The Three Person Model

In conjunction with the talk by Elder Bednar, it is important to understand the importance of teaching others what we learn.

In his book, "The 8th Habit," Stephen R. Covey describes a learning philosophy of Dr. Walter Gong. It is called the three person problem:


Teach and Share As You Go

"Almost everyone acknowledges you learn best when you teach another and that your learning is internalized when you live it.

While teaching at the university years ago, I met a visiting professor, Dr. Walter Gong, from San Jose, California. He taught a one-semester class for faculty entitled How to Improve Your Teaching. The essence of his program was this great principle: The best way to get people to learn is to turn them into teachers. In other words, you learn the material best when you teach it.

I immediately started to apply that principle in my work and at home. When I first started university teaching, my classes only had about fifteen to thirty students. When I started applying Dr. Gong's principle, I found that I could effectively teach many more students; in fact, some of my classes were packed with nearly a thousand students, and yet the students' performance and test scores actually went up. Why? When you teach you simply learn better. Every student becomes a teacher, and every teacher a student.

Now, the common paradigm is that the teacher-student ratio is critical -- fewer students means higher-quality teaching. But if you turn your students into teachers, you gain leverage. You move the fulcrum over.

Also when you teach or share what you're learning with others, you implicitly commit socially to live what you teach. You will naturally be more motivated to live what you're learning. This sharing will be a basis for deepening learning, commitment and motivation, making change legitimate, and enrolling a support team. You will also find that sharing creates bonding with people -- especially with your children. Have them regularly teach you what they are learning in school. My wife, Sandra, and I have found that doing this simple thing essentially eliminates any need for external motivation with their studies. Those who teach what they are learning are, by far, the greatest students."

You will get far more out of what you learn if you teach another person what you have learned after each class.

A effective website called Agent Psychology http://www.innovativelearning.com/educational_psychology/agent/index.htm explained the Walter Gong Three Person Model like this:

The Three Person Model

Gong suggested that the ideal learning situation involves three people: a teacher, a learner, and someone whom the learner can teach. In that way, everyone in the model becomes a learner-teacher.



The CETE Model

Gong believed that there are four parts to the ideal learning situation. They are:

Capture: (Learn it) Actively learn the message from the point of view of the teacher

Expand: (Live it) Actively make a message grow for your own purposes and values

Teach: (Share it) Edit what you know and pass along that which is helpful

Evaluate: (Repent) How well did you do?

This model has definite implications for our teaching strategies. "Teaching" as we know it typically involves the capture part, though this model emphasizes that the learners have to be actively engaged. That doesn't mean that everything should be hands-on, but the students must make the choice to participate. How can we encourage students to expand on their understanding? Some ideas include projects, research, practice, and presentations. Then, we must make time in our schedules for the students to teach one another and for them to evaluate themselves.