I spent several years of my life as a technical trainer. In my time as a trainer, I often found myself needing to learn a new piece of software, a programming language or perhaps just gain a deeper understanding of a familiar topic. Regardless of the reason, learning new things rapidly, at a level of detail that would allow me to teach it to others was a regular part of my life.

When a topic was particularly elusive, I found that the best technique for breaking through it was to grab some unsuspecting colleagues and do my best to teach it to them. So you may ask, “How do you teach something you don’t understand?” and to that, I would have to respond, “poorly”.

My initial attempt(s) to explain a concept that was new to me were expectedly pretty rough, but the process of trying to break it down for somebody else and the questions that came up as I tried to explain it were often enough to get me to that light bulb moment.

Even outside of the context of teaching, I can typically work through a difficult problem by explaining it to somebody else. In most cases, just re-phrasing the problem and providing some context to somebody who has a different background will, at the very least, bring you closer to understanding.

Those that know, do. Those that understand, teach.

- Aristotle

I whole heartedly believe that to be a great teacher, you must truly understand your subject matter, but getting to that understanding can often be achieved through teaching.