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Eight Great Ways to Learn to Be a Kid Again
Most of us have taken at least one walk down the aisles of Toys “R” Us. There’s no better place than a toy store to observe these truths: Learning is fun. Learning is kid stuff.
Kids are smart enough to reject anything they don’t like, yet many of the most popular toys are dedicated to teaching them something new. Note the tremendous success of the LeapFrog® toys. They teach reading, writing and more, and kids love them.
No matter your age, abilities or income level, you can always be a learner. People who continue to grow and learn are happy – like kids. Here are eight great ways to keep that childlike grin on your face while you learn:
1. Fire Up Your Desire to Learn with Fun
At its best, learning is a form of entertainment. Next time you walk down the toy aisle, notice how many ways the educational toys make learning fun. They use music, color, pictures and physical interaction. How much more interesting is that than sitting for an hour listening to an important but dull lecture? No wonder the really great educational toys are so popular.
Studying a topic that interests you shouldn’t require a double espresso to keep you from falling asleep. If that’s happening, you might have the wrong instructor. Who needs that? Seek out trainers who know how to deliver a message with punch. Not only will you enjoy it more, you’ll want to learn and you’ll retain more of the information.
In my training seminars and conferences, I strive to provide a one-of-a-kind learning experience. I educate with entertainment – music, games, contests and humor. It’s all connected to the topic I’m presenting, and the students’ brains just soak it up. In the process, their careers are reignited, and so is mine.
Education should be entertaining. Commit to having fun while you learn.
2. Keep the Flame of Learning Alive with Variety
Advanced learning is essential. So is brushing your teeth. But just because learning is essential to your career, doesn’t mean it has to be as monotonous as brushing your teeth.
Every day of my life I have fun reading at least one book and often have several open at one time. A few minutes of study on each book keeps my interest stimulated, I retain the material better and I often find myself synthesizing information from the various sources. I also listen to audio programs while driving. Not only is this a fun way to learn and improve myself, it also keeps me calmer and more relaxed in traffic. I tried watching videos, but that seemed to excite the other drivers.
No matter what the subject, you can find a variety of interesting ways to further your knowledge and expertise. Open a book. Listen to an audio presentation. Watch an educational video. Start a study group with other lifetime students.
The same principle applies to the teachers and mentors you learn from. Choose those who have something interesting to say and an interesting way of saying it. Don’t hesitate to have more than one mentor with different experience and teaching styles for different subjects. While one-on-one personalized mentoring is ideal, you’ll find a world of varied and specific information presented by excellent speakers on audio and video. The varied approaches will enable you to better absorb each subject from the most appropriate teacher and will keep you stimulated and eager to learn.
Learning shouldn’t lull you to sleep. Commit to learning from a variety of teachers and choose the learning modes that keep you excited about learning every day.
3. Seek Out Teachers from the Trenches Who Make Learning Fast and Easy
In all my years of education, I’ve discovered that there are basically two ways to learn:
You can choose the hard way, figuring things out on your own by trial and error and making lots of mistakes. You’ll do some of this anyway, but it’s a slow path to success.
OR you can choose the easy way, learning from mentors who have already overcome any challenge you might encounter and already discovered the solution. The right mentor is eager to share those answers with you and set you on a smoother, easier road to knowledge.The best continuing education is immediate and applicable. Going back to college is not the way to change your life’s work. Your best bet is to seek the fast-track education route to business success. You want a nontraditional program designed specifically to deliver the information you need in a form you can use immediately.
All teachers and training programs are not created equal. Learning shouldn’t have to be an uphill struggle. Commit to finding the wildly successful teachers and targeted training programs that can make the process fast and easy for you.
4. Be Willing to Learn from Anyone and Everyone
Never fall into the trap of educational snobbery – “Oh, I have my MBA, JD, PhD, etc., etc. – I couldn’t possibly learn from a secretary.”
I’m open to learning from anyone. Four times a year, 20+ Institute staff members (www.LegalNurse.com) of all levels plus outside consultants gather around our big conference table for a focused, all-day brainstorming session. We work hard on a number of strategically selected topics, and we include frequent breaks for eating and exercise to keep the day interesting and fun. These brainstorm sessions have contributed tremendously to the phenomenal growth of my business.
