2015/09/27 Joël Laurier

Sometimes the most effective way to teach is to let the students teach

by Joël Laurier

The reliance teachers place on themselves as the primary source of knowledge often contradicts academic gains made possible according to Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Having students teach each other is an effective way to build knowledge while enabling the teacher to more easily evaluate the progress of each student on a more regular basis.

This presentation demonstrated the essential components of an Oral Presentation course Laurier taught in which first and second year university students taught themselves the entire course content and subsequently used the information from these presentations to build a 10 minute oral presentation. Laurier's presentation outlined the components that helped the students claim ownership of this course.

Gunma JALT attendees gained a students’ perspective of the class. While the course was delivered at the university level, attendees found that it can easily be applied to speaking classes at junior high and high school levels. This hands-on workshop demonstrated how students can effectively teach themselves. Attendees learned, taught and had a blast in cooperative learning groups.

Joël Laurier teaches in the Leaning English for Academic Purposes (LEAP) program at Toyo University. He is a 2013 KaganAcademy Cooperative Learning Scholarship awardee and the 2011 John F. Fanselow Scholarship recipient from Teachers College Columbia University. His research interests include cooperative learning, language policy, and bilingualism. Along with his sons, Noah and Lucas, Mr. Laurier is the face of the award-winning Yomiuri Kodomo Shinbum’s Hello Eikaiwa weekly feature. He can be reached at waldolaurier@gmail.com