Learn and Improve by Teaching

My first attempt at teaching was when a friend asked me to teach them how to play guitar. I was excited but lost for ideas about where to began. I jumped in blindly, and the results were a long and complicated lesson. While I didn’t think I was good at teaching after my first lesson, I didn’t give up and continued different methods when other friends would ask me.

I didn’t give up because I myself was learning something crucial during my lesson: I was expanding my view on guitar having to re-teach someone else on what I already knew. This kind of re-enforcement is what has helped deepen my skills and also teach others quicker and better.

In college, classes, assignments, and jobs will challenge you beyond what you were capable of doing, and especially out in the career field. So what better way to overcome these challenges than to teach, explain, or re-learn your situation with others?

Image by TeroVesalainen from Pixabay

Disclaimer: Being a teacher shouldn’t give you the upper hand over others, but if someone you’re teaching knows more, ask them about their experience and then tell them how you’re trying to overcome your situation. Lastly, I’m discussing the benefits of teaching outside of the profession of education, so no need to reconsider your career path.

The Protégé effect:

This effect is about learning a subject with the intention of teaching to someone else and the metacognitive awareness of re-teaching. Instead of admitting that I was a lousy guitar teacher, I merely planned better the next round. I also started learning new techniques with the mindset of having to explain it to others. And while I could have started off by compiling teaching materials, I went for a trail & error path instead.

Another thing to know about the Protégé effect is that you can teach without anyone present, so you don’t have necessarily wait around for someone to come around. But, if you need someone to teach, you can always ask a co-worker or friend for a moment of their time to learn something new. For a dedicated article on the Protégé effects and links to learn more, go here.

Retrieval Practice:

Another activity I was put on to teach was a swing dance. When I started, I already had three years of experience, but now I had to put together everything I knew to teach newcomers to our weekly dance night. Part of my process involved thinking back to previous lessons and sessions I had where I learned something crucial. Since I was in the center teaching, I felt like I was being quizzed every time, which was both scary and exciting. Being in the spotlight and remember all I knew about swing dancing improved my skill immensely.

Problem Solving:

It’s when your knowledge is tested you find how much you genuinely understand. Problem-solving requires a complete understanding of a subject as luck can only go so far. If you realize you’re not an expert on your project’s goal, stop and find someone to explain what you currently understand. If you have a difficult time explaining it, then ask your manager, research, or review the project materials. Attempt explaining it again until it’s clear, so you can rest assured next time a similar problem comes around, you’ll be prepared. It’s okay to fail a few times, as we don’t normally like admitting our lack of understanding.

In a previous job, managers would always put with new hires because I had a firm grasp of the position’s responsibilities and knew how to get projects completed. I worked there for eight months, but I practically learned that job inside out because of how many people I trained. So if you feel challenged, bored, or excited about your project, take the time to teach someone about it, and see how much more you can potentially learn from doing so!