5 E's: Explanation

This is one of my reflections from my class, Classroom Strategies for Inquiry-Based Learning.

Albert Einstein famously said, “If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself.”

I don’t think that Einstein is being derisive here, saying that it should be easy to describe something that you understand. I think that he means that the more complicated the explanation is, the more difficult the concept is to understand - not the other way around. Basically, if you can simplify an explanation so a six-year-old can understand it, you understand the nuances of the concept well enough to determine what is important enough to share with others.

How Preparing to Explain Impacts Understanding

My teaching career is full of examples of this, but I am going to focus on one class specifically: Economics. Honestly, I have never been interested in Economics. I made sure to become certified in every strand of Social Studies, but I purposefully did not become certified in Economics because I simply did not want to teach it.

I spent four years at one school where I was not even approached to teach Economics (though of course, economic concepts must be discussed in any Social Studies class). Then my circumstances changed and I moved on to a school where I would be teaching Economics. I was, frankly, unprepared.

I spent the summer preparing to teach the class and actually ended up really liking it! The process of preparing to explain the concepts to my students really helped me focus on each piece of the concept. I knew that I would have to have a full understanding of the concept in order to help my students understand, so I paid close attention to each detail. I understand economic concepts much more deeply than I ever have because I am responsible for explaining the concepts to my students.

Is student explanation unnecessary, preferred, or a critical part of learning?

It is critical for students to explain their ideas to others. Without an opportunity to explain, we wouldn’t know if they truly understand. In addition, by explaining concepts to others, they have a chance to deepen their own understanding.

My Takeaways

My classes are already quite student-led, and the power of student-provided explanation is exactly why. Giving students the opportunity to explain concepts to each other allows them to deepen their understanding at another level.  With the proper preparation and encouragement, students can feel empowered to share their expertise with others and truly internalize the information that they are sharing with other students.