Teaching To Learn
One of the most effective ways I've found to learn is to commit myself to teaching something to someone else. Through my involvement in Boy Scouts as an adult leader, this becomes clear to me time and time again. In many cases, I end up counseling boys on topics I thought I knew pretty well, but when I sit down to brush up on them I discover I still have a lot to learn (particularly if I expect to teach someone else about a topic).
In addition to compelling me to dig deeper on topics than I might otherwise probe, this approach gets me to spend time finding out what others have done to teach the topic. I often find that there are tremendous resources available that allow me to "stand on the shoulders of giants" and improve my effectiveness as a teacher.
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For example, I recently became a counselor for the "Personal Management" merit badge that the Boy Scouts of America offer. This badge is designed to help Scouts develop skills, discipline, and thinking processes to help them manage their time, finances, and other significant areas of their lives. I wish there had been a badge like this when I was growing up - check out the set of requirements for the badge in this Personal Management Worksheet.pdf (69 Kb), which I found online and am using with the Scouts I'm counseling. I'm actually applying some of these concepts in a home project we're doing now, and I wish I'd had some of these practice aids to help me budget my time when I was a teenager! |
Do you want to learn something new, or become more knowledgeable about a topic which which you're already familiar? I recommend committing yourself to teaching someone else about that topic.
If you're not currently involved in any organizations that provide the forum for this, take a look around your community and see if you can change that. Some possiblities include:
- Scouting organizations
- community centers (I recently heard a story about someone who teaches basic computer skills geared toward senior citizens through a community center)
- Boys and Girls clubs
- community colleges
- public libraries
- retirement resource centers
And I'm sure there are many more - anyone else have any suggestions that have worked for you?
And all you lifelong learners, I encourage you to give teaching a try - who knows - you just might learn something!
Dwayne Melancon is the author of Genuine Curiosity, where he is always on the lookout for new things to learn.
Related items:
- What are the right tools for the job?
I've long promoted peer teaching among my students. I know I learned material best when I was asked to tutor classmates, and I've seen the positive effects it has on my students when they can help each other.
In fact, if you ask me why I became a teacher, I'll often tell you it was because I wanted to learn from my students, and I learn from them every single day.
Posted by: Rebecca Thomas | June 11, 2007 at 05:52 AM
Interesting Post, Dwayne. I remember my days in the Civil Air Patrol as a kid. We used to March around El Monte Airport and we even got to fly in a Cessna a few times. Great experience and lots of Mentors.
Toastmasters is also a great place to mentor, offer advice, and tell of your experiences. It's a whole lot easier for people to get up in front of an audience if they know someone else did it... and lived to tell about it! :-)
Posted by: John Richardson | June 11, 2007 at 05:21 PM
Similar to what Rebecca shares, I find that I am constantly asking leaders in different organizations why they aren't taking advantage of the experts they have within their own organization. They will call me for MWA coaching at first, then ask if I provide all sorts of other supervisory training, or RISH technique (recruitment, interview, selection and hiring) when they have seasoned and very successful managers on staff who should be teaching, coaching, and mentoring within the company. So much waste of so much dormant talent! And as you point out Dwayne, these prospective in-company teachers are missing out on so much additional learning.
Posted by: Rosa Say | June 11, 2007 at 07:56 PM
Dwayne, I just saw this over at Matt Homann's place (which he credits to William Glasser):
http://thenonbillablehour.typepad.com/nonbillable_hour/2007/05/learn_to_teach_.html
Learn to Teach, Teach to Learn
We Learn:
10% of what we READ
20% of what we HEAR
30% of what we SEE
50% of what we SEE and HEAR
70% of what is DISCUSSED with OTHERS
80% of what is EXPERIENCED PERSONALLY
95% of what we TEACH TO SOMEONE ELSE
Posted by: Rosa Say | June 11, 2007 at 09:26 PM