The Best Way to Learn Anything? Teach It. Here’s Why.
We have all learnt something new at some point in our lives, whether that be a complex skill, a maths equation, a piece of software, a dinner recipe, or maybe even learning a foreign language.
I am also sure that at some point in you will have encountered a moment whereby you had to teach someone else what you have just learn’t and it likely felt like a powerful way to cement your own understanding. I know from my own personal experiences, that I feel more secure in my belief that I do truly understanding something when I can comprehensively teach whatever that may be to someone else.
It turns out that this ‘feeling’ is more than just a gut feeling, it is grounded in neuroscience. In fact teaching others is one of the most effective ways to truly understand and retain new information. Here’s why.
The Neuroscience of Teaching and Learning
When you teach something to another person you are engaging multiple networks within your brain simultaneously that are essential for learning, memory, and understanding. Research has shown that the process of teaching involves not just the ‘what’ but also the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of information. This deeper processing of the knowledge boosts your own knowledge retention, comprehension and cognitive flexibility.
The brain processes information in a layered manner. The first step in the learning process is acquiring the knowledge, usually by passive means but hopefully via active means as these are more effective. When you teach, you are utilising a very active form of learning (yes you are technically learning too). When teaching you are required to reframe the information in your mind and articulate it in a way that is understandable to someone else. This active engagement is a powerful cognitive workout.
The Role of the Prefrontal Cortex
The prefrontal cortex is the brain region responsible for higher cognitive functions such as problem-solving, reasoning, and working memory and is crucial for learning. When you’re teaching something, your prefrontal cortex is activated to a higher degree because you’re not just recalling that information, you’re making decisions on how to articulate it, if it is clear enough to the learner, and how to answer questions that arise. This process challenges your brain to make greater connections, enhancing your understanding.
One of the key ways that the brain forms lasting memories is through a process called elaboration, which is the process of connecting new information to existing knowledge frameworks that you have. Teaching requires us to elaborate on a subject to explain it in different ways, providing rich associations that make the new knowledge stick. These elaborative strategies lead to stronger, more durable memories.
Teaching Encourages Metacognition
Metacognition is the act of thinking about your own thinking, being aware of how we learn and how we can improve our own learning process. When we are teaching, we are forced into this metacognition whereby we need to evaluate our own understanding of a topic, allowing us to identify what we are unclear about, and adjust our explanations of topics to make them accessible to others. This reflection process improves our own understanding because it enables us to identify our own gaps in the knowledge. Teaching frequently reveals gaps in our knowledge that we simply would not have identified if we were just learning on our own. As a result, we can fill those gaps and solidify the foundation of our learning further.
The Power of Retrieval Practice
One of the most powerful cognitive techniques for strengthening memory is retrieval practice, whereby you actively recall information rather than passively review it. Teaching gives you the perfect opportunity to do this.
Countless studies have shown that actively retrieving information as opposed to passively reviewing it significantly enhances your long-term retention of that information. Teaching forces you to engage in active retrieval practice. When you teach something, you must recall the information, and explain it, often on the fly and generally under the pressure of having to turn more complex ideas into simpler ones.
This retrieval practice not only strengthens your retention of the knowledge but it also improves your ability to retrieve that information moving forward. The more frequently you retrieve information, the more neural connections are formed in your brain, making it easier to recall that information when required.
The Takeaway
Teaching isn’t just about sharing knowledge, it is also one of the most effective ways to improve our own understanding. When you teach, you activate key brain regions involved in reason, problem-solving, and memory retrieval. The teaching process forces you to organise information, identify gaps in your own understanding, and engage in active retrieval practice, all of which strengthen learning.
By having to explain concepts in your own words, breaking them down into simpler terms, and answering questions, you’re reinforcing neural questions that make the knowledge more durable. Teaching also encourages metacognition, helping you become more aware of how well you actually understand a topic and where you need to improve.
So if you want to master something, don’t just study it, teach it. Whether it is teaching it to your friend (regardless if they know it already or not), writing about it, or even talking to yourself out loud, the act of teaching will push your brain to engage with the material in a deeper way, making it stick for longer.
