Learn How to Learn by Jolito ortizo Padilla



The book is available in IPad , Playbook, Sharp Galapagos-tablet reader, Sony e-book and Samsung Galaxy e-reader

 I once described training as "polishing goldfish". Training often starts with a shiny, happy participant, eager to learn-so why doesn't the shine last? The newly trained person is, at first, all shiny energy, excited about applying the new skills and knowledge. But soon the murky waters of the organization start to scuff their shininess. The person becomes disheartened. And this seems particularly the case for training in people skills such as management and leadership.

WHY DOESN'T THE SHINE LAST?
People can learn a lot about what to do, and even how to do it, through effective training. But do they learn from experiences in the real world, as they happen? Do they find out how they can make the most of life's experiences?

Few training sesions have components on:
- How to distinguish process (how to do it) from content (what it is), and how to manage each:
- How to identify and best use one's learning style: or
- How to "learn how to learn" from work and life experiences.
Are participants ever asked: "Do you know how you learn best?" or "How do you learn at work, from your successes and failures?" or what activities do you have in place to build your competence?"

I believe that one of the biggest payoffs participants can get from training is an understanding of how they"learn how to learn".

PROCESS OR CONTENT?
People need to develop a set of expert skills that they can apply across situations, contexts and functions-process skills.
They need to:
- Identify when they are using the various skills , models and theories in their actual situations at work, so that they can apply them again and again;
- Assess their level of performance in terms of these skills in current work issues;
- Learn the skills and processes that are transferable from one situation to another and those that are not;
- Most important, build their own model of leadership"-something that is unique to each person.

LEARNING STYLES
People learn in a variety of ways. Some of you reading this article will have read every word (and be starting to question some of them); others will have skipped over much of it, picking out just the main points. Some might be looking for the pictures , diagrams or models that are not here. Others will have not read this article but merely heard some of the points discussed by colleagues.

LEARNING TO LEARN-THE REAL PAYOFF
Once people understand their own learning style, the next step is to apply this knowledge. We learn from our experiences that we learn most from. We miss many of the learning points that slip under the radar when everything is going well.

A good format for the learning process is:
- Begin with the past-what did I learn and how?
- Proceed to the present- what does this mean for me now? How is it impacting on my thoughts and feelings?
- Consider the process , the subject matter and the future-what worked for me, what didn't? How will I apply this?
- Build in review -when and how will I review my learning?

There are many different outcomes, but the great thing about all these processes is that people are consciously learning where they learn best: in the real world.