Having a teacher complete an activity as a student before assigning it has a lot of value, both for instructional quality and for student experience. Some key benefits:

1. Anticipating Challenges

• Teachers can identify confusing directions, overly difficult steps, or gaps in prior knowledge.

• This helps them adjust scaffolding, provide hints, or clarify expectations before students struggle unnecessarily.
  
  

2. Building Empathy

• Experiencing the activity from a learner’s perspective fosters empathy.

• Teachers gain insight into how much time, effort, and frustration it may take, which makes them more supportive and realistic about student workload.
  
  

3. Improving Instructional Design

• Teachers can refine prompts, adjust difficulty, and ensure alignment with learning goals.

• They can see whether the activity genuinely develops the skills or concepts intended.
  
  

4. Modeling Learning Strategies

• By doing the work themselves, teachers can model effective approaches (e.g., breaking down steps, using problem-solving strategies).

• This gives students a stronger framework for tackling the task.
  
  

5. Quality Assurance

• Ensures that resources, tools, or technology function as expected.

• Helps prevent logistical or technical issues during class time.
  
  

6. Credibility and Authenticity

• When teachers say “I tried this myself,” it boosts student trust.

• Students often engage more when they know the teacher values the work enough to test it personally.