The Effective Learner

Before we consider what it means to be an effective learner, it is important to define “Learning” as a first step in understanding the learning process.According to Huczynski and Buchanan (1985), ‘Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge through experience which leads to a change in behaviour.’

Huczynski,A and Buchanan, B (1985) Organisational Behaviour, 2nd edition, Prentice Hall

Another way of looking at learning would be to say that a person has learned something when either or both of the following descriptions apply:

• They know something they did not know earlier – and can show it
• They are able to do something they were not able to do before.

One of the main questions which academics and practitioners ask themselves is why, when other factors seem to be similar, does one person learn whereas another does not? Part of the reason for this apparent conflict lies in individual approaches to learning and the different reactions to the way in which learning is offered.

Effective learning occurs as a result of a combination of factors, the most important of which are:

• Effective use of study skills
• Awareness of learning styles and preferences
• Good time management
• Motivation

We will now consider the importance of study skills and how we can identify and enhance our current skill set. We will then take a closer look at different learning styles and how knowledge of our own preferences in this area can make our learning more effective. Finally we will look at some basic time management techniques to enable you to plan and organise your studies and stay motivated.

We often say “she is very clever” or “he is very bright” about someone who is obviously well-educated or highly qualified, implying that they are more able than the rest of us. Unfortunately, qualifications are often regarded as a measure of a person’s worth with the result that people who have ability but who, for whatever reason, lack formal qualifications, are somehow disadvantaged. Intelligence or basic ability is only one aspect of obtaining qualifications since opportunity and chance are often equally significant.Another aspect is application, in particular skill at studying. Study skills are different from the other components of academic success because you are not born with them, nor do you acquire them by chance – you have to learn them!

Hopefully this is good news as it dispels the myth that successful studying is the result of innate ability rather than a skill that everyone can develop.

Please note the following:

• A “skill” is a learned activity – something you can develop through practice and reflection
• To develop a skill, you first need to know where you are starting from through self- awareness and self-evaluation
• In order to succeed, you need to have a clear idea of what is expected of you at various stages of your course
• It is easier to study and saves you time if you are well organised and approach your work in a systematic, methodical way
• If you are to succeed in your studies, you have to believe that success is possible and that you have the right to strive for success
• All skills improve through practice, feedback and monitoring.

Until recently, the most popular theories about learning were those which suggested that much of our adult behaviour was learned in the first five years of life. More recently, however, we have become aware of the need and potential for continuing education beyond the formal years of schooling. Lifelong learning has become increasingly important in a world where priorities are constantly changing.In adults, learning usually takes place as a result of existing behaviour being seen by the learner as inadequate, in the light of experiences of things that happen. If the learner is open and willing to learn, examining these experiences may provide clues as to how existing behaviour can be modified.

Adults very rarely learn completely new behaviour – we have accumulated so must experience that some of it will almost certainly have a bearing on the task in hand. Often, this past experience gets in the way of learning new things. For example:

“I’ve had 10 years’ experience as a manager – why do I need to go on a training course?”

However, unless we examine – or reflect on – that “experience”, it becomes merely something that “happened” with little or no impact.

“Learning to learn” is, therefore, an area of personal development into which it is worth investing some time. Whilst this is not an easy skill to master, understanding your own learning processes and preferences is one way to improve your ability to learn.

Note the following important points:

• Intelligence is difficult to define and there are many different views on what it means in practice
• Intelligence depends on study habits and study skills which can be learned
• Learning is a multi-faceted process which involves the individual learner and their learning history, the current learning environment and the interaction between these different factors
• There are five dimensions to learning and we tend to move along each of these dimensions according to our current needs and focus, and depending on information from the environment.
• Some conditions are essential for learning whereas others are desirable. For learning to occur at all, and for us to know that learning has taken place, the following six conditions are necessary:

1. New experiences
2. Foundations
3. Rehearsal
4. Processing
5. Understanding
6. Demonstrating

There is a vast amount of literature devoted to different learning theories and learning styles. According to research conducted by the Australian National Training Authority 1995, four common learning styles have been identified amongst people who are studying:

