Can You Teach It? Harnessing Authentic Assessment for Language Learning (Part 2)

Student slide showing the location of the Mkugwa refugee came in Tanzania

 

In the hall outside the 4th grade classroom, one 8th grader was frantically digging through his backpack. More frantically than he ever looks for homework in my class. (Not that it happens that frequently.) His classmate is hovering over him anxiously. 

I hint, “Are you ready go in and teach the lesson?” 

The classmate says, “No.” 

“No? It’s time for class to start. The 4th and 5th graders are waiting. What’s the problem?” I say.

“He can’t find his script.” 

“Do you have yours?” I ask.

“Yes.” 

“Is it the same?” 

“Yes.” 

“Then hand it to me and I’ll make a copy.” 

Life lesson learned: Be prepared. How many times has an adult told him that? This time, I think it will take. Not because of a scolding or a docked grade, but because he was imagining walking into that classroom without his script, looking out over the expectant elementary faces waiting for him to speak, feeling his own embarrassment and his friend's frustration. 

Recently my 8th grade advanced EFL class had the opportunity to teach an elementary class. From the day I announced the project, students took so much ownership for their learning—the energy and focus in the classroom was palpable. I wrote about it here. Now that the project is finished, it’s time to reflect on how it went. Was it worth it? Would I do it again? The short answer—in a heartbeat. Not all the time, but maybe at the end of every trimester.  

After the nerve-wracking prequel in the hallway, the 8th graders introduced themselves and started the lesson with a hook: “Imagine that you suddenly had to leave the country. What would you do?” It was meant to draw students into the life of a refugee who suddenly had to flee home. After a few moments of thought, a 5th grader responded, “Email my teacher to tell her I would be absent.” I watched the 8th graders realize what it means to engage a real audience that doesn’t always respond as you expect. And they did. 

They began to work the room. I watched them adjust instruction as they identified the different levels of the students they were teaching. I watched them ask follow-up questions to prompt deeper engagement (“show me how you would scrunch a piece of paper”), or give hints to clarify confusion (“Look in paragraph 5”). I watched them answer questions from the students, and sometimes get stumped (“What’s the difference between scrunch and crumble?). (Note to self: Let them in on the secret that even better than a teacher who knows everything is one who models delight in finding something new to learn. “Great question! I’m so glad you asked. I don’t know the answer. I wonder how we could find out?” )

That is learning I really want to build on. 

What exactly were the benefits?

• Motivation. Authentic assessment is powerfully motivating. They spent two weeks fully immersed in making sense of the content themselves (big ideas, like how global issues create refugees; facts, like where Burundi is located; vocabulary, like scrunch; grammar like present perfect tense), planning the lesson, and creating effective materials—a slide deck and assessment (see photo).  
• Learning. Acquiring information is one level of learning. Applying that information to a new situation is another level. Teaching someone else to acquire and apply information is the apex of learning. Conversely, the ability to teach is a characteristic of a good language learner. So learning to teach language not only ensures that my students have the highest mastery of the content and skills taught, it also makes them even better language learners!   
• Flourishing. We exist to love God and neighbor. When we can use our learning to teach others, actually helping them to develop the potential God has placed in them, we are living part of God’s purpose for us. Learning is purposeful and learners flourish. 
• Role models. Sure, teachers can be role models for students. Older students, whether they realize it or not, are also role models for younger students. This project capitalized on that natural connection. The elementary students told their teacher afterwards, “They’re so COOL!”  They don’t say that about me…
• Metacognition. Eighth graders learned how teachers construct lessons, with a hook, goals, frontloading, the lesson itself, and assessment to demonstrate to what extent the goals have been met. They realized how much more teachers know about their subject that they can pass on to students in one lesson. 
• Empathy. Putting themselves in the shoes of elementary kids: what do they already know? What do they need to know? What will engage them? Putting themselves in the shoes of their teachers: Thinking like a teacher thinking about students.
• Practical life lessons. Checking your materials ahead of time. Including running through your slide decks. (When I had them practice the lesson the day before, they discovered one of them was teaching the definition scrunch as in "to smash into a small ball" and the other was assessing the definition "the sound that walking on gravel makes.") 

I asked the 8th graders about their thoughts for next time. They would pick a shorter reading. Try different goals. Ask some deeper questions, like “What did you learn?” (a question the elementary teacher asked the 8th graders at the end of the lesson).

So I’ll be looking for a good shorter reading to use at the end of next term. Or maybe ask 8th graders to be on the lookout for one. And I'll be re-reading this post to remember the learning I'm building on.

How about you? Have you ever had students teach a lesson to peers or to younger students? What were the benefits? How did you build on them?