The mutual classroom: rethinking the classroom and the way we teach

From classroom space to teaching methods, today's schools are adapting to better meet students' needs. While some pedagogical approaches are still in their infancy, others are gaining wider acceptance among teachers and spreading to many schools. Among them is the mutual class redefines the space and role of students by promoting a more interactive and less academic approach. This concept extends that of the flexible classroom, which adapts the environment to the needs of learners. But where the flexible class Primarily based on a modular layout, the mutual class goes further by placing the collaboration between students at the heart of the learning process.

Ready to discover how peer learning makes students more active and engaged?

Let's go back to the 19th century: the first attempts at mutual instruction in France

A teaching method imported from across the Channel

In the 1830s, some French liberals, concerned with making education accessible to the greatest number of people, drew inspiration from the work of Bell and Lancaster in England to establish mutual instruction (also known as the Lancasterian method). Convinced that social progress depended primarily on the education of the people, they saw mutual instruction as a way to quickly educate a large number of students. Indeed, mutual instruction allowed many students to be gathered in a large room with a single teacher who could delegate the transmission of knowledge to so-called "monitors." These students had a higher level of education and were therefore able to help the other students. Moreover, the speed of instruction and the low staffing requirements made this method a particularly economical solution.

Obstacles encountered by peer tutoring

In three years, the students who had followed the mutual instruction system could read (compared to six years of learning with the simultaneous instruction provided by the Christian brothers). If this learning speed While praised today, in 1833 it sparked fierce criticism. On the one hand, some feared that children, having finished their schooling too early, would end up wandering the streets until they reached the minimum working age (exacerbating social deprivation). On the other hand, employers were concerned about child labor and urged the state to make school compulsory until the age of 13. Finally, at a time when education and religion remained closely intertwined, mutual instruction clashed with simultaneous instruction. Introduced by Jean-Baptiste de La Salle in the 16th century, simultaneous instruction still shapes our vision of education today: a classroom and students sitting in rows, silently listening to a teacher impart knowledge. At the end of what historians call the "first school war,", Mutual instruction was quickly abandoned in favor of the simultaneous model where the teacher is the sole person to possess and transmit knowledge. It is worth remembering that it was not until the laws of Jules Ferry, between 1881 and 1882, that public primary education became free, compulsory, and secular.

A mutual instruction school in France around 1815. 19th-century engraving. Paris, Carnavalet Museum ©AFP – Photo Josse / Leemage

How do we define mutual class today?

The student at the center of teaching

In France, the mutual class was experimented on and popularized by Vincent Faillet, a biology teacher at the Lycée Dorian in Paris. In his TEDx Change the classroom to change the school, He defines the mutual class as:

Mutual learning: an approach consistent with our times?

For Vincent Faillet, our school system perpetuates a static classroom model (desks lined up facing a single blackboard with a teacher in charge) without taking into account that today's students are not the same as yesterday's. While this organization may have seemed appropriate a century or two ago, it is clear that the model is becoming outdated and can sometimes contribute to students' disinterest and profound disengagement from school. Today, our students need to cooperate and to move in order to be active participants in their learning and rediscover the joy of learning. The peer-learning classroom offers them a framework that fosters this dynamic and active collective.

The benefits of mutual insurance

By rethinking the layout of the room and placing the student at the heart of the learning process, the peer-learning classroom makes it possible to achieve the following educational objectives:

• Rediscover the pleasure of learning by being an active participant rather than a spectator in the lesson (freedom of movement of the body, free movement in the classroom…);
• Facilitating collective intelligence and social interaction among peers. By explaining a concept to a classmate, students consolidate their own understanding and gain confidence;
• Develop soft skills such as cooperation, listening, mutual support, collaborative work, critical thinking, and communication. Essential skills today and in their future professional lives;
• To progress at their own pace and feel valued in their learning.

From the teacher's perspective, the peer-learning classroom offers an opportunity to rethink their approach and teaching methods. Top-down communication is replaced by a facilitator who guides discussions and helps students construct their own knowledge.

From what age should mutual schooling be offered?

