A GROUP of students from 20 schools in the Petaling Perdana school district adopted an outside-the-box approach yesterday as part of their preparations for the 2022 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) English paper.
The Young Teachers' Programme (YTP), held in collaboration with Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bukit Jelutong, saw 140 Form 5 students attend a series of collaborative learning and peer teaching sessions to boost their knowledge of English.
However, the programme came with a twist. Instead of the teachers imparting lessons to the students, it saw high-achieving students guiding their peers.
Nooral Izainee Ibrahim, who is a school improvement specialist coach attached to the Petaling Perdana district education office, said the programme used a mentor-mentee approach.
"From the total group of students, 20 students, who were A or A+ high achievers in the English subject, were selected as mentors to guide the others.
"The teachers served as facilitators," she said.
Nooral Izainee, who is also the programme adviser, said the one-day event served as an intervention initiative to improve the quality of the English Language subject for the upcoming SPM exam.
Held at UOW KDU University College here, it consisted of five sessions where students focused on reading, writing, speaking, listening and grammar.
The programme was officiated by the New Straits Times' Associate Editor (Content and Digital) Najmuddin Najib together with SMK Bukit Jelutong headmaster and YTP chairman Bahari Said.
Students were also given complimentary copies of the NST.
Colin Kris Kuhan, a student mentor from SMK Bukit Jelutong, said the programme enabled students to share their knowledge on the SPM English language subject.
"This concept of being a mentor and sharing what I know with my peers is beneficial as it gives me exposure to teaching and at the same time, can help us to score in the upcoming examination.
"We students have so much in common. Through peer teaching, we can be more comfortable in learning together," he said.
Aishah Izzati Abu Jamil from SMK Seksyen 11, Shah Alam, who was one of the mentees, said the programme had helped her improve her communication skills as she had to interact with her peers from other schools.
"I have also gained new skills from my student mentor on how to tackle the SPM English exam questions," said Aishah.
She added that she would
be sharing her newfound knowledge with her classmates at school.
R. Manimaran, one of the participating English teachers from SMK Taman Sri Muda, said that the programme could help bridge the gap between teachers and students.
"Schools now are very student-centric. The teachers are there to guide them but most students actually learn from their friends, he said.
"Programmes like this can reduce the student-teacher barrier where students can be more comfortable learning with their friends."