Psychology of Effective learning
Learning is a lifelong process, from cradle to grave
we will be learning one thing or the other. In this intense competitive world,
a lot of impetus is given to learning and it is essential to keep ourselves
updated with latest knowledge, else redundancy will set in and you will be
left behind the competition. Learning is an integral part of our life. The day
one stops learning, he/she will drive the last nail on the coffin, that's how
the world is progressing now.
Effective learning does not necessarily come through
reading books, it can be acquired by observing life and nature, learning
through your own experiences (Life gives experience first and lessons later) This
is experiential learning, could be further enriched by studying history and observing
behavior.
In this information era, we are inundated with
information by social media, TV, newspaper blog, the Internet etc. We are drowned
in confusion and lost in the information maze and we have forgotten the real
essence of learning. Seldom do we realize what to focus on and what not to, and
ultimately we end up accumulating garbage.
For academic interest, let’s briefly look at how
learning happens. According to NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) learning
happens in four stages; these four stage model explains how we learn to move
from, I don't know how to do it to effortlessly and skillfully do the
work.
a. Unconscious
incompetence: We don't know that we don't know, we are not aware of our incompetence.
Ex: we don't think certain things exist as we are unaware of them.
Analogy of learning to drive car is very pertinent for all four stages of learning
Analogy of learning to drive car is very pertinent for all four stages of learning
Ex: as a child we think, just
sit in car and take a ride, that’s all. We don’t know the driving skill
required.
b. Conscious incompetence:
We are aware of our incompetence and know that long learning curve ahead.
Ex: when you start driving, you realize, there is much
more to it than what you have thought
of. There are so many different things to do and to learn many new behaviors.
c. Conscious competence: Having
awareness of incompetencies, you have committed yourself and worked hard to
learn and acquire new skills.
Ex: As you start practicing driving car you enter 3rd
stage of learning, but you are not fluent and smooth in driving car. And you
are consciously aware of every areas of incompetency.
d. Unconscious competence:
Perseverance and hard work to internalize the competency. This is where the
magic happens and big transformation takes place. You are able to use your
skill effortlessly and automatically, you're 'in a state of flow' it just oozes
out without conscious focus.
It takes real hard work moving from conscious
competence to unconscious incompetence.
Ok, let me not bore you with much theory, though this
is useful for our future discussion.
Learning is a shift in behavior (modification of behavior
as a result of learning from experience), meaning, your behavior tends to
change when you learn something new, otherwise it will remain as information
only. ex: smoking is injurious to health…. even a doctor who smokes knows this
but only as cerebral information. But when the understanding sinks into your
bone that’s learning and you quit smoking, your behavior changes from smoker to
non smoker. Getting up early in the morning and doing exercises has a lot of
benefits…..we all know this mentally, but how many will take the trouble
of getting up early and start the work out? Only when knowledge sink in behavior
changes
You must have passion to learn, only then you make the
difference and shift in behavior happens. Ekalavya, a greatest archer, who was
turned down by Dronacharya as a disciple, accepts mentally Dronacharya as guru
and creates a statue of Dronacharya and starts practicing in front of it, with
great zeal and perseverance. As a result he becomes one of the greatest archers.
If you have the will and zeal to learn, in today's technology driven world
there is an avalanche of information available, choose and focus on what you
want to learn. It's easy, unlike the era
before the advancement of technology.
We resist new learning, It may be due
to lack of confidence, lack of readiness to forgo prejudices, ego, myopic views
etc…we can keep on listing reasons...but the major reason for not learning
effectively is that we are not ready to unlearn things and go with a fresh
mind. This is the major hindrance. This reminds me of a story of ZEN-cup of
tea. A professor of a management school goes to meet Zen master to learn about
Zen philosophy. They sit across the table, Zen master has ceremonious way of
serving the tea, even after the cup is filled with tea, Zen master keeps
pouring and tea starts overflowing. On seeing this the professor asked the Zen
master why he is still pouring when the cup is full and overflowing, Zen
master retorts, "like this cup, you are full of opinions and prejudices, whatever
I pour spills out, how can I show you Zen unless you empty your cup….
How to empty the cup is the question, if new learning
has to happen.
Over a period of time we all have developed patterns of
thinking and action. We have landed in a comfort zone and remained there for
long. So naturally it's difficult for us to embrace new ideas and
concepts. We strongly believe there is no alternative to our ways. Challenging
the existing patterns and accepting new paradigms will bring a shift in
perspective and thereby effective learning takes place.
Remove prejudices: Prejudices are a great impediment
in the path of learning. You have strong opinions about something and you don't
want to change them. Develop sincerity to recognize and remove your prejudices.
Go with a fresh mind; be open to new ways of learning.
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as
if you were to live forever.”
― Mahatma Gandhi
― Mahatma Gandhi
