The effects of expecting to teach and actually teaching on motor learning

Expecting to teach and (actually) teaching has been shown to enhance learning academic information, possibly due to increased motivation and engagement. Recently, expecting to teach has been shown to augment motor learning. The present study investigated whether expecting to teach and teaching enhances motor learning, and whether motivation or engagement could explain this effect. Two groups studied/practiced golf putting with the expectation of teaching the skill via video demonstration at the end of practice, while the other two groups studied/practiced without this expectation. Following studying/practice, half of the participants who expected to teach performed a 2-min video demonstration of golf putting (Expect/Teach group). The other participants who expected to teach simply practiced for an additional 2-min (Expect/No Teach group). Similarly, half of the participants who did not expect to teach performed a 2-min video demonstration (No Expect/Teach group), while the other half engaged in additional practice (No Expect/No Teach group). Next, all participants self-reported their motivation and engagement. One day later participants were tested on their putting skills. Results did not reveal an effect of expecting to teach, teaching, or an interaction between these variables. However, exploratory analyses revealed motivation and engagement predicted motor learning, irrespective of group.