Not all CEOs agree with my egalitarian take on learning. When I recommended company-wide brainstorming to a CEO group I belonged to, all they saw was the cost of shutting down their businesses for the day. They didn’t understand that an idea from a $12-per-hour employee could launch a new division, service or product, adding tremendous value to the company for years to come.
You’ll find mentors in many guises, from business associates to family members, friends and colleagues. Although I’ve been in my business for more than two decades, I still learn every day – not only from recognized experts, but especially from my students and staff members, outside consultants and vendors, favorite writers and speakers, and other CEOs.
Learning possibilities aren’t limited to “learned” teachers or a classroom setting. Stay open to learning everywhere you go, from everyone you know.
5. Make Sure You Learn the Right Stuff
We ask college students, “What’s your major?” Life is a college of its own, and we all learn every day. The important question to ask yourself is: “Am I learning the things that will make a difference in my life or things that won’t enhance it at all?” For example, are you mastering techniques for expanding your professional skill set or absorbing the intimate details of the characters on a TV sitcom?
Successful people do not major in minor things. Massively successful people focus on learning the right things. Do you want to learn about the life of a movie star or about a topic that will make you the star of your own life?
To be excellent at learning, laser in on the topics you need to succeed. Where you focus is where you get results. If you want big results, focus on Big Things.
6. Make the Most of Every Learning Opportunity – Even Those Disguised as SNAFUs
Life is a learning smorgasbord. Try to learn from every experience, good or bad. Even in a crisis, you can always glean something positive.
I happened to be in New York City in August 2003 and experienced the blackout firsthand. I looked around me and studied others who survived this negative situation in different ways, from children to adults, from doctors to lawyers to hotdog vendors. Through my observations, I learned this lesson, “Don’t let a communication blackout come between you and your clients.” I then wrote an article about this business world application of a SNAFU, and made sure I applied this lesson to my own business.
Life is full of lessons, both large and small. A bad experience is only bad if you don’t learn from it. Commit to learning from each experience, even the “negative” ones.
7. Carve Out the Time for Learning
If continued education still sounds daunting, remember that you don’t need hours a day as you did in college. Commit to reading 30 minutes a day on a topic you find interesting and intriguing. Commit to listen to an audio program while driving or to watch an educational video while exercising.
You’ll also find appropriate classes and other informational material online and even on educational television. Just don’t get sucked into wasting irreplaceable time on the junk that prevails on these media. Subscribe to electronic newsletters that feed your learning in a focused way.
Like any journey, a lifetime of fun and learning starts with the smallest step. Commit to finding the time for learning wherever and whenever you can.
8. Make Learning a Lifetime Priority for Growth and Fun
In today’s information age, believing you can launch or grow a successfulbusiness or career without continuing education is a guarantee of failure. Successful people respect the complexity of their professions. They become students for life.
Researchers say most of us have learned 80% of everything we know by the time we’re eight years old, when we’re still enthralled by every new discovery. How sad is that? I don’t know about you, but I like to think I’m a lot smarter now than when I was eight.
Rekindle that childhood enthusiasm. Pick up a book today. Turn off the TV and tune in to an inspirational speaker. This is the best New Year’s resolution you can make for yourself.
Learning really is kid stuff. Commit to enjoying it. Start today. Be a child again.
Cooperative Learning
Cooperative Learning is actually having the students work in groups or a group setting. Instead of the traditional style of teaching, the students interact with each other and build upon their school relations. In Week 4’s class lecture it states, “Cooperative learning teaches students to be a functional member of a team, with not only individual responsibilities, but group responsibilities as well” (Week 4, 2005). This is an importance learning style to incorporate in the lessons because it builds communication skills in the classroom. These skills will become the basis of their adult relations. In order to better understand cooperative learning, the main theorists and basis of this subject need to be explored.
Due to the internet and the vast majority of sites on this subject, teachers can implement this information into their classroom quickly. When going to google and typing in “Cooperative Lesson”, 826,049 sites can be viewed. The main idea behind the 10 most popular sites are “What is Cooperative Learning” and “How can Teachers implement it in the Classroom”. This site is titled, “Cooperative Learning” and have a dozen links which will help a teacher grasp this style. The consensus of this site states cooperative learning.
