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Teaching the teacher – Metro US

Teaching the teacher

The teachers at Don Mills Collegiate Institute are now the students.

Faced with teens who know more than they do about technology, the Toronto high school began an “adopt-a-teacher” program where students teach the adults how to create blogs or interactive graphics, edit video, or even just improve their PowerPoint presentations.

Half the school’s teachers signed up for the tutoring, says Sharron Forrest, program director of the Toronto high school’s renowned CyberARTS program, from which the student experts were drawn.

“First we were going to limit (training) to eight people on staff, that’s all (fellow teacher) Blake McAlister and I could do,” said Forrest. “Then when we saw how many teachers were interested, that’s when I came up with the idea to put them up for adoption. We work so well with our students, and they are our best resource, it just made perfect, practical sense.”

Students and teachers meet once a month for two hours, and this month, teachers will make presentations during a staff meeting, explaining what they’ve learned.