The illiterate of the future will not be the person who cannot read. It will be the person who does not know how to learn ~ Alvin Toffler

The future is now. The ability to learn has never been more important than it is in this information age. The ability to seek information, to digest it and to use it is an essential skill in the wired world that we live in today. The importance of learning cannot be overstated.

This article presents a strategy to achieve effective learning in four steps.

1. Exposure

Exposure to materials and resources about the subject you are trying to learn. For example, if you want to learn about harvesting honey, you can:

a. Visit a honey bee farm.

b. Research online

c. Scan books on the subject

The exposure period of learning is a right-brain activity . During this stage, do not put unnecessary pressure on yourself . See how things work and pick-up only what you need. Make use of all your senses. Being a right-brain activity , the exposure approach aids the brain in forming pattern.

2. Integration

After the period of exposure when, you should allow for some time the information to sink-in. Let your subconscious mind go to work. Relax, go fishing or for a walk in the woods. You should let your mind to sort-out things naturally . This period of inactivity should not be too long. Two to three days should suffice before you consciously start to sort the materials you have gathered. This is the time you will be asking questions. It is important that you remain motivated during this stage as this mental activity can be exhausting. The integration process is a left-brain activity . Pace yourself and again do not put yourself under too much pressure.

3. Action

This is a whole-brain process. This is the stage where you put into use what you have gathered and sorted. It is essential to effective learning that you don’t rush this process. If you are learning a practical skill such as knitting, it is time to start doing it.

4. Continuous Improvement

This is the longest stage and will continue as long as the motivation to improve is present. Action will lead to feedback. Feedback means more information to be integrated and put in action. This is a cycle that kept is spinning by your drive

In order to achieve effective learning through the four steps described above you should acquire the skills to:

i) seek resources/materials for you to gain exposure

ii) associate the resources/materials using your whole-brain(left, right, senses, etc)

iii) move yourself from one process to another

Happy learning.

Abdul Majid is interested in the potentials of the human mind, body and spirit.

More effective learning can be accomplished simply by spending more time memorizing and reviewing information. The problem with that approach is that there is only so much time that you can devote to any one pursuit. A better approach is to use techniques that make learning easier in less time. Here is an example of one.

More Effective Learning By Teaching

Suppose you want to learn about economics, and more specifically about the way that the money supply affects the economy. You read about it, but it just doesn’t “stick.” Then a friend asks you what you are studying, and you start to explain. You have a book or some of your other study materials in front of you, so you refer to these and tell him how the “velocity” of money – the number of times money is loaned out, deposited in banks and reloaned – can increase the money supply.

Suddenly it is starting to make sense to you. The more you explain what you are learning to someone else, the more you remember the material. This is normal. Perhaps one of the most effective ways to learn something is to teach it to another.

There are a couple problems with this “learning technique,” however. The first problem is that you have to find someone who is willing to listen to you. Such victims, or “students” may be tough to come by. The second problem is the time this will take. You not only have to spend the time to find your listeners, but then you have to spend a fair amount of time “teaching” them the material.

More Effective Learning – A Better Way

Fortunately there is a solution to these problems. You can get much of the benefit of teaching if you can vividly imagine yourself teaching the material. This can totally change your perspective and make your learning more efficient.

To develop this ability to mentally “teach” while studying, it may help to first do some real teaching. Do a little bit of real teaching with a friend, if you have never done much explaining and teaching before. This will give you an idea of how to explain things. It also will help you more vividly imagine the mental lessons you’ll be giving in your head.

Now, as you study, always keep the idea in mind that you will be teaching what you’re learning. Vividly imagine how you will teach it. If, for example, you were studying evolution, you would see yourself writing an example on a chalkboard. You would look at your imaginary students and hear yourself explaining how natural selection isn’t about individual animals adopting to their environments, but about those that are not already suited to it dying out, leaving the more suited ones to reproduce.

You’ll notice that these imagined lessons go much faster than real ones, and your students will only interrupt you with relevant questions. You’ll also notice that you can remember the material much better when you use this exercise in imagination. It is a powerful technique for more effective learning.

Do you often wish you’d ace those dreaded tests with ease? Do you often wonder why that-certain-someone always gets straight A’s without cheating? If you do, follow these eight tips and in no time you’ll have straight A’s too because most likely that-certain-someone is using some of these tips outlined below.

1. Figure out your preferred learning style. There are three types of learning styles: visual, auditory and kinesthetic. Figure out which one of those learning styles match your preference and when learning, use activities that complement your learning style.
2. Use them muscles. What I really mean is, use muscle memory. There is just something about doing things by yourself that help you remember information for a longer period.

