Assistant Principal's Message

One of the Most Effective Ways to Learn is to Teach

At present, our Year 12 students are finishing off their Trial Exams and our Year 11 students are preparing for their end of course exams. Regularly, students in timetabled lessons often ask 'How do I best understand or learn difficult concepts?'

One of the best ways to learn is to teach someone else what you understand or have learned. It doesn't matter if you do not fully understand the concept, explaining what you know will lead to a deeper understanding. In fact, research has proven it is a far more effective way to study than reading over your notes, making summaries and rote learning sections of work. Students who spend time teaching what they’ve learned go on to show better understanding and knowledge retention than students who simply spend the same time re-studying.

This is information that may not be new to many people. What may be new is why this is so. A study in applied Cognitive Psychology led by Aloysius Wei Lun Ko suggests this is because it compels the teacher to retrieve what they’ve previously studied. In other words, it is the way that bringing to mind what we’ve previously studied leads to deeper and longer-lasting acquisition of that information than more time spent passively re-studying. It forces the teacher to articulate concepts in a way that they and their audience can understand. They, in fact, break concepts down to their core elements. This is why teachers at O'Connor know their subject content so well!

So if students are students, how do they get opportunities to teach? Firstly take group work and collaborative exercises in class seriously. It is a great way to learn. Consider forming study groups and articulating to your partners your learning. The recent Student-Led Conferences provided a model for students to articulate their learning to their parents. Parents or guardians reading this may ask their children, "teach me what you learned today". This is teaching and it can happen anytime at home. Use technology. Film yourself explaining a topic and send it to your classmates or your classroom teacher and get some feedback.

Is this hard? Not really. It is less time consuming, more engaging and as studies prove, a very effective way to study. This is not to devalue other study methods, but it is well worth considering.

Recently I had the privilege of witnessing a number of O'Connor students helping at St Mary's Primary School during Book Week. Their brief was to read books to Kindergarten and Stage 2 students. They were required to help these students comprehend what they had heard. This required them to retell aspects of the story or in other words, teach. Talking to these students after the event, it was clear that they understood the stories they had read very well. 

So, get out there and teach. It is one of the best ways to learn. Ask a teacher!

Thank you 

For your ongoing support & Cooperation

Damian Roff

Acting A.P