• The “Give me a reason” style – the learner relates new information to personal experiences in order to give it personal meaning. This learner asks, why should I learn this?
• The “Teach it to me” style – the learner absorbs new information provided to them, mainly in the form of concepts and models. This learner asks, what should I learn?
• The “Let me try it out” style – the learner experiments with new information by solving problems and relating theory to practice. This learner asks, how should I learn?
• The “What if” style – the learner learns through their own experiences with new information, looking at concepts in a different way. This learner asks, what if?

The use of all four of these styles in the learning process will enhance your ability to learn. Although in general you are likely to favour the learning style most suited to you and the circumstances, you will benefit from your ability to recognise and use other styles. Throughout your learning you should address the following key questions:

• Why should I learn this?
• What should I learn?
• How should I learn?
• What if?

Another common categorisation of the different learning styles is that created by Honey and Mumford (1986) who developed the work of David Kolb (1984). Kolb’s theory is based on the view that learning is a circular process consisting of four stages, as illustrated in the Fig 1 below.

Fig 1: Kolb’s Learning Cycle

Kolb’s theory described an integrated process where all four stages have to be completed. If learning is to be fully effective, any learning event should cover all four stages of the learning cycle. If this does not happen our learning will be incomplete in some way and therefore less effective. Thus a balanced approach to learning is required.

However, he did go on to say that people are rarely fully effective at all four stages since, in reality, most people have an instinctive preference for one or two stages. For example, a person with a preference for concrete experience would enjoy practical involvement in a range of new and varied experiences, whilst an orientation towards reflective observation indicates a preference to reflect on issues rather than take action and to weigh things up carefully.

This is not to say that they would be incapable of behaving in a different way, simply that their preference would be for a certain approach to learning. Developing Kolb’s work on learning, Honey and Mumford defined four personal learning styles and designed a simple questionnaire to enable individuals to identify their own preference for learning. Each of the styles relates to one of the stages in the Kolb learning cycle.

Activists (Concrete experience) – learn best by active involvement in concrete tasks and from relatively short tasks such as business games and competitive teamwork exercises.

Activists tend to exhibit the following characteristics:

• Try anything once
• Tend to revel in short term crises – enjoy fire-fighting
• Thrive on the challenge of new experiences
• Are bored by implementation and longer term consolidation
• Constantly involve themselves with other people

Reflectors

(Reflective observation) – learn best by reviewing and reflecting upon what has happened in certain situations, where they are able to stand back, listen and observe. Reflectors tend to exhibit the following characteristics:

• Like to stand back and review experiences from different perspectives
• Collect data and analyse before coming to any conclusions
• Like to consider all possible angles and implications before making a move
• Tend to be cautious
• Enjoy observing other people in action
• Often take a back seat at meetings

Theorists

(Abstract conceptualisation) – learn best when new information can be located within the context of concepts and theories and who are able to absorb new ideas when they are distanced from real-life situations. Theorists tend to exhibit the following characteristics:

• Are keen on basic assumptions, principles, theories, models and systems
• Like rationality and logic
• Tend to be detached and analytical
• Are unhappy with subjective or ambiguous experience
• Like to make things fit into rational schemes

Pragmatists

(Planned experience) – learn best when they see a link between new information and real-life problems and issues, and from being exposed to techniques which can be applied immediately. Pragmatist tend to exhibit the following characteristics:

• Positively search out new ideas or techniques which might apply in their situation
• Take the first opportunity to experiment with applications
• Respond to problems and opportunities as a challenge
• Are keen to use ideas from training courses
• Like to get on with things with a clear purpose

When considering learning styles it is important to bear in mind that the questionnaire helps us identify a preference and does not tell us anything about ability. Thus, if a person expresses a strong preference for a particular style of learning this does not preclude them from carrying out tasks which require a different approach. In fact, this could present an ideal development opportunity in enabling the individual to develop their weaker preference and thereby improve their learning capacity.

