For thousands of years, people have known that the best way to understand a concept is to explain it to others. “While we teach, we 1 ， ”said Roman philosopher Seneca. Now scientists are bringing this ancient 2up-to-date. They're 3why teaching is such a fruitful way to learn
Researchers have found that students who teach others work harder to 4the material, and apply it more 5. Student teachers score higher on tests than pupils who're learning only for themselves. But how can children,6learning themselves, teach others? One answer: They can teach younger kids. Some studies have found that first-born children are more 7than their later-born siblings (兄弟姐妹). This8their higher IQs result from the time they spend teaching their siblings.
Now educators are experimenting with ways to9 this model to schoolwork. They engage college undergraduates to teach computer science to high school students, who then 10 instruct middle school students on the 11. But the most cutting-edge tool is the “teachable agent”-a computerized character who learns, tries, makes mistakes and asks questions just like a real-world12. Computer scientists have 13 an animated(动画的)figure called Betty's Brain, who has been “taught” about science by middle school stints. Student teachers are motivated to help Betty 14 certain materials. While preparing to teach, they organize their knowledge and15 their understanding. And as they explain the information to it, they identify problems in their own16.
Feedback from the teachable agent 17improves the teachers' learning. The agents' questions drive student teachers to think and explain the materials in different 18, and watching the agent solve problems allows them emotions one experiences into action.19, it's the emotions one experiences in teaching that help learning. Student teachers feel 20 when their teachable agents fail, but happy when these pupils succeed as they gain pride and satisfaction from someone else's achievement.
