Using Students as Experts

Tip:
Teachers can identify students’ expertise with technology and let them take leadership roles in classroom projects.

  • Identify the students’ strengths. For example, a good artist can be responsible for designing graphics, a good writer can be responsible for copy-editing, and a good typist can be responsible for inputting data.
  • Form teams of 2-4 students with same strengths: i.e. all graphic artists.
  • Identify the different types of jobs each individual in the team is responsible for. (i.e. one editor could be looking for grammatical errors and another could be looking for consistency)
  • Pilot the jobs and identify mentorship responsibilities. Those with specific strengths can support and train others that are not as strong in that area.

Once the teacher has formed these teams and found the specific roles are working, and then she or he can continue using these teams throughout the year. You may find that finding several students with technical skills, as troubleshooters will make everyone’s life run smoother — including the teacher.

Submitted by:Trena Noval, Technology Integration Specialist
Richmond, CA

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