Teaching and learning within a group or team context can be particularly effective in higher education. This cooperative atmosphere mimics potential workplace scenarios that students would expect to find in there careers after college. The skills learned in this group atmosphere, such as the ability to listen and learn from their peers, is essential in many vocations. Marbach-Ad and Sokolove found that in this peer-to-peer cooperative learning and teaching atmosphere resulted in students questioning and being involved at a higher-level.
The Vygotsky Connection
In the 1930s Lev Vygotsky wrote extensively, in Russian, on the profound connection between language and cognition, and in particular oral language (speech) and learning. The implication of Vygotsky's observations for Learning by Teaching would appear to be direct and apt. "The one who does the talking, does the learning" may best summarize the point: students learn by teaching their peers.