to learn something, then teach it to someone. Then you’ll know it backwards. It's the best way. Ask anyone who has taught anything - there is definitely truth in the mantra.
For this reason, fostering peer teaching among students is an educationally sound strategy to employ. For those wanting to use peer teaching more regularly, it helps first to have students regularly engaged in collaboration. This is because collaboration forms the foundation for a great deal of peer-teaching.
But the peer-teaching may be wrong!
Some educators express concern that peer teaching may result in students teaching other students incorrectly. However, rather than seeing the possibility of instructional errors as prohibitive, we can manage the risk by putting some processes in place to check for correct procedures and understanding throughout a given unit of work. As teachers, we simply need to show some professional common sense in this matter. And in any case, even if there is a risk of ‘incorrect teaching’, one can argue that the rewards outweigh the risks.
For this reason, fostering peer teaching among students is an educationally sound strategy to employ. For those wanting to use peer teaching more regularly, it helps first to have students regularly engaged in collaboration. This is because collaboration forms the foundation for a great deal of peer-teaching.
But the peer-teaching may be wrong!
Some educators express concern that peer teaching may result in students teaching other students incorrectly. However, rather than seeing the possibility of instructional errors as prohibitive, we can manage the risk by putting some processes in place to check for correct procedures and understanding throughout a given unit of work. As teachers, we simply need to show some professional common sense in this matter. And in any case, even if there is a risk of ‘incorrect teaching’, one can argue that the rewards outweigh the risks.
Peer teaching: Organic or organised?
'Organic' Peer teaching
By using the term organic, I’m referring to peer teaching that occurs incidentally and spontaneously within lessons. By allowing for and encouraging students to discuss and collaborate, peer teaching will tend to occur naturally. I’ve had many classes where most students give or receive peer instruction on a regular basis throughout any given series of lessons.
Teachers who foster peer teaching will tend to manage a balance between organised peer-teaching and organic peer-teaching.
Teachers who foster peer teaching will tend to manage a balance between organised peer-teaching and organic peer-teaching.
Organised Peer Teaching
Organised peer teaching is usually facilitated by sitting students in specific groups or by pairing students for a specific purpose.
Examples of organised peer teaching include:
Examples of organised peer teaching include:
- Sitting all students in pairs/groups based on the need for ongoing peer-teaching.
- Placing certain students together in pairs as the need for peer-teaching arises.
- The Teams of Three peer-teaching competition. This is an excellent activity and explained in the video below.
Turning this Peer Teaching in teams of 3 activity into a revision task
As explained in the video, the Peer Teaching in Teams of 3 activity was clearly designed to be a substitute for the teacher (me) reteaching a unit of work after two-thirds of the class under-performed in an assessment task. But what if you simply wanted to use the activity as a revision exercise? Simple! Here's how:
The Pre-test/Post-test version
Alternatively, you could align the activity more closely to the one in the video by commencing with a pre-test.
- Split the class into three categories. You could do this by having students randomly select one of three cards. However, to maximise the chance of creating the groups evenly, it would be better if you privately ranked the students and then created the groups based on your rankings.
- Each group chooses a leader.
- Allocate 1-4 lessons for the groups to revise the work. You may need to provide some scaffolding for the learning.
- The competition could be of the type: The teams with the best total score on the assessment task win the prizes.
- Note, there would be no numeracy challenge for this version.
The Pre-test/Post-test version
Alternatively, you could align the activity more closely to the one in the video by commencing with a pre-test.
- The pre-test needs would be run first, prior to any mention of the competition - you don't want students to engage in 'tanking' so that they can more easily improve their score in the post-test!
- Once the pre-test has been collected, announce the competition.
- Base the make-up of the groups according to their test scores.
- Then run the activity as per the video.
What about the other types of peer teaching?
Organic peer teaching and structured one-on-one peer teaching are the more commonly known forms of peer teaching. To read about how to best utilise these forms of peer teaching read the article Promote Peer Teaching Between Your Students.
Do you like this style of tutorial?
Hopefully, you found this Peer Teaching in Teams of 3 tutorial to be practical, down to earth and easy to follow.
If you enjoyed this style of tutorial and are looking for more like it, then check out the online professional learning offerings on this site and the blog. Some cater to all middle and high school teachers and some cater specifically for teachers of mathematics. If you have questions, please send through a contact message below.
If you enjoyed this style of tutorial and are looking for more like it, then check out the online professional learning offerings on this site and the blog. Some cater to all middle and high school teachers and some cater specifically for teachers of mathematics. If you have questions, please send through a contact message below.
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