Ever wonder why our kids never seem to remember the things we tell them — again and again?
Or, why it is so difficult to memorize facts and figures for an exam, even though we cram for it?
A long time ago, I discovered that I could both understand better and remember the things I was trying to learn if I pretended to teach them to someone else. When you “understand,” you don’t need to “memorize.”
To be able to teach to someone else, you need to first have a clear understanding yourself of the subject at hand, and then you need to put it into words they can understand. This is why we have this site and why our tutorials are consistently rated tops by our readers. Instead of just slapping up facts, figures, diagrams and tables on the site, we endeavor to first understand ourselves the subject until there’s no doubt in our mind, then explain it as though we’re talking to a friend across the table while having a cup of coffee.
Which is why I was very interested in this article from Blackstar by Stanley Leary. The Learning Pyramid shows how information taught through different methods is retained by students or other audiences.
You can learn by: Listening, Reading, Audio-Visual, Demonstration, Discussing, Practice by Doing and Teach Others. Guess which method of learning was least effective (as far as being able to recall the material after 24 hours) and which method was the most effective?
You guessed it: only 5% of students recalled the material 24 hours after listening to it, while 90% recalled it if they taught it to others. It is also interesting to note that only 10% remembered if they just learn by reading (i.e. cramming for an exam). 75% who practiced by doing (by doing lots of sample exam questions?) recalled the material after 24 hours. The latter point underlines the importance of doing homework for our children (not too much homework, though).
You don’t have to believe me. Try it yourself. Take a subject you have not understood previously and are currently struggling with: say, trying to understand the concept of ISO or White Balance or Exposure.
Instead of just reading and reading and getting all confused, do this: Pretend you already know the subject and have to teach it to a group of students tomorrow. Sit down, prepare your material, and practice delivering it to your class. As you deliver it to your make-believe class, simplify and make your points crystal clear. All the while, you are, of course, going back to your reading to make sure you get it right and understand it yourself. By the time you finish delivering your virtual lesson, I guarantee you will understand the subject so well that you won’t need to memorize it. You’ve internalized it; you know it.