Classes, from the flip side

Not satisfied with next spring's course offerings? Make up your own. The Experimental College (ExCollege) has been offering undergraduates the opportunity to teach their peers since 1966.

There are two different options for students seeking to view the classroom from the other side. The first is to teach a fall semester class in one of the two first-year peer-teaching programs, Explorations and Perspectives. According to ExCollege Director and Dean Robyn Gittleman, this opportunity allows students to serve as both peer teachers and advisors.

The second option enables students to teach an ExCollege course that is open to students of all classes. This option is primarily a spring semester program because Explorations and Perspectives are taught in the fall.

According to Gittleman, peer taught classes are kept small and are usually capped at 20 students. This smaller-sized class allows for more interactive learning.

"In all cases, we encourage participatory education," Gittleman said. "We can plan to do things cutting-edge and not just through passive learning."

Though no students are currently teaching ExCollege classes that are open to all students, those who did so in previous spring semesters found the experience to be rewarding.

Chris Kohler (LA '02), who taught "A History of Video Games" in the spring of 2000 and 2002 semesters, had been interested in his subject matter for a long time.

"I've been working towards a career in the video games industry since I was about twelve years old or so, and that involved studying a lot of the history of the business," Kohler said. "I'd already read the books I'd end up using as textbooks about twice or three times each just for pleasure reading, so I knew exactly what I was going to cover in this hypothetical history class I had in my head."

Irene Psyrra (LA '03), who taught "Modern Greek" last spring, had a similar reasoning for wanting to teach an ExCollege course. Psyrra was interested in teaching others about her heritage, as well as teaching in general.

"I have always loved teaching and wanted to give it a try," Psyrra said. "I thought that it was a chance of a lifetime to do something like that."

According to Gittleman, the vast majority of peer teachers are juniors or seniors, but there are no age or class restrictions. Nor is there a GPA requirement, "a high GPA does not necessarily mean a good teacher," Gittleman said.

What is most important is that the students have gained expertise in the area in which they wish to teach. To apply, students fill out an application that asks them to provide a tentative syllabus. Students are required to have their academic advisor sign off on the application. They are then interviewed by the Board of the ExCollege.

"We expect students to have a real background in their subject," Gittleman said. "In the interview, they are asked to prove their expertise."

According to Gittleman, there is no limit to the number of peer-taught classes each semester. "As many as 50 percent [of applicants] get approved," she said. "If we get five or six [student-taught courses], we are very happy."

Once their course proposal is accepted, students begin the process of preparing to teach their class. Kohler described the often complicated process.

"Since I was doing a history class, first and foremost I had to be completely up on my facts, names, and dates," Kohler said. "If I didn't know them, how could I expect the class to know them?"

In addition to this research comes preparing for the actual classes. "Then it was a matter of carefully rereading the material and writing up lecture notes for each week, making sure that I had forty-five minutes of talking each day and enough classroom participation questions to keep everyone involved constantly," he said.

Psyrra agreed that preparing for teaching took a lot of work. "I put a lot of work into it," she said. "I prepared the summer before because I knew that the Christmas break would not be enough. I had done most of the work beforehand, but it sill took a lot of time and effort."

Through peer teaching, students get to experience the flip side of the professor-student relationship, encountering some of the same challenges that professors face. One such challenge includes dealing with students who are not succeeding in the class.

"The hardest thing about teaching my peers was that sometimes you do have to fail people, whether it's on one assignment or to actually fail someone on their transcript," Kohler said. "In that case, of course, you encourage the person to just withdraw from the course, because a W looks better than an F, and I don't want that person to have any undue trouble. Just being in charge of a class doesn't put you on a psychotic power trip -- really!"

Students who peer-teach are provided with some support from the ExCollege. They receive a credit for teaching the class and also participate in a seminar, which helps them prepare to teach the class. Both Kohler and Psyrra felt that the ExCollege did a good job providing advice and assistance to those teaching.

Despite the difficulties that go along with it, students have positive memories from their peer-teaching experiences. "I loved teaching; loved the whole thing," Kohler said. "I met so many of my good friends through teaching them in class because you gather together people with a common interest and see them twice a week with the sole purpose of discussing that interest. I wish I'd taught it a third time; that's how much fun it was."

In giving advice to other potential peer-teachers, Kohler stressed that students should follow their passions.

"If you have a passion, if you have something that you know more about than any

other Tufts undergrad, then teach it," Kohler said. "Don't listen to that little voice in your head that says nobody would want to learn about it -- if I could get a class on video game history, you can teach anything you want to."

For more information visit the ExCollege website: www.excollege.tufts.edu.