Secondly, whilst an awareness of one’s most preferred style is important, perhaps more interesting is the identification of the least preferred style since this is where most development can take place and learning opportunities can increase.

For example, someone with a high Activist preference and a low Reflector preference will gain far more from participating in activities which require the reflector style than they will from focusing on their preferred style.

In addition to increasing awareness of your preferred learning style, you can also improve your learning if you are aware of a range of learning strategies and make use of those which are most appropriate for you and for the particular circumstances.You receive, process and retrieve information in four main ways: by seeing, by listening, by feeling and doing, or by reading and writing. Generally, individuals are dominant in one or two of these sensory channels and so need to adopt learning strategies appropriate to those channels. However, by strengthening the other channels, it is possible to increase our ability to receive, process and retrieve information. Below are appropriate learning strategies based on each learning method.

Seeing Strategies Can Include:

• Underlining or using colours to highlight readings/notes, graphs, flowcharts, symbols
• Watching videos of lectures or videos of related concepts
• When reading, learning to visualise concepts in your mind using images
• Following your reading, recalling information using pictures and drawing diagrams

Listening Strategies Can Include:

• Making tape recordings of key sections of your course notes and playing them back
• Discussing topics with other students, where possible, or with colleagues/friends
• Reading notes/books out loud to yourself
• Recalling information by summarising notes on tapes and listening to them, then explaining your understanding to a colleague

Feeling and Doing Strategies Can Include:

• Relating key concepts to real life examples
• Completing many application questions and activities in study guides and computer-aided applications
• Selecting assignments which require some field work
• Recalling information by writing practice answers from previous exams and doing study guide questions

Reading and Writing Strategies Can Include:

• Re-writing and summarising your notes
• Reading many different sources
• Using lists, headings, glossaries
• Writing short essays or essay plans/frameworks
• Recalling information by writing and reading and arranging your points into hierarchies or pyramids

Flexibility is the key to effective learning and you should adopt learning strategies which work for you, in the circumstances. Different learning methods may be appropriate for different courses or within courses, or at varying times within your course.

Passive learning occurs where the student simply takes in what the tutor or lecturer teaches. This type of learning encourages “surface learning” and is generally regarded as less effective than active learning, which encourages “deep learning”. An example of surface learning is rote learning where bits of information are memorised without regard for meaning or context.Whereas surface learning concentrates on the words rather than the meaning of what is being said, deep learning is more insightful and requires the learner to organise the information being imparted into meaningful units. Grouping information in this way helps both learning and memory.

The term “active learning” can be applied to your own attitude to learning, or to methods of teaching which force you to be active. As a student, you can take an active or a passive attitude to any learning situation.

For example, while studying this course, you may decide to spend a couple of hours reading through your textbook or Study Guide without taking notes or completing any of the suggested activities. At the end of the two hour period, you may have memorised some of the information but it is unlikely that you will have a real understanding of the meaning of what you have read, or of the context in which it occurs. It is also unlikely that you will be able to link what you have read to other parts of the course, or to the real world. Furthermore, it is possible that you will have got bored and “switched off” long before the two hours had passed!

If, on the other hand, you decide to adopt a more active approach to learning, your approach to the same section of the course will be very different. You will still have to read the textbook and Study Guide but your reading will be more focused. If you decide to make notes, you will have to think about the key points and why they are significant. In so doing, you will probably be thinking about links with other parts of the course and trying to place the information into context so that it becomes more meaningful. By completing the activities you will also be forcing yourself to relate the written information to real situations – whether life or work experiences – and this will help reinforce your learning. In this way, the “information” contained in the text becomes “knowledge and understanding” as a result of reflection and activity.

The simple fact is that students who use their time effectively are more successful than those who don’t! Time is valuable and irreplaceable. Effective time management requires planning and this is critical as it emphasises results and outcomes, not just actions. It also involves setting priorities which ensure the most important tasks get done.

