3 ms·

I'd advise people to not teach if they don't understand the source material very well, it can lead to spread of misconceptions which can make the concepts more

I'd advise people to not teach if they don't understand the source material very well, it can lead to spread of misconceptions which can make the concepts more confusing for the students rather than less. I feel this is often left out of these discussions. You can always pretend to teach yourself to navigate the concepts though, when learning the first time yourself.

oriolid 8y ago
My experience from TAing is that teaching forces you to go through the material very thoroughly yourself, much more than just studying for yourself. Also, when you go through the material for second time, knowing everything you have learned since then, you tend to notice new things.
oldcynic 8y ago
Teaching others, even if you don't know the material too well, pays because your students will come up with bugs, problems, and questions stemming from misunderstandings that you can't even conceive of. So it forces you to go away and find out and explain more clearly next time around. Pretending to teach won't come close. So long as you approach it honestly; "you know, that's a damn good question. I'm not sure so I'll have to come back to you tomorrow." Then make sure you do come back to them. Or walk through the language reference with them. It will move you massively ahead in knowledge and soon kill off any misconceptions. It's OK to admit you got something wrong earlier in the week. Just don't do it daily. :)
cabaalis 8y ago
I've found that when a developer on my team is tasked with explaining something to another team member, they themselves get a much better grasp of the topic. When we are doing work we often do "what works" to complete the job. Somehow, becoming responsible for someone else's knowledge forces some people to understand their own limitations.
- Izkata 8y ago
  > I've found that when a developer on my team is tasked with explaining something to another team member, they themselves get a much better grasp of the topic. Tightly related, rubber duck debugging: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_duck_debugging https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_duck_debugging
nnd 8y ago
I'd argue that teaching helps you to push yourself to understand the subject matter more clearly. You might also be fooling yourself that you do comprehend something, and that becomes obvious when you can't explain the topic clearly.

oriolid 8y ago

My experience from TAing is that teaching forces you to go through the material very thoroughly yourself, much more than just studying for yourself. Also, when you go through the material for second time, knowing everything you have learned since then, you tend to notice new things.

oldcynic 8y ago

Teaching others, even if you don't know the material too well, pays because your students will come up with bugs, problems, and questions stemming from misunderstandings that you can't even conceive of. So it forces you to go away and find out and explain more clearly next time around. Pretending to teach won't come close. So long as you approach it honestly; "you know, that's a damn good question. I'm not sure so I'll have to come back to you tomorrow." Then make sure you do come back to them. Or walk through the language reference with them. It will move you massively ahead in knowledge and soon kill off any misconceptions. It's OK to admit you got something wrong earlier in the week. Just don't do it daily. :)

cabaalis 8y ago

I've found that when a developer on my team is tasked with explaining something to another team member, they themselves get a much better grasp of the topic. When we are doing work we often do "what works" to complete the job. Somehow, becoming responsible for someone else's knowledge forces some people to understand their own limitations.

Izkata 8y ago
> I've found that when a developer on my team is tasked with explaining something to another team member, they themselves get a much better grasp of the topic. Tightly related, rubber duck debugging: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_duck_debugging https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_duck_debugging

nnd 8y ago

I'd argue that teaching helps you to push yourself to understand the subject matter more clearly. You might also be fooling yourself that you do comprehend something, and that becomes obvious when you can't explain the topic clearly.