by Josh Rappaport
There's a saying among educators that the best way to learn a subject is to teach it, and for good reason.
By explaining a concept to others, you, the teacher, are forced to understand it inside-out, forwards and backwards. This has been true for me. I knew algebra fairly well before I began teaching and tutoring the subject. But the very act of teaching algebra forced me to invent analogies, devise memory tricks, and develop new explanations for tricky procedures. By going through this process, I came to understand algebra on a much deeper level.
One day I decided to toy around with this idea during a tutoring session. Having just explained the process of factoring the greatest common factor to one of my students, I asked her if she grasped the idea. She said she had, yet her tone was unconvincing. That's when I playfully turned the tables in the teacher-student relationship by asking my tutee to pretend that she was the teacher and I was the student. I told her that I would play a student who was particularly confused about factoring, so she might have to work hard to get me to understand.
When she tried to explain the concept, I played "confused." I did this to force my tutee to explain things more clearly. She tried again. This time her explanation was better, and I said I understood. She went on to explain another aspect of the concept. Again I played "confused." So she tried again to explain the idea, but this time I saw flaws in her explanation, showing that she did not understand this part of the concept fully. At this point I called for a "time out" and said we would go back to our regular roles. I then re-explained the concept, and she paraphrased it back to me. Then we resumed our reversed roles, and she successfully finished teaching the lesson.
A little while I first used this approach in my tutoring, I discovered that it was equally effective in our homeschooling. Often when explaining concepts to my children, I turned the tables and let them play "teacher." They usually found this amusing, and they really got a kick out of seeing their dad "not understanding," even though they knew it was just an act. Of the many benefits this brought to our homeschooling, one of the biggest was simply lightening the mood. And we all know how important it is to keep the mood relaxed and friendly when we're doing our teaching.
As I think about role-reversals and why I use the approach, I realize that it has a number of benefits. So I'd like to present a brief list of benefits for both the parent and child.
— Benefits for the Parent —
1) By watching your child play parent, the actual parent gets a first-hand glimpse into how the child's mind is working. That means you can find out immediately what your child does and does not understand. And, since the role-reversal process has a game-like quality, children are more willing to share their thoughts than if you ask them point-blank: "Now exactly what do you understand and what don't you understand."
2) It's both a relief and fun to step out of your serious parent/teaching role temporarily. I find it especially fun to ask "confused" questions when a student is trying to explain a concept. Try it yourself to see if you don't agree.
3) Finally, by taking on the role of the confused child, you the parent renew your empathy for your child. We all have a sense of what it's like to be confused. Doing the role-reversal helps you remember, and having that empathy helps you become a more understanding teacher.
— Benefits for the Child —
1) The child gets to role-play, and this adds pleasure to the teaching/learning process.
2) The child gets to put him/herself in a grown-up role. Not only do children love doing this, for it is a form of play, taking on a grown-up role is part of how children mature. So this exercise encourages emotional growth as well as intellectual development.
3) This role-reversalgives the child a high motivation to learn the material and explain it well since the child has a specific attainable goal — to help you "learn" during the role-play.
4) The child finds out exactly what s/he understands and what s/he still needs to understand. (If you the "child" can't follow the explanation offered, your child/ teacher needs to find a better way to explain it, and usually the key to explaining better is understanding more deeply.)
5) Last but certainly not least, the entire exercise lightens the mood between child and parent. In this way, role-reversing fosters a more relaxed learning relationship.
Cautionary note: It's important to not take playing "confused" too far. I've found that if a child has considerable trouble explaining a concept, it's best to call a time-out, go back to normal roles, and for the parent to explain the concept more thoroughly. Otherwise, the actual child can become frustrated by feeling like you will never understand his explanation. So after the time-out, once the child has a better grasp of the idea, try the role-reversal again.
Final note: There's no reason why you can't do role-reversals in subjects other than math. When teaching English, children can teach points of grammar or punctuation. When teaching science, the child can explain a process like photosynthesis. You can even have your child prepare a short lecture in response to which you, the "student" must take notes. When studying history, you could even have your child lead a discussion about some historical event. In short, role-reversing is flexible teaching tool; feel free to use it whenever and wherever it makes sense to do so.
Josh Rappaport lives and works in Santa Fe, New Mexico, along with his wife and two teenage children. Josh is the author of the Algebra Survival Guide, and the companion Algebra Survival Guide Workbook, both of which will soon be available for homeschoolers as a computer-based Learning Management System, developed and run by Sleek Corp., of Austin, TX.
There's a saying among educators that the best way to learn a subject is to teach it, and for good reason.
By explaining a concept to others, you, the teacher, are forced to understand it inside-out, forwards and backwards. This has been true for me. I knew algebra fairly well before I began teaching and tutoring the subject. But the very act of teaching algebra forced me to invent analogies, devise memory tricks, and develop new explanations for tricky procedures. By going through this process, I came to understand algebra on a much deeper level.