ACTIVITY: QUESTION Thoughts About Time Allow 10 minutes Take a few minutes to reflect upon your attitude towards time and how well you use it. Note down a sentence or two below that capture these thoughts.

ACTIVITY: ANSWER Some people know they are well-organised and use their time effectively every day, whilst others will acknowledge that they are just ‘hopeless’ at planning and things just happen, forcing them to react as best they can. Most of us are somewhere in between these two extremes. Even when we try to be more disciplined over our use of time, other factors may come into play and it is not possible to stick to our plans. This is inevitable and rather than not make plans at all, it means that we need to build a degree of flexibility into our plans to allow for such contingencies. So, rather than create rigid plans which result in more anxiety if we are unable to stick to them, we should modify plans as we go along in order to accommodate the changes which are bound to occur. A key component of effective time management is the ability to review and amend our plan. Most people would welcome the opportunity to have long periods of time to devote to study but that is unrealistic for most of us. The fact that you have chosen to study at a distance suggests that you have other commitments which may make it impossible to study full time or to devote as much time as you would ideally like to gaining a qualification. Whilst it can be difficult to juggle a series of conflicting priorities and make the switch between intellectual activities, like studying, and more mundane tasks like domestic chores, this is what has to be done most of the time. Some people manage the two types of activities very effectively and are able to think about their studies whilst doing the housework or cleaning the car. For others, the two are not easily combined and some people find it impossible to concentrate on more than one type of activity at the same time. In either case, it is important to ‘switch off’ from time to time and have a complete break from studying. You will be more productive if you’re feeling physically and mentally refreshed.

“If only I had more time”

This is a common phrase and one which most of us have uttered at some time or other. However, despite this awareness that we need more time, most of us do not consider how we currently use our time and how we can more effective use of this finite resource.

There are two aspects to examining the use of time:

• Knowing how you currently use your time
• Knowing your goals – short, medium and long term.

We don’t suddenly achieve medium and long term goals. They are achieved as a result of slow and steady progress towards them. Thus it is important to schedule activities and plan our use of time so that we work towards these goals.

We all have times during the day when we feel more energetic and alert and this is known as prime time. Because of family and work commitments, it may not always be possible to study during your prime time but, as far as possible, you should aim to study at a time when you are likely to be most effective. When deciding when to study, you should consider the following time management tips:

• Identify and use your prime time
• Schedule large blocks of time for complex tasks such as research
• Accomplish one task before moving on to the next one
• Group similar activities and topics and complete them in the same study session
• Always do your least favourite tasks first – leaving them until later means you might not do them at all!
• Keep a notebook with you to jot down ideas and plans as you think of them
• Photocopy lists and models which you need to learn so that you can easily carry them with you. Spend any traveling or waiting time memorising them
• If you must be distracted by something, try and stop studying at a logical point, such as the end of a chapter. Note exactly where you finished and the next task you intended completing.

Good time management begins with being organised and you will need some space specifically for studying. We are all conditioned to behave in certain ways based on specific cues from our environment. So, if you sit on your bed to study, you are likely to want to go to sleep! By establishing an area at work or at home specifically for study, you can strengthen and use the conditioning response so that every time you go into this area you feel ready to study.

ACTIVITY: QUESTION Creating the Right Environment Allow 20 minutes Make a note of the ideal place available to you to study. If such a place does not yet exist, note down any things you may need to do to find or create somewhere close to your ideal.

ACTIVITY: ANSWER The following pointers may help you choose a suitable place to study: The area should be pleasant and comfortable with good ventilation and temperature. It should motivate you to study – remind yourself why you are there. Quiet music and background noise may help you concentrate. Have everything that you may need readily available to avoid wasting time looking for things or having to go elsewhere in search of basic requirements such as paper and pens. Set up an efficient filing system so you can easily locate materials. Establish a folder for each course topic and begin collecting relevant materials. Photocopy relevant articles from journals and keep them in your folders as this will save time looking for information when completing assignments or projects.

