I have been teaching in some capacity in the school system for twenty years and homeschooled my own children for several summers and a few full time years. One technique I found to be one of the most effective for leaning was having a student teach another student a concept.
This idea worked for one on one and small groups the best. Standing in front of a whole class explaining something is way more intimidating to most students than presenting in smaller groups. One of the reasons this worked is it seemed to engage your mind more to teach another person a concept than it does to learn it yourself. This is not scientific, just an observation from many years in education and teaching my own kids. I understand a subject better after I have taught it because I have had to learn it myself and when I taught it the concepts were re-enforced in my mind. (Bonus: Teaching is great for winning at trivia games because you learn so much about different subjects.)
In a homeschool setting an older sibling could teach a younger one or a middle or high school student could present a lesson to a small homeschool group. I would only use this technique once or twice a week so the novelty doesn't wear off and become a chore. This technique helps children learn, but it also makes the student that is "teaching" the subject feel somewhat like an expert who is sharing his or her knowledge. This helps the student feel positive about themselves. And we all like to feel good about ourselves!
Thanks for reading,
Home Teacher Helps
This idea worked for one on one and small groups the best. Standing in front of a whole class explaining something is way more intimidating to most students than presenting in smaller groups. One of the reasons this worked is it seemed to engage your mind more to teach another person a concept than it does to learn it yourself. This is not scientific, just an observation from many years in education and teaching my own kids. I understand a subject better after I have taught it because I have had to learn it myself and when I taught it the concepts were re-enforced in my mind. (Bonus: Teaching is great for winning at trivia games because you learn so much about different subjects.)
In a homeschool setting an older sibling could teach a younger one or a middle or high school student could present a lesson to a small homeschool group. I would only use this technique once or twice a week so the novelty doesn't wear off and become a chore. This technique helps children learn, but it also makes the student that is "teaching" the subject feel somewhat like an expert who is sharing his or her knowledge. This helps the student feel positive about themselves. And we all like to feel good about ourselves!
Thanks for reading,
Home Teacher Helps
