All Minds Support Journal — Reflection
When the Student Becomes the Teacher | All Minds Support
Journal reflection — learning happens in the space between us.
About 10 years ago during some CPD work, I came across a familiar diagram — often called the “learning pyramid” or “cone of learning.” It’s usually attributed to Edgar Dale, though the numbers attached to it are widely debated. The basic idea is simple: passive listening tends to fade quickly, but teaching someone else a concept can deepen understanding.
Rather than treating it as a rigid model, I found myself curious about the spirit behind it. What happens when the tutor in the mentoring session steps back — and the student steps forward?
The Mini-Teaching Experiment
I began inviting students to try something I started calling mini teaching. Nothing formal. No presentations. Just a shift in roles.
If a topic felt confusing, I would say:
“Pretend I’m an interested eight-year-old nephew. Talk me through what you think this means.”
Slides open. Lecture notes visible. No pressure to be correct — only to try to explain.
My role changed too. Instead of leading, I listened. I asked guileless questions — the kind that come from genuine curiosity rather than assessment.
What emerged was often surprising. Students who felt stuck began to organise their thoughts aloud. Ideas that had felt fragmented started to take shape through dialogue. The act of explaining seemed to anchor the learning somewhere deeper.
Learning by Drawing Out
The idea reminded me of Socratic questioning — the belief that knowledge can be drawn out through conversation rather than delivered from above. Education, from the Latin educare, is sometimes translated as “to draw out.” Whether or not the etymology is perfect, the sentiment resonates.
In these sessions, I was not the subject expert. I was trying to become a good student — attentive, curious, and open.
This inversion felt quietly radical.
What Changed in the Room
Not every student enjoyed the idea at first. Some felt uneasy being placed in the role of “teacher.” But when it worked, several shifts became visible:
Deep listening replaced correction.
Co-learning replaced instruction.
Meaning was co-created through dialogue.
The pace followed the student’s rhythm rather than mine.
Trust grew through shared exploration rather than performance.
Students often reported that verbalising the material helped them “place” it somewhere in their thinking. Perhaps this relates to elaborative processing — packaging ideas in a way another human can understand. Whatever the terminology, something important was happening.
Becoming a Good Student
The longer I used mini teaching, the more I realised it was shaping my own practice. Mentoring began to feel less like delivering strategies and more like learning alongside someone.
What happens when a tutor tries to become the best student in the room?
For me, this question sits close to the heart of the Five Human Technologies we talk about at All Minds Support. It reminds me that understanding often grows in the space between two people — not in a one-way transmission of knowledge.
—
James Fraser
All Minds Support