Expecting to Teach Affects Learning During Study of Expository Texts

• Published in: Journal of educational psychology 2021-10, Vol.113 (7), p.1281-1303
• Main Authors: Guerrero, Tricia A., Wiley, Jennifer
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cognitive ability; Comprehension; Educational evaluation; Effects; Expectation; Female; Grade 10; Grade 11; Grade 7; Grade 8; Human; Instructional Materials; Learning; Learning Activities; Male; Memory; Multiple Choice Tests; Outcomes of Education; Peer Teaching; Prior Learning; Reading Comprehension; School Learning; Science Instruction; Students; Teaching; Teaching Methods; Test Construction; Text Structure; Undergraduate Students
• ISSN: 0022-0663; 1939-2176
• DOI: 10.1037/edu0000657

Past research has suggested that there may be benefits in learning from expository science text when students study with the expectation that they will need to teach another student. The present experiments were designed to extend prior work by testing whether an effect would be seen on both immediate tests (similar to those used in most prior studies) as well as delayed tests (which are important for demonstrating long-term learning of material). The experiments also tested whether an effect would be seen when learning outcomes were measured using questions testing memory for the text and questions testing comprehension from the text, and the experiments explored whether effects would be seen for a text written below grade level (Experiment 1) versus at an appropriate grade level (Experiment 2). Across both experiments, results supported that expecting to teach improved learning outcomes even at a delay and improved both memory and comprehension from expository texts. These results suggest that expecting to teach may be a useful activity for supporting durable learning from expository texts. Educational Impact and Implications Statement Previous research has demonstrated that when students act as "teachers" and tutor their peers, it can lead to improvements in the learning of the "teachers." A more provocative claim is that just preparing to teach others (and not actually doing it) can also have a beneficial effect. The present experiments tested for benefits when students simply prepared to teach another student and found that preparing to teach (vs. preparing to test) led to better performance on test items measuring both memory for text and comprehension from text for the "teacher." Further, these results extended prior work by showing benefits for both memory and comprehension on a delayed test and with a text written at an appropriate grade level. These results provide support for the suggestion that solely providing students with the expectation that they will have to teach another student may be a useful educational activity.