One day I decided to toy around with this idea during a tutoring session. Having just explained the process of factoring the greatest common factor to one of my students, I asked her if she grasped the idea. She said she had, yet her tone was unconvincing. That's when I playfully turned the tables in the teacher-student relationship by asking my tutee to pretend that she was the teacher and I was the student. I told her that I would play a student who was particularly confused about factoring, so she might have to work hard to get me to understand.
When she tried to explain the concept, I played "confused." I did this to force my tutee to explain things more clearly. She tried again. This time her explanation was better, and I said I understood. She went on to explain another aspect of the concept. Again I played "confused." So she tried again to explain the idea, but this time I saw flaws in her explanation, showing that she did not understand this part of the concept fully. At this point I called for a "time out" and said we would go back to our regular roles. I then re-explained the concept, and she paraphrased it back to me. Then we resumed our reversed roles, and she successfully finished teaching the lesson.
A little while I first used this approach in my tutoring, I discovered that it was equally effective in our homeschooling. Often when explaining concepts to my children, I turned the tables and let them play "teacher." They usually found this amusing, and they really got a kick out of seeing their dad "not understanding," even though they knew it was just an act. Of the many benefits this brought to our homeschooling, one of the biggest was simply lightening the mood. And we all know how important it is to keep the mood relaxed and friendly when we're doing our teaching.
As I think about role-reversals and why I use the approach, I realize that it has a number of benefits. So I'd like to present a brief list of benefits for both the parent and child.
— Benefits for the Parent —
1) By watching your child play parent, the actual parent gets a first-hand glimpse into how the child's mind is working. That means you can find out immediately what your child does and does not understand. And, since the role-reversal process has a game-like quality, children are more willing to share their thoughts than if you ask them point-blank: "Now exactly what do you understand and what don't you understand."
2) It's both a relief and fun to step out of your serious parent/teaching role temporarily. I find it especially fun to ask "confused" questions when a student is trying to explain a concept. Try it yourself to see if you don't agree.
3) Finally, by taking on the role of the confused child, you the parent renew your empathy for your child. We all have a sense of what it's like to be confused. Doing the role-reversal helps you remember, and having that empathy helps you become a more understanding teacher.
— Benefits for the Child —
1) The child gets to role-play, and this adds pleasure to the teaching/learning process.
2) The child gets to put him/herself in a grown-up role. Not only do children love doing this, for it is a form of play, taking on a grown-up role is part of how children mature. So this exercise encourages emotional growth as well as intellectual development.
3) This role-reversalgives the child a high motivation to learn the material and explain it well since the child has a specific attainable goal — to help you "learn" during the role-play.
4) The child finds out exactly what s/he understands and what s/he still needs to understand. (If you the "child" can't follow the explanation offered, your child/ teacher needs to find a better way to explain it, and usually the key to explaining better is understanding more deeply.)
5) Last but certainly not least, the entire exercise lightens the mood between child and parent. In this way, role-reversing fosters a more relaxed learning relationship.
Cautionary note: It's important to not take playing "confused" too far. I've found that if a child has considerable trouble explaining a concept, it's best to call a time-out, go back to normal roles, and for the parent to explain the concept more thoroughly. Otherwise, the actual child can become frustrated by feeling like you will never understand his explanation. So after the time-out, once the child has a better grasp of the idea, try the role-reversal again.
Final note: There's no reason why you can't do role-reversals in subjects other than math. When teaching English, children can teach points of grammar or punctuation. When teaching science, the child can explain a process like photosynthesis. You can even have your child prepare a short lecture in response to which you, the "student" must take notes. When studying history, you could even have your child lead a discussion about some historical event. In short, role-reversing is flexible teaching tool; feel free to use it whenever and wherever it makes sense to do so.
Josh Rappaport lives and works in Santa Fe, New Mexico, along with his wife and two teenage children. Josh is the author of the Algebra Survival Guide, and the companion Algebra Survival Guide Workbook, both of which will soon be available for homeschoolers as a computer-based Learning Management System, developed and run by Sleek Corp., of Austin, TX.
At his blog, Josh writes about math education, offering tips and tricks. Josh also authors Turtle Talk, a free monthly newsletter with an engaging "Problem of the Month." You can see a sample issue here or subscribe at this site. Josh also is co-author of the "learn-by-playing" Card Game Roundup books, and author of PreAlgebra Blastoff!, a "Sci-Fi" cartoon math book featuring a playful, hands-on approach to positive and negative numbers.
In the summer Josh leads workshops at homeschooling conferences and tutors homeschoolers nationwide using SKYPE. Contact Josh by email @ josh@SingingTurtle.com or follow him on Facebook, where he poses two fun math Qs/day.
