> From my experience “experts” who are unable to explain well typically have an incomplete understanding.
You also have to give yourself permission to step several tiers back and think about how to distill "next pieces" into what they know.
I also find myself handwaving away a whole lot of edge cases or rigor away in order to have a bite-sized step that will help the student make progress.
> Personally I have had subject I thought I was an expert an and when I went to explain them I realized the shortcomings of my understanding. Later when I was truly an expert my ability to explain them improved.
Conversely, I find every time I've done this exercise of stepping back and breaking it down for someone else, my knowledge has deepened.
You also have to give yourself permission to step several tiers back and think about how to distill "next pieces" into what they know.
I also find myself handwaving away a whole lot of edge cases or rigor away in order to have a bite-sized step that will help the student make progress.
> Personally I have had subject I thought I was an expert an and when I went to explain them I realized the shortcomings of my understanding. Later when I was truly an expert my ability to explain them improved.
Conversely, I find every time I've done this exercise of stepping back and breaking it down for someone else, my knowledge has deepened.