Abstract
Learning via teaching has been accepted as one of the best ways to achieve a deep understanding of a topic. This research was aimed at seeking scientific evidence to support this claim by comparing the scores the university-level EFL students obtained through the learning by teaching technique and those obtained by students who were taught traditionally using a teacher-centered approach. The experimental group consisted of 22 students who were taught pedagogical content knowledge, i.e. English Language Testing, traditionally for half of the semester and then teaching students at another university afterward. The control group consisted of 24 students who were taught language testing traditionally by the same instructor for the whole semester. Both groups were given a test to measure their content knowledge achievement; one test at the beginning of the semester and one at the end of the semester. Two-way ANOVA was used to compare the two groups’ scores, and find out how the differences in the scores was affected by the type of instruction. The results showed that there was significant evidence that the students’ scores improved significantly in both groups. However, the difference in test scores between pre-test and post-test did not depend on the type of instruction. Because the experimental group could achieve the same performance as those of the control group regardless of the shorter instruction period, it can be concluded that learning by teaching has potential as an effective method for teaching pedagogical content knowledge. Suggestions for possible modifications of this technique are discussed in this paper.
Highlights
Teaching has been recognized as the best way to learn something in detail (Tsui, 2010)
Based on the results of two-way ANOVA, the research results did not show any evidence of differences in content mastery between students taught using the learning by teaching technique and those taught using a teacher-centered approach
The better mastery of the assigned material through the learning by teaching technique seemed to compensate for course mastery in general, which had contributed to their ability to match the achievement of the control group, which received far more instruction
Summary
Teaching has been recognized as the best way to learn something in detail (Tsui, 2010) When students teach their peers, they undergo a process that Roscoe and Chi (2007) termed knowledge-building. The group members helped each another understanding the material and they worked together to design the teaching activities. They re-read the material together several times to gain a level of understanding adequate for teaching. Students kept asking questions to their peers and lecturer when they had a problem understanding the materials Because they took turns teaching, they planned what they should say together, so their teaching performance was coherent. This preparation was significant because it helped the students build knowledge by asking questions and reading actively
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