EA - We all teach: here's how to do it better by Michael Noetel

Link to original articleWelcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: We all teach: here's how to do it better, published by Michael Noetel on September 30, 2022 on The Effective Altruism Forum. Epistemic status: There’s consistent meta-analytic evidence for the interventions and models presented here. Still, that research is only one piece of your evidence-based decision-making. I’ve been directive for brevity’s sake. Use your judgement, adapt to the context, and let me know where you disagree in the comments. Summary: we need to learn to teach better Education is the #2 focus area for the Centre for Effective Altruism. Many of us educate, from field building to fundraisers, from coffees to conferences. As a result, I think we can do better by applying the meta-analyses on what works from educational psychology. We can use models and strategies that have been shown to work for hundreds of thousands of students, rather than feeling like community building is a whole new paradigm. I think the EA community can make better decisions, and track their progress more effectively, with an evidence-based theory of change for community building. One useful and robustly supported model, self-determination theory, suggests we can be more effective if we help community members: Feel more competent by helping them developing valuable skills using evidence-based teaching strategies (rather than focusing so much on knowledge, especially via passive learning) Feel more autonomy by making learning more meaningful and aligning motivation with their personal values and goals (rather than using quite so much guilt and fear) Feel more connected by empathising and accepting their experiences, promoting collaboration, and providing relatable role models. Some of these ideas seem obvious, but the community is still affected by burnout, imposter syndrome, and perceived rejection. By better supporting psychological needs, we can mitigate the risks of people bouncing off or burning out. If we want to know how well our community building is working, I think measuring these needs will give us an upstream predictor of highly-engaged EAs Of these psychological needs, I think community-building efforts in EA struggle mostly in promoting feelings of ‘competence’, and neglect the long list of evidence-based strategies for building skills. Most efforts are currently reading, listening to talks, and engaging in discussions. There are far more effective methods of helping people learn valuable skills and aptitudes. Primarily, we should give people more time doing hands-on practice with the most important skills in an environment where they get constructive feedback. We should also learn to better use multimedia. I appreciate and admire all those who do community building. If I identify any groups that could improve, it’s because I think they have the skills and track record to do an incredible amount of good. I want them to thrive, and I hope they see any feedback here as constructive. How to teach effectively, in five steps For those of you who don’t care about the causal model, or the evidence, the following summary will explain what good teaching looks like. I think we could frame more community building events using these steps. Doing so will build capacity in the community, and build members’ motivation and engagement. This obviously isn’t everything we should be doing to build a community—social events, 1 on 1s, conferences, and reading groups still have their place. But, if we’re trying to build a capable and motivated group, we should try the following more often. Generally, work backward from some new skills you’re going to help people learn. These are your learning objectives. Knowledge is obviously good, but is most valuable and motivating when connected to important skills. For example, don’t say “learn about AI” but instead “make well-calibrated forecasts abou...