Learn by teaching
Some food for thought...Beth at Beth's Blog (amazing coincidence that!) posts a really helpful chart on learning retention rates that is a nice reminder to teachers of all ages. People retain knowledge and skills the most when they teach others...it's something that most of us consciously are aware of but often somehow lose sight of when planning classes. Keep it in mind!
(Happy Birthday to Sara!)
It is so easy to learn and forget, isn't it? I like revisit learning theories as much as I can when planning because I think teaching/learning is something that can always be improved ...
and, Sara had a wonderful b-day party - butterflies were the theme. We were at a wildlife sanctuary and a naturalist took the kids out with butterfly nets - no cathces. Then I set up butterfly crafts galore before settling down for cake!
I'm exhausted! I admire her pre-K teachers even more!
Posted by: Beth | June 21, 2006 at 12:30 AM
Do you know anything about the comment left on flickr about that diagram claiming it to be a fake that has been around since the 60s? I'm curious now. I can't find anything about it on the net. Even if it is a fake though, it does make a lot of sense. I am wondering now how we can encorporate teach-each-other activities into ESL classes for very young kids--could be fun!
Posted by: Troy | June 21, 2006 at 09:38 PM
I guess I'm a little curious about what he means by fake or hoax? I definitely never took the chart as anything other than an anecdotal representation of what somebody felt to be true...it would be pretty tough to empircally demonstrate the claims on the chart. Certainly retention from reading depends a tremendous amount on how much you are involved in what you are reading.
I think the key is emotional involvement, and what the chart stresses to me is that actually doing something or teaching something necessarily involves more personal investment than some of the other activities on the chart. So, if you can figure out ways to do that with students, you are likely on the right track.
I've been thinking about ways to get even very young kids involved in "teaching". For very young kids, it could involve showing Mom or Dad something new, or in a foreign language situation, teaching them some new words. As the kids get older, they can teach you games, and they are more than happy to teach you all about dinosaurs, bugs, and disney princesses! Perhaps a "Go For It" activity for next year?
Posted by: Devon T | June 21, 2006 at 10:58 PM