- Practice, practice, practice. In subjects such as Math, practice the questions till you perfect the concept. – Write, instead of type. This may be difficult to implement at start but, really it’s because writing helps you store information more efficiently in the form of muscle memory while typing doesn’t. I admit writing is slow and boring but hey, at least your writing will become legible and you’ll learn more effectively. Isn’t that great?

3. Distract yourself while learning. No seriously, stop fiddling around with your cell phone, it’s hindering your learning. Find yourself a quiet place away from your friends and near the straight A students. Trust me, it works.
4. Ask your teachers for help. Teachers are your friends! Ok, maybe not; however, teachers do help students who show commitment, effort and hard work. If you sincerely ask your teachers for help, they will help you.
5. Give yourself a reward for your hard work. I’m sure we’d all love to have the ability to learn and work tirelessly and effortlessly. However, we all need a reward once in a while for all the hard work we’ve put in. These rewards can come in variety of shapes and sizes. You can buy yourself some chocolate (like I do), go outside for a while (this may be too difficult for some of us) and hang around with your friends (yeah…). As an additional bonus, maybe the reward can act as an incentive for learning and working hard!
6. Motivate yourself. There is no sense in doing something without having interest in it. No interest = no profit (read the last line twice to make sure you understand what it means).

- Find a reason to study subjects such as Math, Chemistry, Physics, English etc. Find out why it’s important to learn these subjects and how they can help you both, personally and professionally. Let’s say you want to learn about girls. You start by having interest in girls. No interest = no reason to learn. Then you realize you don’t know that much about the topic. So, interest > learn > realize how little you know > learn some more and the cycle continues, benefiting you in the process. – Discuss intellectual topics with your peers, friends and family. It allows you to talk about geeky topics in an acceptable and honorable way.

7. Reflect back upon what you’ve learned. So much of learning goes to waste when we don’t stop and think, what worked and what didn’t work. It’s important to reflect upon your performance and figure out how you can improve your learning. Remember, reflective learning is effective learning.
8. Put your plans to action. Sure, reading these tips may provide you with ways you can learn effectively, however all this information is useless until you actually put your plans to action. Now, use this newly learned knowledge and apply it in your life.

Did you know that adults have special needs as learners?

When we were kids, we went to school, and we sat through class every day, and our teachers taught everyone pretty much the same way. It didn’t really matter if you were a visual learner, an auditory learner, or a kinesthetic learner. The teacher pretty much did whatever s/he felt most comfortable doing. Times have changed, and teachers are more aware of learning styles now, and other issues that affect children’s learning.

But the principles of adult learning are still pretty new to most people. If you’re a speaker, and you’re doing any kind of education or training with the groups you’re speaking to, this applies to you.

First, a little history. Malcolm Knowles is considered the “father of adult learning”, although the topic had been discussed and researched over a century earlier.

Knowles’ assumptions were that adults:

1) move from dependency to self-directedness;
2) draw upon their reservoir of experience for learning;
3) are ready to learn when they assume new roles; and
4) want to solve problems and apply new knowledge immediately.

In his book, “The Modern Practice of Adult Education: From Pedagogy to Andragogy,” Knowles opposes the view that adults are unable to learn: “…the rapidly accelerating pace of change in our society has proved this doctrine to be no longer valued. Facts learned in youth have become insufficient and in many instances actually untrue; and skills learned in youth have become outmoded by new technologies.”

The term “andragogy” has come to mean self-directed learning for people of all ages, as opposed to the term “pedagogy” which defines teacher-directed learning. In practical terms, it means that when educating or training adults, process comes before content.

Knowles may not have invented these terms or concepts, but he was the first to put them together into an organized theory. Additional theories of adult learning have been developed since Knowles’ time, as well. Here is an overview of adult learning principles that will greatly improve your understanding of how and why adults learn. This will allow you to tailor your presentations and training more effectively to the groups you serve.

1. Adults are autonomous and self-directed

Adults want to decide for themselves what, when, how and why to learn. Speakers/instructors should allow adults to direct some of their own learning. Here are some ways to facilitate this:

* Ask your participants what they already know about your topic and what they’re interested in learning. Find out what their goals are for being there.
* Share your agenda and ask for input. This might lead to switching around the order of your workshop to better serve the group’s needs. You might find you spend more time on certain subjects than you had planned, and less on others. Be flexible.
* Act as a facilitator, guiding the group and encouraging them to reach their own conclusions, rather than force-feeding information in a lecture format. Allow them to be responsible for their own learning.
* Do your research on the group and organizational needs beforehand, so you can provide a combination of information that meets their perceived needs and their actual needs.

