Seminar: To Teach Is To Learn: Can Non-Interactive Teaching Promote Learning?

To Teach Is To Learn: Can Non-Interactive Teaching Promote Learning?

Professor Fuxing Wang
School of Psychology, Central China Normal University

October 3, 2025 (Friday)
14:45 – 16:00
Room 405, Meng Wah Complex, HKU
Chair: Professor Xiao Zhang
 

Abstract:
The principle that “to teach is to learn” has long been recognized in both Eastern and Western cultures, emphasizing the reciprocal benefits of teaching for one’s own understanding. Recent studies have examined this in the context of learning by non-interactive teaching, a generative learning strategy in which learners explain studied material to an imagined audience, such as recording a video or producing a written explanation. This approach engages learners in active processing, requiring them to select, organize, integrate, and elaborate on knowledge, which can deepen comprehension and facilitate transfer. We conducted a series of studies to investigate the effectiveness of non-interactive teaching across different formats (e.g., video, audio, and text), theoretical mechanisms, and moderating factors, such as social presence. our findings indicate that video-based teaching often leads to stronger outcomes than written or audio formats due to the combination of generative and social processes. However, excessive social presence may increase distraction and anxiety, reducing learning benefits. We also explored the brain activity during learning by teaching interactivity, as well as the role of instructional prompts and drawing. Together, this body of work clarifies when and why learning by teaching improves outcomes, providing valuable insights for both theory and practice in educational psychology. 

About the speaker:  
Dr. Fuxing Wang is a Professor from School of Psychology, Central China Normal University. He received his Ph D. from Beijing Normal University in 2009. His main research is developmental and educational psychology, and his research interests are multimedia learning and instructional design in learning and teaching, digital media and children's development. He and his colleagues employ eye tracking and fNIRS techniques to investigate how instructional design can enhance learning and teaching. He has published more than 50 papers in academic journals such as Journal of Educational Psychology, Educational Psychology Review, Developmental Science, and Learning and Instruction. His studies were funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. He is an editorial board member of Learning and Instruction, Chinese Journal of Psychological Development and Education, and Journal of Psychological Science. He received the “Guizi Young Scholar” award from Central China Normal University in 2019.

~ All are welcome ~
~ This seminar is sponsored by Tin Ka Ping Visiting Fellowship Scheme ~ 
For enquiries, please contact the Office of Research, Faculty of Education at hkchow@hku.hk