At some point in your technical career, someone is going to ask you to research a new technology and to educate others on what you learned. Maybe you are a SME, consultant, salesperson, instructor, or you simply drew the short straw.
I have been fortunate to experience this process many times in my professional career. It often takes me back to high school or college research papers. How strange is it that as professionals, we are essentially doing the same thing? We learn complex and time-consuming topics so that others do not have to learn. We all rely on the education of others whether it is a doctor, real estate agent, television salesperson, auto mechanic, or plumber.
Being an instructor has dramatically increased my passion for learning and has made my study time more effective. I have been studying technology for over 20 years. I have studied for certification exams, college courses, promotions, and to deepen my understandings of the technologies that I support. Yet there are many fundamental topics that I have a difficulty retaining and I must relearn repeatedly. These are often terms that I have memorized without a clear understanding of the big picture.
Who are your most respected teachers and instructors? How did they establish themselves as an expert? Part of instructing is establishing credibility. There are several traits or types of knowledge that help establish and maintain that credibility:
- Good instructors have a solid understanding of the fundamentals. They know the protocols, ports, settings, and acronyms well.
- They are good at helping students see the big picture. For example, explaining why a prerequisite exists rather than simply listing requirements.
- Good instructors can easily pivot into a live demonstration. When they are describing an application, setting, or process they are prepared to demonstrate. This might be a live session, well-crafted slides, or a whiteboard. You can see their understanding of the topic is not just academic. They are proficient at navigating the interfaces and commands.
- They are good at answering questions even when they don’t know the answer. They have anticipated common questions. They are very clear when responding with opinion-base answers. They walk the class through how they can find the answer for themselves.
- Good instructors know how to balance long-term understanding with exam preparation. The end-goal of classroom training is often a test or project. The exam knowledge is the carrot that is supported by broader topics.
- Good instructors help students understand how related topics fit into the overall picture without getting lost in the weeds. Every technical topic will touch on a wide range of related topics and useful historical information. This information is necessary to paint a clear picture yet going too far down the rabbit hole can be overwhelming.
- Good instructors share knowledge that cannot be found in books or websites. This is usually experience from time in the field, lab work, personal projects, or through exposure to multiple classes.
So, what does this have to do with “Learning like a teacher”?
Consider what your favorite instructors must have gone through to learn this information. Did they have to study any harder than you? Did they possibly have objectives or techniques that made it easier for them to learn?
I will suggest that you are fully capable of knowing more than most instructors. Consider trying some of the following techniques during your next study session.
- Read one chapter or doc page at a time. Take notes (or cut & paste) the key points. Put on your instructor hat. How would you teach this topic? Explain the big picture in your own words. Review your notes. What details would be important for your students to understand? What questions would students possibly ask?
- What are the fundamental concepts of this chapter? Explain them to yourself. Is there anything tripping you up, maybe a topic requiring further research? Is there anything here that will require memorization or at least an understanding of where to find those details later if needed?
- Start a controlled journey down the rabbit hole. Allow yourself to research new concepts and topics encountered. Follow the “click here for more information” links. Most chapters and doc pages should require you to go 1-2 layers deeper to get a better understanding. Gain a high-level understanding of these basic topics and record a list of topics that may require more extensive study later.
- If you have access to a lab or live implementation, walk through the various interfaces, commands, and wizards. Be able to explain settings, options, switches that you encounter. Imagine a student sitting over your shoulder asking what does that button do? Allow yourself to spend time exploring and not just once. Return to the application or interface periodically to develop navigational skills.
- Continue through the content while preparing, if only mentally, to teach this information to someone else. Once you are complete, circle back in a few days to review your notes. Can you still explain each chapter? What information needs to be reinforced or memorized?
- There is no better way to reinforce your new knowledge then to teach someone else. Build a slide deck. Plan demonstrations. If possible, arrange to deliver the content at work or in a community setting. Maybe record a presentation for your YouTube channel or create a blog post.
- Seek out communities online or within your organization where you can begin to demonstrate and reinforce your knowledge. This might be attending related conferences or webcasts. Become active in conversations and discussion forums. Look for questions that spark your interest and research your responses.
- Continue to revisit the core topic to reinforce your fundamentals. You should be able to easily explain the more complex topics and speak the lingo (for example knowing the full names of long acronyms). Begin to dive deeper into related topics. For example, your technology may rely on a database or programming language. Digging deeper on those topics will help to solidify your expertise.
I have just a few closing comments:
It can seem daunting at first but I encourage you to strive to become an industry expert in your technology of choice. Preparing to teach others and being an instructor can certainly move you in that direction. Having a deep understanding on a technical topic can be a great way to boost your confidence. You may be surprised at how quickly you can learn if you remain focused.
Certification is a great starting point and can help add structure and validation to your learning process. Certification study guides can help tap into well-traveled learning paths. Avoid letting exams dominate or terminate your learning process.
You rarely need expensive or complex labs to learn new technologies. It is possible through video-based learning and free trial accounts to begin visualizing a technology without hands-on. Certainly, having hands-on exposure through work or classroom labs can be very beneficial. Take advantage of these opportunities to develop proficiency in navigating the interface. Read-only access can often be used to demonstrate most features without saving changes.
So, the next time you are studying to learn a new technology (hopefully sometime soon), study like you are preparing to teach a class. Imagine a classroom full of the stereotypical, arrogant computer nerds just dying to play ‘stump the chump’ by proving your incompetence with related trivia questions. Imagine a room full of Steve Jobs, Dennis from Jurassic Park, Kate Libby from Hackers, Nick Burns from SNL, and Elon Musk. After you are finished studying (though hopefully, you are never completely finished) go out an teach someone what you have learned.