Teacher Directed/Student-led Classes
Turning Winds Academic Institute
Jefri Davis, Science and Math Facilitator
The following will provide you, the reader, with a glimpse into that dynamic and fruitful instruction method dubbed "Teacher directed/student lead" courses, hereafter referred to as TDSL. Three viewing angles should provide sufficient testimony to demonstrate the potential of TDSL instruction. Those views are of course from the teacher, the student leader, and the class students themselves.
"The Student's Perspective "
From the pen of Justin P.
Student lead classes open the door to multiple learning styles and opportunities within the class. There are many aspects I enjoyed about working in a student lead class along with many lessons learned. Being a student in a student lead class allows us to ask questions and get the one-on-one help we need to understand the material without being laughed at or ridiculed. Student lead classes allows us to move at our own speed while learning the material in a classroom setting. Learning from a student that is close in age to me is personally easier to me because I know I can relate to my teacher. I learned the material in a student lead class.
From the pen of Tyler S.
The idea of teaching a student lead class was posed to me from one of my fellow students early this summer. At the time I had most of my academic classes finished and felt that I wouldn’t have a problem incorporating the class into my schedule. I spoke to the academic director and offered to lead the algebra II class and within the next week I was in the classroom with six other students. When the class first began I had to adapt quickly to the position I had offered to take. At first the class ran slowly, students took time to learn the material and some got it faster than others. I spent almost all my time outside of the classroom preparing lesson plans, writing assessments and exams, and helping students with the work I assigned them. The task I had set out for myself was more difficult than I first imagined. I pictured it like tutoring a student only on a larger scale. I ended up putting in almost triple the time and effort that it would have taken to simply take the class. The pace of the class soon quickened and by the middle of fall we had finished the class. My initial reaction to this was relief. It had been a lot of work teaching, and it consumed most of my free time during school, but even though it required three times the work of a normal class I was given ten times the reward in knowing that I had successfully aided six of my peers in finishing one of the most difficult of high school classes.
There were many upsides and downsides to teaching the student lead classes. Consumption of my free time and the stress it caused me were among the most prominent of the downsides. It was difficult working with the group of kids I had. Some of them wouldn’t understand as quickly as the other students and some of the kids would cause many distractions which slowed the class down. At first maintaining order in the classroom was difficult, but once I had managed to gain control over the class the pace quickened. Though I had my struggles with teaching the class, the advantages that I received from it outweighed the detriments. Through teaching the class I was able to help other students move closer toward graduating high school, I was able to review algebra II which will help me with calculus, and I was able to work on personal and social skills through the work I did in the classroom. For any student who attempts to lead a student lead class I can only advise them to have patience and be able to take on all that the position will require from them. It may be difficult, but it is definitely worth it in the long run.
TDSL courses are one teaching tool that works. It works because the teacher and the student-leader trust each other to come prepared, to keep-up a continuous "flow" of content, to minimize classroom distractions, and to help students individually as needed. Anyone who has taught someone else knows that sense of satisfaction that comes from two minds meeting in the same spot. And further, they discover that there is nothing like the discipline of teaching to solidify in one's own mind those details previously thought mastered.
Some say that the exploration of space is the great adventure. If a person feels that way, have them try TDSL instruction and they'll discover that the space that is the most challenging and ultimately rewarding is the space between the ears.
~ Chinese Proverb
