Maynard J. Carbonel, Teacher II/ Rizal National School of Arts and Trades
There are many ways through which one can teach and one can learn. However, the fundamental purpose of teaching is to create learning opportunities for the students to master what they learn. As a teacher, I see that the goal of teaching is not to simply disseminate knowledge, but rather, to engage students in the learning process for them to take an active role in their education. Hence, the most important role of a teacher is to unlock the learners’ desire to expand their knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values to achieve their academic potential.
One of the most commonly used, if not the best, teaching strategies is Collaborative Learning through Peer Teaching. Experience showed me that peer teaching is one of the best ways to master the lesson.
What is Collaborative Learning through Peer Teaching?
It is a method of teaching where a student instructs another student and where the former will be an expert and the latter a novice. This paves the learner-student to learn without depending upon the teacher, and the teacher-student to revise the topic again, on the belief that "To teach is to learn twice".
Through the direct interaction between students, peer teaching promotes active learning as well as participation within themselves. Student-teachers enhance their depth of knowledge in the topic by instructing their partners.
In addition, peer teaching also enhances the students' level of creativity in expressing ideas as well as in absorbing new concepts, as they may not feel hesitant to clear their queries with their peers as opposed to discussing their doubts with their teachers. This will also uplift their knowledge limit, and thus allow a greater level of understanding. Furthermore, feeling at ease with his/her peer, allows a student to concentrate better on the tasks of the lesson.
While there are some limitations, it can be observed that most students actually communicate more with their classmates than their teachers and thereby have more opportunities and time to exchange ideas and learn from their peers.
This peer teaching and/or collaborative learning might be adopted by other teachers for their students. With it, learners can be able to master the learning competencies required in the Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELCs).
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