Learn It, Do It, Teach It

I was talking with someone on our Moceri Construction team yesterday about what he has been enjoying since he came on board. He has been with us for about six months and has done a wide variety of projects, many of which were new to him. He has enjoyed the opportunity to learn and said that the way he goes from not knowing something to really understanding it, is with the learn it, do it, teach it method.

I had never thought of it so clearly. I mentioned it to one of my fellow coaches as a strategy for teaching some concepts on our basketball team. He said it’s something he does in his classroom. So apparently, this isn’t something new, but I figured if I hadn’t heard it before, maybe you hadn’t either.

What I like about learn it, do it, teach it is that it’s so simple, and it makes so much sense. By covering the topic three times in different ways, you allow the brain a chance to really wire in the knowledge. It is so easy to learn something new, but if that is the last step, there is a good chance that knowledge may slip away. Applying that knowledge by using it is a great step for ensuring it will stay with you, but teaching it is not only another repetition; it allows us to lock at the information differently and explain it on our own terms.

As someone who has always had an extremely hard time learning from just reading or listening, I’m excited to put this into practice with my own learning and integrate it into my different aspects of coaching.