Ideally the lines between learning and teaching should be blurred.
- Ideally the lines between learning and teaching should be blurred.
- Teaching is a great way to learn.
- Often we aren't in positions to teach until after we've mastered the skill.
- But it's possible to induce mentorship early.
- That builds bridges and helps individuals learn.
- Two examples in my life:
- 1) In a science core class in college.
- Everyone had a little remote control multiple choice device.
- A couple of times during a lecture they'd project a question on screen and you had to vote.
- They didn't care if you got the right answer, just if you participated.
- It was mainly just to encourage you to actually come to the lecture.
- Then they'd show the distribution of votes–it was always wildly off.
- Then they'd say, "talk amongst yourselves for the next couple of minutes."
- Even though it was the blind leading the blind, the students that could explain their reasoning best tended to convince others around them.
- Then they'd ask the question again, and nearly everyone would get the right answer.
- That allowed the savvy students to be teachers, improving their own understanding, and that of their peers.
- 2) Mentorship in the APM program.
- The APM program picks ~40 people a year out of undergrad to be PMs.
- The next year when the next class starts, they come to you, the APM, for mentorship, even though you have little experience.
- You're easy to approach, and you have more experience than them.
- That helps you develop and sharpen your own intuition, while helping others.
- Typically you aren't in a mentorship position so early in your career.