559 - A Better Way to Learn

In this episode, we look at the effects of learning for examination vs learning to teach.

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Abstract

"This study tested whether students who learned with an active orientation would be more intrinsically motivated to learn and would learn more than students who learned with a passive orientation. The active orientation was created by having subjects learn material with the expectation of teaching it to another student; the passive orientation was created by having subjects learn the same material with the expectation of being tested on it. The results indicate that subjects who learned in order to teach were more intrinsically motivated, had higher conceptual learning scores, and perceived themselves to be more actively engaged with the environment than subjects who learned in order to be examined."

How to use this in your own life

• When you need to learn something new for work or for your own life, find someone who is willing to support you and schedule a teaching session with them . Create the expectation that they will ask questions throughout the session.
• This will allow you to learn the topic with the additional pressure of needing to explain it to others. That pressure can lead to the motivation required to dive deeper into topics and ask better questions yourself.

The Study

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/00028312021004755