Learning by Teaching by Ava

Learning by Teaching by Ava - September 2024 Scholarship Essay

My favorite non-traditional way of learning is to teach other people. I am a volunteer at the Indianapolis zoo and my position is to interact with guests and talk to them about conservation. Through my experience with volunteering at the zoo I have gained a wide variety of knowledge about conservation and the animals that live there. My day to day was going to different parts of the zoo and talking to people about animals. I found that by practicing speaking to people every day about these animals I was learning more and more about them myself. I also got many changes to talk to the zoo keepers before I started at a new area. Those conversations allowed for me to take the information that they gave to me and put it into use right away with guests. By being in this position I have been able to learn effective ways of interpretation of facts. When learning something it's important to not just memorize, but to be able to apply that knowledge to real life. As a naturalist volunteer at the zoo I get to do just that. From the fact sheets, and the zoo keepers I learn information from I interpret them into conversations with guests. I find that by teaching other people I was able to become more confident in using the information that I have learned from my peers at the zoo and my superiors. I also think that teaching is the best way to learn from my own experiences in school. When I have a test or a quiz that I need to study for, I usually try to teach it to someone else and it clicks into place for me as I am explaining. I think that as I continue to progress into the next chapters of my life in college that I will continue to educate myself and learn by teaching others.