The Power of Peer Presentation

 
    If we were in Norway recently, we could have observed a research study of 241,310 individuals. That’s a massive group of subjects. The study concluded that the oldest sibling in a family possesses an IQ score of about 2.3 points higher than the next oldest sibling. For years, some researchers thought that first-born children are blessed with the highest intelligence of all siblings within a family. They attributed the first-born’s higher intelligence to prenatal biochemical and developmental factors. At first glance, this Norwegian study would seem to corroborate that notion, however, in this study, “oldest sibling” also referred to a second-born child whose older sibling died. The bottom line is that the oldest siblings do seem to have slightly higher intelligence readings. The question is “Why?”.

    As clarified above, we should focus our quest to find the answer to this question on nurture, rather than nature. There must be some environmental factor that boosts the intelligence of older siblings. There is a significant group of opinions, although not unanimous, which attributes an older child’s advantage to sibling peer-tutoring. This group of educators believes that older siblings commonly find themselves in a peer-teaching role within the family. Older siblings help younger siblings learn and study. From this experience, the older siblings gain skills and ability which is reflected in their intelligence. Now, if we subscribe to the definition that intelligence is a measure of how well one applies his mind’s potential ability, perhaps an older sibling’s intelligence can climb a few points after exercising it via her helping a younger sibling with academics.

    Truthfully we do not wish to get wrapped up in the debate about whether intelligence scores can change or about what may change them. More importantly, the intelligence study did spawn an awareness about the value of personally gaining from teaching and sharing with others. That is the power of presentation, and it can benefit any child, no matter where he stands in birth order.
   
    You see, the point here is that educational information which gets absorbed into a child’s mind or recorded in his notebook does not benefit him as much as using that information to benefit others. Think about all the information which is dished out in classrooms today. How much of that information ever goes beyond the preprinted spaces for answers on a written exam? Do we give our students opportunities to present what they learn to others?
   
    Some teachers actually do, especially English language arts teachers. They have their students practice journal writing, they ask them to read and discuss literature selections together, they display student writing and research on school hallway bulletin boards, and they engage their students in major acting productions. All of these activities put the material they have taught into presentation mode, enabling their students to share with others, and in turn deepening their own learning. Why should this be limited to English language arts classes? Every single subject can be adapted to include peer teaching and presentation activities. Doing so may require added planning and good classroom control on the part of the teacher. If you would sincerely like to adopt some ideas about how to incorporate presentation activities in your class, give us a call, and perhaps we can brainstorm together. There is nothing like adding the excitement of shared learning to a class.
   
    As with all good products, a caution tag is attached to peer teaching. Some teachers host peer teaching to benefit gifted and talented students in their class. Faced with the need to stimulate their more knowledgeable and capable students, teachers ask their TAG students to review material with weaker classmates. Stronger students teach weaker ones. This kills two birds with one stone. We need to give reinforcement lessons to weaker students, and we also need to give more work to more advanced students. Everyone is busy. Whoa.

    Yes, this arrangement does benefit all students in some ways, but not with the power of presentation. There are two problems with the stronger-weaker student partnership. First of all, weaker students are receiving when their TAG peers teach them, not presenting. That’s a problem. They need to gain from presenting to others according to their own academic ability. Secondly, accommodating advanced students should not amount to appointing them as lesson reviewers only. Talented and gifted students are entitled to lesson enrichment geared to their level, not just more work. This should not be limited to being the teacher’s assistant-teacher. Advanced students should participate in advanced presentation. They should be presenting material produced at their own level to others.
      
    Does the power of presentation to others increase intelligence? Maybe. But, one thing we do know is that the power of presentation does help us learn better. When we present to others in any format, we need to ensure that our presentation is clear, organized, and meaningful. That requires added preparation. That is the power of presentation. Training how to share with and give to others should not be limited to academics in the classroom. Sharing with others goes well beyond book reports. Giving and sharing with others enrich our lives in countless ways. We would be doing our children a great service to teach them how to present to others. This would clearly be “helping children to help themselves”.