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Everyone learns
differently. Some absorb information through hearing
it, aural learners, some need to see things written
down, visual learners, and most people need to practice,
physically, what they want to learn. The old saying
about tell someone and they will forget, show them
and they will remember, let them do it and they will
learn it, holds true. From this comes the idea that
the more something is practiced the easier it becomes.
Driving a car is a good example. While role playing
can be a struggle for non actors it is actually a
useful learning tool. The repetition becomes established
in the brain.
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The next layer of how people learn is that some individuals
learn best by gaining small parts of the subject needed
and gradually fitting them into the whole pattern which
makes sense, like fitting a jigsaw puzzle together. Others
find this baffling and can only make sense of a course when
they can see the picture of the jigsaw laid out and see
where the different options fit into the system. Most courses
are delivered in the first style and those who prefer the
second can flounder until they see the patterns and how
they fit together. Here it is important not to loose courage
but to keep going until the patterns emerge. It happens
eventually.
Understand Your Learning Style
How people learn is an important part of understanding
themselves. It is worth the time and trouble taken for the
student to understand themselves because many individuals
are unaware of how they deal with information, their thinking
patterns and how they approach new ideas. A little bit of
effort at the beginning makes it easier in the long run.
During a three or four year program of a course it is important
not to think that after the first years courses are finished
thats the end of that subject, especially if it is something
that was neither easy or particularly interesting. It is
important to understand that this is part of the course
and it fits in with other parts for the overall qualification.
The parts connect with each other to make a whole. Seeing
how things connect is a valuable asset. This is part of
the jigsaw concept of learning.
Learning how to learn, acquiring a body of knowledge, knowing
where to find information are all part of the process. There
are spin offs from the whole process of education which
make the whole much greater than the parts. These insights
only come later because at the start of any enterprise,
the issue of what to do and how to do it are paramount.
The insights emerge as the understanding of the subject
matter begins to settle into a pattern.
Knowing Yourself
Personality comes into learning. Some seem to acquire knowledge
with little difficulty while others struggle to absorb what
they need. Whether the student is one who finds the process
easy or whether, like most people, they have to slog through
the work it is the steadfastness which is of value. There
is a personal satisfaction from the achievement of learning
which an individual can cherish; because a system has to
be devised on how best to take in the work. This is as much
about ordering the mind and thinking system as about the
process. From that organization there can be a benefit for
daily life.
When the basics of learning a particular subject has been
established and is comfortably useable, it becomes possible
to build on that. Teachers, for instance, can use continuing
education to broaden their scope and become certified in
different areas. Having established themselves in one area
and then working for further qualifications shows their
interest in their work and their appreciation that the better
educated they are, the better job they can do teaching.
This build up of skills is a help to anyone’s career.
One of the necessary qualities for developing further education
is curiosity. Humans are a curious species. The sheer pleasure
of being able, to know how, to find out what you want to
know is rewarding. Learning to use resource like libraries,
the internet and the specialist materials for the subject
chosen is a basic asset.
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