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Self Study can become boring because tech textbooks are usually not written in a
friendly, conversational or easy to follow style.
That is why when you tell a manager or co-worker that you learnt a skill through self
study, you may be asked to prove it.
You may buy a good textbook, read it through and yet find yourself
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that learning at your workplace!
On the other hand, if you are reading a technical, career or skill oriented book, you
may not have a good time because it is written in an abstract, boring or technical
style!
Studying in fits and starts will hurt your career because of its lack of consistency!
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This report and other recent studies show that online learning, distance learning, and self-
learning in general, are not only more convenient, but, in fact, more effective than the
classroom, for high school, college and adult learners. In the last decade, the Internet, the
MP3 player, the iPhone, and other mobile devices,as well as social networking sites,
language exchange communities, online learning systems, university courses online and
more, have changed how we deal with knowledge. Independent programmer-entrepreneurs
are constantly developing new learning applications. The language lab is already obsolete,
can the college lecture hall be far behind? The walls of academia, and the costs of learning,
are crumbling before our eyes and ears.
For those who are conditioned to think that learning only happens in a classroom, the world
of self-learning can be a little daunting. How do we best take advantage these new
opportunities.
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Make no mistake. Your interest in the subject is the essential driver of success. You can¶t
learn what you do not want to learn. Emotion is an important part of the learning process. If
you are even moderately interested in a subject, give yourself a chance. The key is to get
started. If you can create some pleasurable routines, you may find that the subject grows on
you. ³L¶appetit vient en mangeant´ (the appetite comes with eating) as they say in French.
Don¶t expect to understand things, much less remember them, the first time you study them.
Trust that things will get clearer as your brain comes to grips with new information. It is like
a jig-saw puzzle or a cross-word puzzle. As you start to put the pieces together, or string the
words together, the full picture becomes clearer. The brain learns all the time, but on its own
schedule. Learning does not take place according to a schedule laid down by a curriculum or
teacher. Some things are easier to learn than others. Some things just take longer to click in.
Keep at it, and you will gradually find that things that seem difficult at first, will become
second nature with time.
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Your brain is struggling to form patterns to cope with new input from your learning activities.
Sometimes, no matter how long you focus on one subject, your brain is not going to pick it
up. If you are stuck, move on. Then cover the same general information from a different
source, a different book, or a podcast, or an online lecture or a video. Try to become a grazing
learner, roaming the countryside, rather than a feedlot learner, just standing there in one spot,
munching on the same bale of hay. The broader your base, the easier it is to learn. Just as the
³rich get richer´, the more you know, the more you can learn.
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Take full advantage of the Internet, iTunes, and various mobile devices, not to mention good
old-fashioned books and magazines. Learn during ³dead time´. Listen in your car, on the
train, or while jogging. Have your learning with you while waiting in the doctor¶s office, or
listen while checking out at the supermarket. Anytime is learning time. Remember, you are
learning through exposure, not by nailing things down. It is more like moisture accumulation
in a cloud, rather than building a brick wall.
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The more varied your learning content, and the more varied the ways in which you learn, the
clearer the puzzle will become. Different learning activities suit different people, at different
times of the day. Vary your activities in order to keep your interest level up. Even if listening
and reading work best for you, treat yourself to the odd video lecture, or get-together with
other learners. This will renew your batteries.
* Ê ÊÊ
The ³loneliness of the distance learner´ is a thing of the past. Join a learning community on
the web, where members share their knowledge and experience. Search for the communities
that suit your interests and learning style. You will find encouragement, advice and stimulus
from fellow learners, as well as from tutors, teachers and coaches. In these communities, you
can measure your progress against your own goals, or compare your experience with that of
other learners. You can even teach and help others, which is a great way to learn.
Never has it been easier nor more exciting to be a learner. Let constant learning be a major
part of your life-style. The rewards will be constant, personally, socially, and professionally.
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Have you ever tried to learn something fairly simple, yet failed to grasp the key ideas? Or
tried to teach people and found that some were overwhelmed or confused by something quite
basic?
If so, you may have experienced a clash of learning styles Your learning preferences and
those of your instructor or audience may not have been aligned. When this occurs, not only is
it frustrating for everyone, the communication process breaks down and learning fails.
