Teaching others what you’ve learned is an essential part of the learning process and will reveal both the depths and limits of your understanding.
The process of teaching someone else what you know forces you to organize your knowledge. In the act of organizing and communicating it, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of what you know — and what you don’t yet fully understand.
As you prepare to teach what you know, you might be surprised to discover that you know a lot more than you thought you did.
The first time a student interrupts you to ask for an explanation of a term or concept you assumed was obvious, you’ll realize how much of your knowledge you’ve taken for granted.
This is where it gets complicated.
When it comes to teaching others what you know, what’s the best way to organize your knowledge to make the teaching useful and practical to your students?
Students can absorb only so much new information at once. How do you keep them out of overwhelm? How do you know what to include and what to leave for another time?
This is one of those questions with no “right” answer, but here’s my approach, and it might work for you.
Begin with the end in mind.
Consider where you want the students to end up.
- What do you want them to be able to do with the new knowledge?
- Why is this relevant for them?
- What’s the end result that they want?
The Framework: Packing For a Trip
Consider how you pack for a vacation.
You pack differently for a beach vacation than you do for a ski vacation. If you know you’re going to a city, you pack different clothes than if you’re going to sit on a beach for a week.
If you’re going to be doing athletic activities, you’re going to pack workout clothes. If you’re going to dine in fancy restaurants, you pack some nicer clothes.
Planning a curriculum is the same concept. Here are three basic steps to the framework:
(1) Identify the Destination.
First I consider the end result that my students want, or that I want for them. This is the ultimate destination, the outcome of the learning process.
(2) Plan the Itinerary.
Every trip has activities. Where are we stopping? What activities will we be doing? What will we need for these activities?
Do I need to pack a swimsuit for a ski vacation? Maybe, if there’s a pool there.
Will I need my hat and gloves at the beach? Unlikely.
Am I trying to cram too much into our agenda? If the itinerary is too packed, it could overwhelm their nervous systems and create fatigue, shutting down their ability to absorb.
(3) Plan the Mode of Transportation.
Finally, I consider how I want to take them there. Are we flying economy? First class? Private jet? Are we driving? Are we rushing to the destination or taking our time?
What’s the quality of the experience that I want them to have within the journey?
The quality of the experience will influence how well they absorb and retain information.
This becomes the framework for organizing the knowledge I want to share. When I get overwhelmed by the depths of my knowledge, I come back to these three elements to determine what is necessary and what I can omit.
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