The best way to learn is to teach

And the best time to teach is when you’re learning

Hi all,

In the 1970s my dad was teaching computer science. Things were changing so fast in that field that he would be reading the books in the summer that he would be using to teach in the fall. He was literally just one semester ahead of his students. It was an exciting time for the industry, for him, and his students as well. I learned something important by watching my dad.

John Gray teaching programming, 1970s.

You don’t have to be an expert to teach something. You only have to be one step ahead of your students. In fact, I think this is the best way to think about teaching. And when you are just learning something is the best time to teach it.

Why? Because it’s fresh. You have energy and enthusiasm for it. You’re interested. You remember your reason for learning it. You know why it is exciting. And when you teach something you are excited about, it’s infectious. Students pick up on that energy, and they get excited too.

Expertise isn’t the only thing that matters in a teacher. We have all met that expert who knows something very well but can’t seem to articulate it coherently. We have all had that class where the teacher knows the subject so well, and has taught it so long, that they are clearly bored with it. Boredom is infectious too.

When the focus is on learning by doing, there are three stages you must go through on your journey to mastery: watch one, try one, teach one. This is sometimes called the studio method. In this approach, teaching is an integral part of the learning process. The idea is that you don’t really understand something until you know how to teach it, because teaching requires you to articulate the learning path in a way that others can follow. Teaching something is the only way to truly know that you know it.

At its core, learning is emotional. Energy and enthusiasm matter. There’s a lot of research showing that the most long-lasting, easy-to-recall memories are associated with strong emotion. Would you rather listen to an expert who will bore you to death? Or go on a learning adventure with a guide who is just a little way ahead of you on the path?

What are you learning right now? What are you excited about? Have you thought about teaching it?

Please share your answers in the comments.