Make sure that all of your volunteers receive rewards from teaching. For example, design a survey or conduct discussions that allow teachers to receive feedback about what students learned and how much they enjoyed the sessions.

In securing feedback toward the end of your program, ask students specific questions like:

	What did you learn?
	What parts of the lesson were most helpful?
	What parts of the lesson were most enjoyable?
	Would you like the teacher to teach other subjects?
	What parts of the lesson were unclear or need improvement?

Make sure that students' responses are shared with everyone who helped in the teaching.

Making learning fun will also help keep your program going. Vary lesson plans and include activities that are enjoyable as well as instructive. Role-playing (in which students act out a scene to illustrate a point from your lesson), contests, small-group activities, debates, warm-ups, speeches, demonstrations, and similar interactive techniques can make learning more fun for everyone.

A great resource when planning lessons is the National Education Association's "Works 4 Me" Tips Library, located at www.nea.org/helpfrom/growing/works4me. This site offers useful tips on teaching techniques, classroom management, the use of technology in the classroom, and much more.

Youth In Action Bulletin

July 1999     Number 06