“Learn For The Purpose of Educating Others”
What??
When we approach learning for the purpose of educating others we alter our focus from one of personal knowledge and academic achievement, to that of assisting others to fully learn and understand course/subject content.
Why does this make such a difference??
Well, whilst we might be accepting of a few gaps in our own knowledge during the course of our studies, when we learn for the purpose of educating others there is an implicit obligation to fully understand and explain the subject material. Indeed, what sort of an educator would you be if you couldn’t answer your students’ questions, looked confused when explaining a theory, or drew your flow charts and paradigms incorrectly?
So, what’s it all about??
As any good educator knows, when teaching new material we start with the basics – the origins, foundations and major theories of a subject; then we systematically build on that knowledge through a series of successive lectures and readings. This approach helps to organize our thinking, ensuring that we develop a straight forward, systematic approach to the way we go about gathering and building our knowledge of the material; so we can then go on to teach it ourselves.
Obviously, if we are going to teach something, we need to fully understand it. Not only that, but we have to work out the best way to explain it so others will understand and, in turn, be able to go on to further educate others. To do this we have to be able to simplify sometimes complex information and use our own clever examples or metaphors, so that we make it simple for others to understand too. This process alone significantly increases the amount of time and thought that we devote to “making sense” of what we’re learning.
This is where learning for the purpose of educating others excels because we’re forced to acquire a sound understanding of the major theories, researchers and developments in any field and how they work and fit together. In essence, we have to develop our own subjective, comprehensive and global understanding of the subject. Then, we have to develop the ability to fully explain this understanding to others from a variety of angles.
Learning for the purpose of educating others is a powerful strategy to acquire new knowledge and commit it to long term memory. This process occurs simply because, as well as learning separate chunks of information, you force yourself to learn the global framework within which each separate and specific piece of information resides. In learning this way, you can better picture how the separate chunks of information relate to each other. This process naturally inspires you to read widely, and to regularly check your understanding of subject material from your teachers. As is often the case, the more you read the more questions you generate; which lead to greater knowledge development.
Learning to educate ourselves is one thing, but learning for the purpose of educating others takes on a whole new set of tasks and responsibilities that significantly boosts your own knowledge and understanding.
Bottom Line: This approach to learning works and results in better understanding and more effective memory recall over a longer period of time.
Useful Questions to Ask Yourself When
Learning For The Purpose of Educating Others
- How would I explain this concept to someone in 50 words or less?
- How could I explain this better than the way it was just presented to me?
- If I was to draw a flow chart of the major sections of this subject on a white board in front of a class, what would it look like?
- If I was to present the 5 - 10 most important theoretical contributors in this subject, who would they be and what did they contribute?
- What questions could be asked of me by my students about what I’ve just learned, and how would I answer them?
- If I was to recommend the direction of further research in this field what would I say?
The Thumbnail Formula to Academic Success
|
Action
|
Result
|
- Turn up, listen, take notes and read the textbook
|
Pass
|
- 1 + Ask questions and review your work
|
Credit
|
- 1 +2 + Contribute in class and check your understanding
|
Distinction
|
- 1 + 2 + 3 + Read extra and challenge/ debate the lecturer
|
High Distinction
|
