OER4Schools/Classroom assistants: Difference between revisions

How do you think an older child (e.g. grade 8 or 9) could help in a grade 5 class? In some innovative European schools, cross- or multi-grade teaching takes place, not out of necessity, but because it makes pedagogical sense. Older students can benefit from having to explain things to younger students, while younger students may surprise older students with how they think about things.  

Sometimes a student may even be able to explain something better to peers than the teacher can! In Unit 3, Session 1 (video: new Abel clip 4), we saw how Abel solicited the help of two older boys in his mixed age (11-16) class when he himself had had difficulty in helping a group of students to understand how to find 'area' and 'perimeter' of a rectangle using GeoGebra software.

In an African context, many schools operate in two (or more) shifts. This might mean that (e.g.) Grade 5 is taught in the morning, while Grade 7 is taught in the afternoon. This situation, born out of necessity, could be turned around to really benefit teaching and learning at your school. This week, we are asking you to conduct an experiment to see whether this can work at your school. In your homework today, we suggest that you each try to recruit two or three “classroom assistants” from a higher grade to help you with teaching in your grade.