Good time management begins with being organised and you will need some space specifically for studying. We are all conditioned to behave in certain ways based on specific cues from our environment. So, if you sit on your bed to study, you are likely to want to go to sleep! By establishing an area at work or at home specifically for study, you can strengthen and use the conditioning response so that every time you go into this area you feel ready to study.

Finally, we will end this section of the Study Guide by saying a little bit about the subject of motivation. Any course of study requires a high level of motivation but this is particularly true in the case of distance learning and there will inevitably be times when you feel quite isolated and demotivated. This is perfectly normal and it is important to bear in mind that other distance learning students will be feeling the same. On the plus side, there will also be times when you feel highly motivated and able to accomplish a great deal; this is where distance learning really comes into its own as you will have complete flexibility to channel this energy and enthusiasm into your studies, without being constrained by the scheduling of classes or other physical restrictions.It is important to recognise what motivates you and to identify the circumstances in which you experience the highest levels of motivation. This will enable you maximise your achievements by fully exploiting the opportunities for study.

Motivation is very subjective and different individuals are motivated by different things. What one person finds highly motivating and stimulating may be a completely demotivating experience for the next person. It is vital, therefore, that you are fully aware of your own “triggers” and are able to create an environment in which motivation is high.

ACTIVITY: QUESTION Variable Time This exercise is designed to help you develop your ability to work effectively in groups and to reflect on performance in a group activity. One of the main difficulties with distance learning is the feeling of isolation and remoteness, which most students experience from time to time. This can lead to a fall in motivation. Contact your mentor who will arrange for a group on-line discussion to take place. The aim of the discussion will be to identify different strategies which could be adopted to help each member of the group stay motivated. You should agree on the different strategies which could be introduced, devise a plan and stick to it! Ideas may include agreeing to regular telephone/email contact with one or members of the group to talk through your studies, arranging to meet from time to time (distance permitting), providing informal feedback on each other’s work, discussing the various activities, particularly those which required a reflective approach, drawing up a group revision schedule as the exams approach. Make notes on what you agree.

• Strengthen your motivation by setting goals and celebrating success – when you achieve a goal, push yourself a little harder by setting more challenging goals next time.
• Attitude is very important – think of difficulties and challenges to be overcome and avoid negative thinking by focusing on the positive outcomes.
• Analyse your positive outcomes in detail in order to establish what they mean to you. What are the potential gains? What are the implications of not achieving those outcomes?
• What are the potential obstacles and how will you overcome them?
• How will you celebrate success? What will be your ultimate reward for completing this course? What are the key milestones along the way and how will you celebrate those?

Summary

We have looked at how you can become a more effective learner by adopting strategies aimed at developing your skills in this area. One of the aims of this section has been to dispel the myth that some people are just naturally “clever” or “good at studying” and that the rest of us just have to accept that we are not! “Learning to learn” is something that we can all master, through a combination of increased self-awareness, effective study skills, good time management and high levels of motivation.

By completing this section, along with the directed reading from the textbook, you will have increased your knowledge of the learning process and its various components. By working through the different activities in the Study Guide and the book, you should have a much clearer idea of your own approach to learning, your preferred learning style and how you can build on your current strengths in order to become more effective.

In addition, you will have a much better idea of how you currently use your time and how you can make changes as you strive for better time management. Finally, you should be more focused on your personal learning goals and desired outcomes, making you more self-motivated and able to succeed.

• Effective learning is a skill which can be learnt and developed, not something you are born with
• Knowledge of your own preferred learning style will help you improve your approach to learning and become more effective as a result
• A good approach to learning is one which makes use of all the senses and adopts different strategies, depending on the nature of the learning activity and the preference of the individual
• Active learning – learning which requires you to do something – is more effective than passive learning, since it enables you to test your learning and reinforces the key principles
• Time management techniques can help improve the learning experience by helping to identify the current use of time and introduce strategies to make more effective use of the time available
• In order the stay motivated, it is important to have a clear goal and to keep focused on that goal throughout the period of study