During the second week of April 2019, ETA Ryan Ulrich was preparing some of his last lesson plans. This wasn’t because he was leaving SMA Muhammadiyah 1 Gresik, the school where he assists as an English teacher, but because the school was gearing up for that hectic time of year known as finals week. In the US finals, a week is just that, a week, but here in Indonesia, it is much longer. The finals in question can range anywhere between 2-3 weeks! Needless to say, Ryan’s students were very anxious about this last week before tests.

Ryan knew his students were worried about the exams, which is why he was resigned to making this last week of class solely about a review, to help boost the confidence of his students. Knowing that there is only so much a teacher can do in a single class he devised a lesson where the students would assist in instructing their peers.

Having the students write their strengths and weakness on the board when they entered class, enabled Ryan to identify who needed the most help. He tried to match students who were weak in one category, but strong in another with their opposite in the classroom. Ryan believed that the students could help their partner gain an understanding of the material better than he could by addressing the entire class. After that activity was completed, Ryan reviewed the entire year’s lesson plans to address any lingering questions. These lessons helped show Ryan all he had accomplished with his students over the year. It was quite a rewarding sight.

Ryan Ulrich is currently teaching at SMA Muhammadiyah 1 Gresik, East Java