Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn

This triplet – often misattributed to Benjamin Franklin but likely evolving from the writing of Xunzi (Xun Kuang), a Confucian philosopher who lived in the third century B.C.E1 — sets up a pedagogical hierarchy for evaluating teacher/learner exchange where description is worthless, instruction is memorable, and participation is enlightenment.


  1. Garson O’Toole, Tell Me and I Forget; Teach Me and I May Remember; Involve Me and I Learn↩︎