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Expecting to teach enhances learning and organization of knowledge in free recall of text passages
Very interesting confirmation of something that all teachers know - that the best way to learn is to teach. This uses an experimental method that shows much less than it could and claims much more than it shows. The researchers have simply shown better memory retention by learners in one particular task due to the expectation of having to teach others. But it's still useful evidence that is supported by several educational theories and it helps to confirm the value of teachback. As they suggest (though apparently unaware that this is a widespread practice) pedagogies that make use of this phenomenon work well and are highly efficient.
Abstract:
The present research assessed the potential effects of expecting to teach on learning. In two experiments, participants studied passages either in preparation for a later test or in preparation for teaching the passage to another student who would then be tested. In reality, all participants were tested, and no one actually engaged in teaching. Participants expecting to teach produced more complete and better organized free recall of the passage (Experiment 1) and, in general, correctly answered more questions about the passage than did participants expecting a test (Experiment 1), particularly questions covering main points (Experiment 2), consistent with their having engaged in more effective learning strategies. Instilling an expectation to teach thus seems to be a simple, inexpensive intervention with the potential to increase learning efficiency at home and in the classroom.
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Comments
So does this say that all learners are capable of this learning efficiency, if the right conditions are applied? In the Fiorella and Mayer (2013) study, note taking may be one of those strategies that is part of organizing and focusing the thoughts, I am prone to do that myself. The act of note taking helps more than reading the notes taken. In this study, experiment 1, their learners were not experienced teachers, so wouldn't know the habits of teachers to focus on key concepts and organize the material, so I question that as a factor in the reasoning of their hypothesis. I think there might be something to the explanation theory as the learners were likely trying to make sure that they could answer questions or explain the key points in the passages. Different motivation?
Interesting! I'd be wary of any generalized claims that all learners would benefit from this in all circumstances. On the whole, teaching (or even the expectation of having to do so) does appear to improve learning, not just of memorized facts as presented here but in a broader sense, but it always depends on details of how it is done and the context it is done in. It's certainly not a magic bullet.
Pask's conversation theory, that focuses on ways knowledge is constructed, structured and transmitted, appears to be confirmed by these experiments, which makes me trust the findings a little and does imply that knowledge was structured differently in each case. However, I think there are also large effects on motivation as a result of believing others will care (basic self-determination theory), which in turn tends to lead to a lot more time on task as well as time actually concentrating on the task, which might account for a lot of the effect, however knowledge was actually constructed by the participants: it's the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. It may be that the intent of note-taking affected the way it was done in this case in negative as well as positive ways, and relative lack of success might have been due to weaknesses in understanding effective learning strategies for tests too. Like all such experiments, the devil is in the detail. Interesting findings though, and a nicely nuanced experimental design.