New Tricks For Personal Learning

#07 Find Ways Of Learning That Work For You

Ways Of Learning

There are many ways of learning. The following list is not exhaustive:

  • Classroom training.
  • Coaching.
  • Community events.
  • Hands-on demonstration.
  • Listening to podcasts.
  • On-line training (eLearning / CBT).
  • Presentations.
  • Question and answer sessions.
  • Reading articles, blogs, books etc.
  • Role playing.
  • Shadowing.
  • Study squads.
  • Trial and error.
  • Watching videos.

Each of us benefits from different ways of learning under different circumstances but will typically have preferred approaches. Some may prefer to learn alone whilst others may prefer to learn as part of a group.

I personally find learning hands-on by trial and error difficult. If I follow a video of someone walking through a hands-on example and then try it myself I find it much easier to learn.

Learning Preferences

Identifying your preferences for learning can make a huge difference to the effectiveness with which you learn. It is therefore important to take time to identify the ways of learning that work best for you.

Your attitude, habits and environment also influence the effectiveness of your learning.

Attitude

Your learning is affected by your beliefs and your mindset. It's important that you approach learning with a positive, "can do" attitude. Positive thinking and the right mindset will help you get off to a good start.

Don't be anxious about the size of the potential learning curve ahead of you. Recognise that the start of the learning journey is the point at which we know the least about our chosen subject and when we are least skilled. However, over time, we will gain skills, knowledge and experience as we engage in continued learning activities.

Habits

We all have habitual behaviours, some good and some bad. If you are fairly disciplined about the way you work then you will likely find it easier to embrace learning activities as part of your routine way of working. If you are unstructured in the way you work, you may find it a challenge to commit to regular learning.

Regardless of your work approach, make learning one of your regular habits. Varying your approach to learning may also make things more interesting.

Environment

Your environment can very much influence the effectiveness of your learning.

Some people prefer bright lights and background music. They may be able to work in places where there is a lot going on such as a café for example. They may also prefer to move around when working and work on several things at once.

Some people may be easily distracted by noise or lights. They may prefer to work in a quiet room with lower light levels and a cool temperature.

It's crucial to understand your environmental preferences and the circumstances under which you work best for particular types of work.

Breadth And Depth Learning

Depending on the nature of your work, you may need to focus on gaining both breadth and depth from your learning activities. This is a good idea if you want to stay ahead of your customers.

At Capgemini we like people to be “T-shaped” in terms of their knowledge and skills i.e. to have both breadth and depth: breadth in many things and depth in a few. We encourage people to have their own areas of interest and to know what they want to be “famous” for.

Breadth of Knowledge

To gain a breadth in many things can often take as much effort as gaining deep knowledge in a few things although the way you go about it can be very different.

Gaining a shallow but broad knowledge on a large number of topics requires an on-going commitment to sporadic curiosity and learning. Call it continuous curiosity! To pursue this requires a disciplined approach to ensure that you are not overcome by distractions but are able to perform short bursts of research followed by some drill-down into more detail occasionally when necessary. You can also look out for local events such as technical communities etc. and just tag along to learn something new, ask questions and build your contact network.

A learning diary, Wikipedia and your favourite search engine can help you. Each time your hear about something new that you want to look into, itemise it in your learning diary. When you get a minute, do a quick search to get some initial substance about the item. To drill-down deeper, identify an article to read or a short video to watch. Repeat this short process forever. 😊

Depth of Knowledge

Gaining deep subject knowledge is a long term commitment (a marathon) requiring longer stints of time compared to the short bursts of sporadic research (sprints) used to satisfy your continuous curiosity.

Deep knowledge requires a hunger (usually fuelled by a passionate interest) that goes beyond the theory and often into hands-on practice. It may be supported by lots of reading, watching videos, on-line courses (e.g. Pluralisght or Udemy) and attending training courses, conferences or meetup events.

Learning by doing is a powerful way to learn and when done on a regular basis becomes very effective.

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Tim Simpson
#OldDogNewTrick

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