In most cases, the mutual insurance class is experienced in middle and high schools. However, it could certainly be introduced in cycle 3, particularly at the end of elementary school, to allow to the fifth-grade students to develop their autonomy, their spirit of cooperation… For example, in schools that already practice the principle of breaking down barriers, The teaching staff can test the mutual class on subjects such as Questioning the World, Moral and Civic Education or even Science.

What equipment should I choose to set up my mutual classroom?

To enable students to become active participants in their learning, here is a (non-exhaustive) list of prerequisites for classroom setup:

• As many writing spaces as there are groups of students to encourage exchanges: whiteboards on the walls, mobile boards, slates.
• Modular and easy-to-move furniture: tables on casters, height-adjustable tables, trapezoidal or semi-circular tables.
• A variety of seating options: cushions on the floor, unstable stools, a seat without a backrest to allow for easy turning around.

Our product selection for the mutual insurance class

MOBILE TIPPI BOARD

Mobile Conference Easel

Frameless Magnetic Whiteboard

LAMINATE TOP TABLE - BASE WITH WHEELS - Trapezoidal 120x60 cm

Erasable tabletop - Wheeled base - Semi-circular 120x60 cm

ADJUSTABLE TABLE WITH TILTABLE TABLETOP

Double shelf L: 160 cm

UP JUNIOR STOOL

Quad stool with footrest

Think about it: MEFLOWER 

The device MEDLAR offers schools the opportunity to obtain funding (subject to acceptance) to carry out a specific project, such as the purchase of furniture or teaching materials.

How does a class in a mutual classroom setting work?

In a peer-to-peer learning environment, the lesson is generally structured around 3 successive phases:

Part 1: The Conceptual Sequence

The teacher explains the objectives of the session and how it will proceed to the entire class. This is also an opportune moment for the teacher to provide some background theory related to the topic. If necessary, they can also review concepts covered in the previous lesson.

Part 2: The Mutual Sequence

The students are divided into small groups and take their places in front of the whiteboards placed on either side of the classroom. Each group thinks together and shares its knowledge to achieve the objective given by the teacher at the beginning of the session.

Part 3: The review sequence

Each group presents their work orally and uses the main board to highlight the results of their research and observations. The students stand facing the rest of the class. This allows them to practice their oral communication skills.

Throughout the session, the teacher remains available and attentive to the students to answer questions and address any potential obstacles.

Video immersion into Vincent Faillet's peer-learning classroom

Group management in a mutual classroom

3 tools to facilitate student autonomy

During the mutual sequence, the students work in autonomy. To guide their approach and avoid any unnecessary flitting from one thing to another, here are the tools you can make available:

• A work plan This document outlines the course objectives and expected outcomes. It allows different groups to progress at their own pace but in a coherent manner. It provides a framework that sets boundaries and prevents students from becoming scattered.
• A resource center : it is a clearly identified space (a table or a piece of furniture) on which there are documents and/or digital resources that will help students in their thinking and in their search for solutions to the exercises required.
• Whiteboards placed all around the room: each painting becomes the gathering place for a group of students.

What about the noise in the classroom?

The autonomy required in a peer-learning classroom can be the starting point of a tremendous cacophony where everyone struggles to hear and be heard. It must be said that this newfound freedom can surprise students generally accustomed to a more traditional setting. Therefore, to avoid this pitfall, at the beginning of the year, involve your students in the peer-learning approach and collaboratively create a charter of good practices for working and living in the classroom: classroom organization, classroom noise level, traffic arrangements. By involving students from the outset in the pedagogical approach of the mutual classroom, you strengthen their interest and level of motivation.

In short

• The mutual classroom combines flexible layout and active pedagogy through group work.
• Students are active participants in their learning: they learn and progress in groups.
• The teacher's role changes: they move into more of a facilitator/mediator role and must be agile between groups of students. They are no longer the sole transmitter of knowledge.

Our articles on the same topic

• The educational project "Our school, let's do it together": an approach to success, equal opportunities and well-being
• Products that promote student autonomy in the classroom (Project "Our school, let's do it together")
• The 8 types of multiple intelligences

To go further

• ARCHICLASSE – QUID#1: the mutual class
• BATISCOLAIRE – Inspiring mutual classroom
• Mutual learning to strengthen self-confidence and autonomy
• Testimonial: The mutual classroom explained by 4 teachers