2. Adults have a lifetime of knowledge and experience that informs their learning

Adult learners can be a valuable resource for you as an instructor/speaker. It’s also important for them to connect learning to those previous life experiences. Here’s how to make the most of your audience’s experience and knowledge.

* Don’t assume that your participants are “blank slates” and know nothing about your topic. Nothing is more insulting than a speaker who launches into a lecture without first finding out the needs and knowledge level of the audience. Do your research and ask first to find out what they already know.
* When appropriate, ask your audience to share their experiences, and create activities that call on them to use their experiences, for example, in small group discussions.
* Prepare activities that involve choice, so the learning process can better fit the individual levels of your participants.

3. Adults need relevancy in learning

It’s important to adults that they are learning something relevant and applicable to real life, whether it’s work-related or personal. Here’s how to make learning relevant to your audience.

* Identify learning objectives and ask participants to share their goals.
* Discuss and ask for sharing of real-world applications of your topic.
* Avoid giving a workshop or presentation that’s too theoretical.

In the book “Teacher”, Sylvia Ashton-Warner discusses relevancy in her work as a teacher with Maori children. She recalls trying to teach them to read out of European textbooks with images and language that mean nothing to them. When she starts working within their own language, culture and experiences to teach them reading, they blossom. Relevancy is one of the major keys to learning for people of all ages.

4. Adults are motivated to learn by both external and internal factors

When we were kids, many of us were not motivated to learn by anything other than our parents’ and teachers’ rewards and punishments.

As adults, we have many reasons for pursuing learning:

* it’s a requirement of a job
* we want to make new friends and connections
* for professional development and to advance our careers
* to relieve boredom
* because we’re interested in a particular topic and want to learn for fun
* to create a better environment for our children and families

. . . and the list goes on.

As an instructor/speaker, it’s important to understand the many reasons why your attendees are in your seminar. They may not be there by choice, for example. Ask them why they’ve come and what they hope to gain from the experience.

As it is important to understand what motivates your participants to learn, it’s also important to understand what might be barriers to their learning:

* worry about finances
* time constraints
* childcare issues
* relationship issues (one partner feels threatened by advancement of the other)
* lack of confidence in ability to learn (some people grew to believe they were not good in school, and they carry that with them forever)
* insecurity about intelligence
* concern about practicality and relevance

. . . and the list goes on!

Understanding the motivations and barriers your participants face can help you as an instructor pinpoint how best to serve them, by increasing their motivation for learning.

5. Adult learners have sensitive egos

Many of us, over the course of a lifetime, have developed a fear of appearing stupid or incompetent. As children, we were encouraged to explore, ask questions and learn about the world, but somewhere along the way, that was taken away from us. Many adults have mixed feelings about teachers, school, and structured learning.

Some people go to great lengths to hide their inability to read, for example, or their lack of understanding of the duties of their job.

An instructor/speaker must be aware of these issues and build trust by treating learners respectfully, sensitively, and without judgment.

* Allow participants to build confidence by practicing what is learned in small groups before facing the large group
* Use positive reinforcement to encourage participants
* If sensitive issues are to be discussed, create a safe space by enforcing confidentiality and allowing participants to “pass” if there’s something they’re not comfortable talking about
* Provide activities that are low-risk before moving on to activities featuring higher risk or greater trust
* Acknowledge participants’ previous life experience and knowledge and allow them to voice opinions and share in class leadership

A speaker who believes she/he knows more than anyone else in the room is asking for trouble, and creating an environment that will discourage learning.

6. Adults are practical and problem-oriented, and want to apply what they’ve learned

Probably the most important result for adult learners is to be able to apply their learning to their work or personal life – immediately. Help facilitate this by doing the following:

* Use examples to help them see the connection between classroom theories and practical application
* Use problem-solving activities as part of learning
* Create action items or task lists together with participants
* Help learners transfer learning to daily practice by offering follow-up coaching or mentoring
* Create an experiential learning environment that follows an experiential learning cycle

This has been just a brief overview of adult learning principles. I hope you’ve found some of the tips in these articles to be helpful.

At its most basic level, adult learning tends to be self-directed and based on the person’s individual needs and life experiences. Follow these tips when working with adults, and you will be on your way to creating a truly effective learning experience.

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