Once you know your own natural learning preference, you can work on expanding the way
you learn, so that you can learn in other ways, not just in your preferred style.
And, by understanding learning styles, you can learn to create an environment in which
everyone can learn from you, not just those who use your preferred style.
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One of the most widely used models of learning styles is the î
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developed by Richard Felder and Linda Silverman in the late 1980s. According to this model
(which Felder revised in 2002) there are four dimensions of learning styles. Think of these
dimensions as a continuum with one learning preference on the far left and the other on the
far right.
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Once you know where your preferences lie on each of these dimensions, you can begin to
stretch beyond those preferences and develop a more balanced approach to learning. Not only
will you improve your learning effectiveness, you will open yourself up to many different
ways of perceiving the world.
Balance is key. You don't want to get too far on any one side of the learning dimensions.
When you do that you limit your ability to take in new information and make sense of it
quickly, accurately, and effectively.
This article describes one useful approach to learning styles. Other
practitioners have different approaches.
See our article on uMAT to find out about other useful approaches
Those of David Kolb, and of Peter Honey and Alan Mumford. And
click here to find out about other styles.
You can use the learning style index to develop your own learning skills and also to help you
create a rounded learning experience for other people.
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Identify your learning preferences for each learning dimension. Read through the
explanations of each learning preference and choose the one that best reflects your style.
Alternatively, use an Index of Learning Styles Questionnaire like the one at
http www.engr.ncsu.edu learningstyles ilsweb.html.
Ê Ê
Analyze your results and identify those dimensions where you are "out of balance," meaning
you have a very strong preference for one style and dislike the other.
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For each out of balance area, use the information in figure 2 to improve your skills in areas
where you need development.
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¦Ê - if you rely too much on sensing, you can tend
to prefer what is familiar, and concentrate on facts you know instead
of being innovative and adapting to new situations. Seek out
opportunities to learn theoretical information and then bring in facts
to support or negate these theories.
î
Ê - if you rely too much on intuition you risk
missing important details, which can lead to poor decision-making
and problem solving. Force yourself to learn facts or memorize data
that will help you defend or criticize a theory or procedure you are
working with. You may need to slow down and look at detail you
would otherwise typically skim.
#
ÊÊ- if you concentrate more on pictorial or graphical
information than on words, you put yourself at a distinct
disadvantage because verbal and written information is still the
main preferred choice for delivery of information. Practice your
note taking and seek out opportunities to explain information to
others using words.
Ê - if you act before you think you are apt to make
hasty and potentially ill-informed judgments. You need to
concentrate on summarizing situations, and taking time to sit by
yourself to digest information you have been given before jumping
in and discussing it with others.
Whenever you are training or communicating with others, you have information and ideas
that you want them to understand and learn effectively and efficiently. Your audience is
likely to demonstrate a wide range of learning preferences, and your challenge is to provide
variety that helps them learn quickly and well.
Your preferred teaching and communication methods may in fact be influenced by your own
learning preferences. For example, if you prefer visual rather than verbal learning, you may
in turn tend to provide a visual learning experience for your audience.
Be aware of your preferences and the range of preference of your audiences. Provide a
balanced learning experience by
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ÊProvide both hard facts and general concepts.
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Ê&Ê# Incorporate both visual and verbal cues.
Ê&Ê Allow both experiential learning and time for evaluation and analysis.
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Ê&Ê Provide detail in a structured way, as well as the big picture.
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Learning styles and preferences vary for each of us and in different situations.
By understanding this, and developing the skills that help you learn in a variety of ways, you
make the most of your learning potential. And because you're better able to learn and gather
information, you'll make better decisions and choose better courses of action.
And by understanding that other people can have quite different learning preferences, you can
learn to communicate your message effectively in a way that many more people can
understand. This is fundamentally important, particularly if you're a professional for whom
communication is an important part of your job.
Take time to identify how you prefer to learn and then force yourself to break out of your
comfort zone. Once you start learning in new ways you'll be amazed at how much more you
catch and how much easier it is to assimilate information and make sense of what is going on.
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