STUDENTS TEACHING PUPILS - SOCIAL INVOLVEMENT PROJECT

Technological advances and accessibility to information on the internet have opened a new channel of pupils that are being taught by students throughout the country. Students, full of motivation and a will to learn and teach, have understood that this way is good for them – enabling them to profit from a side job and take advantage of the knowledge they have accumulated in their degree.

The students are divided into two groups – students that teach classes of pupils and give lectures within their studies / a certain scholarship, and students that teach private lessons to groups of pupils and individual pupils.

On first sight, it seems as though it would be better for a pupil who has difficulties to take private lessons with a qualified, veteran teacher that would surely be able to teach him well. However, this is not true. Professional teachers, especially veteran ones, normally use fixed teaching methods. Pupils that have had difficulties in school will continue to experience difficulties also in private lessons, if the teaching methods are similar. In contrast, students bring new, fresh teaching methods, which assist the pupils more. In addition, students are closer in age to pupils, therefore they may be more able to connect to them and understand them. As part of a social involvement project in which we participate in "Revivim" school in Holon, we are required to teach pupils about the field of "green energy" - a field we study as part of the course "Green Ambassadors" taught by Dr. Hen Friman. We have decided to research teaching by students against teaching by teachers, and to examine it by means of the pupils' attention in class and their achievements in virtual quizzes we have conducted. We felt that we had succeeded to intrigue and arouse interest in the pupils by using different, unique teaching methods. The pupils, for their part, responded with excitement and participated throughout all of the activity hours. In addition, significant improvement was seen in the knowledge they have accumulated from the initial quiz to the final quiz.

In conclusion, the entrance of students to the field of teaching while still in their studies brings many advantages, such as: fresh knowledge, motivation to teach, and innovative, out of the ordinary methods that arouse interest in the pupils and intrigue them. On the other hand, teachers have greater experience, a connection to the Ministry of Education and the required material, and teaching experience.