STRIVE APR - JUN 2018 | Page 28

The Art of Sharing Knowledge By Giancarlo Brotto

When I was a kid , I remember sitting in a large auditorium watching a speaker address a room full of people and thinking , Wow , what does it take to be so capable that you get the opportunity to stand on stage and share knowledge with so many people ?
As a 10-year old kid still struggling with long division , the thought of being able to remember and articulate so many facts unaided in a set period of time seemed like an impossible feat . But as impossible as it seemed , the honor of being asked to address a large audience was motivating and became the catalyst for me to work toward that privilege . Ironically , after several years of speaking in front of large audiences , I realized my aspirations were wrong .
It ’ s not what you know that matters , it ’ s using what you know to help others do greater things than you ’ ve ever done .
What I realized was that public speaking , whether it ’ s to a packed auditorium or in a meeting with two people , represents a unique opportunity to impact the audience ’ s capacity to do something great with what you ’ re sharing . Those who excel at this will tell you it feels like an art when you do it right . Yet despite what many might think , this art is accessible to everyone .
Learning time and science performance
It slapped me in the face . . .
Many years ago , I attended a well-known conference that brought together leading experts in education . The speakers were some of the most well respected in the field , having spent most of their lives researching the conditions that optimize teaching and learning .
As I sat in a knowledge-sharing workshop learning about what works and what doesn ’ t work , I realized the speaker ’ s own strategy fell under the “ doesn ’ t work ” category – it was the infamous “ death by PowerPoint .” I realized at that point that those of us steeped in transforming education need to use every opportunity to model the efficient practices we advocate every time we get on stage . In simpler terms , the more presenters move away from being a talking head on stage with some cool images on a big screen , the better !
Knowledge share with impact
Often those on stage have accomplished great things in their lives . They have walked on the moon , invented a trendy electronic gadget , or won multiple Olympic medals . But do our lives have to contain some heroic feat to make us worthy of attention ? Or is it reserved for those with ultra-charismatic personalities , those born with the natural ability to entertain ? The truth is , every single one of us has knowledge or insight to share , and our ability to impact others is a skill we can develop and improve . Look at this research comparing the amount of time 15-year old students spent learning inside and outside of school per week with their performance on the international assessment of science skills ( OECD-PISA , 2015 ).
PISA science score
600
550
500
450
400
350
OECD average
Finland
Germany
Japan Estonia
Macao ( China )
New Zealand
Netherlands Switzerland
Sweden
Uruguay
Iceland
OECD average
Israel Bulgaria
Colombia
Singapore
Hong Kong ( China ) Chinese Taipei
Korea Poland United States
Russia Italy Greece
Brazil
Mexico Costa Rica
Chile
Turkey
Montenegro Peru
Dominican Republic
Qatar
Thailand
B-S-J-G ( China )
OECD average
United Arab Emirates
R ² = 0.21 Tunisia
300
35
40
45
50
55
60
Total learning time in and outside of school
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