Teachers always want to encourage students to pay careful attention to learning in class. One of the most effective teaching techniques to get the students to concentrate on the fine details rather than just the big picture is back-to-back learning and it works like this:

1. Pair of students are sit back-to-back.

2. Student A is given a picture of other graphical information, and student B is given a drawing kit.

3. Student A will described the picture or graphic in as much detail as possible to student B.

4. Student B uses the information given by student A to draw the picture in as much detail as possible.

5. At the end of the exercise, both students compare pictures to see how close the drawn picture is to the original.

6. Then, the students swap roles and repeat the process with a different picture or graphic.

Points to Note:

ü  Student A is only allowed to explain the picture using words.

ü  Student B is not allowed to look at the picture student A has but can ask question for clarification.

ü  Other students are not allowed to give hints.

ü  Students can face each other, provided that they hide the picture so that their partner can’t see the information.

How it promotes learning?

ü  This activity encourages students to think very carefully about the exact information they needed to present the exact picture or graphic.

ü  This helps the students to practice specialized vocabulary which is essential in understanding the concepts.

ü  It develops interpersonal skill.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that “picture “ means it has to be something really artistic. The “graphic” might be a visual representation of a process. This technique can be utilized in most subject areas.

By: Wilfredo S. De Guzman | T-III | Pagalanggang National High School | Dinalupihan, Bataan