First-graders said the could concentrate better, felt more comfortable to ask questions and understood the material better. The bètacoaches themselves, the third-graders, said they learned from the experience and that they had become more active. "
I don't give much weight to self-reported progress on this subject. The link says the results are "preliminary". Does that mean that there are going to be tests of actual improvement in math skills? I'm looking forward to seeing those.
Note that these children were selected partly on the basis of having low confidence in math. Simply repairing children's attitudes towards math sounds fantastic.
tldr; Role-reversal education: by explaining to others, we learn, and improve in confidence.
http://solutionfocusedchange.blogspot.com/2011/12/betacoach-promising-project-to-improve.html
"The project Bètacoach seems to me to be a well thought-out and promising way to give improve math and science education in secondary education. Here is a pointwise explanation of the project:
http://moniquepijls.com/2011/08/16/betacoach-leren-in-een-nieuwe-rol/ (Dutch)