Teaching and feedback

What to teach

Teach ideas, not mere definitions.

How to teach

Keep it simple. Explain it in a way your grandmother would understand it. If you can’t do this - do you really understand it yourself?

When asking someone to do something, explain the ‘why?’’

When you’re helping someone practice, allow for 30 seconds of struggle before taking over. So much learning happens in these 30 seconds.

Embrace the ‘tight-loose’ rule - enforce the standards you want to see early on, and you will generally find that later you can be much more relaxed.

Giving feedback

State at the outset your intention to be helpful.

Praise specifically, criticise generally.

Further reading:

Start with Why, Simon Sinek

The Lessons of Knowledge, Richard Feynman

The Path to Perpetual Progress, Atul Gawande

The Secret to Creativity, Adam Grant