Is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject. Each member of a team is responsible not only for learning what is taught but also for helping teammates learn, thus creating an atmosphere of achievement. Students work through the assignment until all group members successfully understand and complete it (Cooperative Learning, 2005).
Learning how to use Cooperative Learning in the classroom room is a must for teachers because of the communication and social relations she can develop for the students. These communication and social relations are best understood by comparing and contrasting the major theorists of Cooperative Learning.
In the models of Johnson, Johnson, and Holubec explain, “the five advantages to cooperative learning are interwoven in five basic principles: 1) positive interdependence, 2) simultaneous interaction, 3) individual responsibility, 4) Interpersonal and small-group learning skills, and 5) reflection and planning” (University of Phoenix, 2002). These five basic principles seem to be the basis for cooperative learning. These theorists understood children need to learn to work together and know each other in a non-competitive environment. Some of the interesting facts about these theorists is the “sink or swim” philosophy, mutual goal idea, and assigned roles (Principles of Cooperative Learning, 2005). Johnson, Johnson, and Holubec seem to have grasped the updated version of cooperative learning in the classroom. Their methods and ideas are more conservative than the other theorists and tend to be more approachable by teachers.
Dr. Robert Slavin’s approach to cooperative learning is more based on catering to individual students needs. He developed the Student Teams and Achievement Division, STAD. His theory was also based on 5 different ideas much like Johnson, Johnson, and Holubec. The five components are Class Presentation, Teams, Quizzes, Individual Improvement Scores, and Team Recognition (Cooperative Learning a New Direction, 2005). The difference in Slavic’s earlier theory and the theorists present before is his concern for the lack of experience teachers have in this subject and how the subject might not achieve all the expectation. This theorist had a strong belief that high risk students and special educational students would benefit the most from cooperative learning (Dr. Robert Slavin on Cooperative Learning, 2005). In reality, this man’s theory was a good basis, but his lack of experience in the needs of today somewhat discredit his thinking. In the reading it seems this doctor presented the lack of vision of a world where teachers are highly educated and there is a melting pot of students in a classroom, which is the major difference between the theorists.
Dr. Spencer Kagan has
Two important points to be made: (1) The world is not just competitive and in some important respects is becoming less so; (2) I do not advocate exclusive use of cooperative learning methods, but rather a healthy balance of cooperative, competitive, and individualistic classroom structures to prepare students for the full range of social situations (Ten Frequent Questions, 2005).
When reading about this theory a more liberal view of cooperative learning comes to mind. When trying to find a specific amount of steps by this theorist, it is impossible because there are too many to count or write about in one paper. Basically this style focuses on “stress positive interpersonal peer relationships, equality, self-esteem, and achievement”. With these different concepts comes different goals such as, “building team spirit and positive relationships among students; information sharing; critical thinking; communication skills; and mastery (learning/remembering) of specified material”(Spencer Kagan’s Positive Learning Structure, 2005). Unlike the simple 5 steps of the last theorists, a teacher would have to put the information together based on her students. The teacher would have to explore many different lead and use the information to her best judgment.
In conclusion, Johnson, Johnson, and Holubec have set the basis for cooperative learning in the classroom. Their theory is easy to understand and can be simple implemented in the classroom. Overall, Cooperative learning is important because it bind communication with social skills, something every student needs to develop. It is easy to compare and contrast the different theorists because each one has a different idea on what cooperative learning actually is. The Cooperative Learning Style has been developed and redeveloped by many theorists; it just depends on the teacher’s learning style to determine the best approach to this method.
Six Keys to Help You Learn Spanish Online
This article consists of six tips to help
you learn Spanish online. If you follow these
six tips, you can be sure that you will
learn to speak Spanish online much easier.
Key Numero Uno to Learn Spanish Online:
“Stay motivated”
I think everyone that studies
a foreign language will experience
a time when they are becoming less and less
motivated. You may feel that you are
losing your desire to learn Spanish online
around the same time that you have reached a plateau.
If you feel that you are losing your desire
to learn to speak Spanish online,
try planning a trip to a Spanish speaking country.
Since you will want to get the most out of
your trip, this should motivate you to study.
Here’s another tip to help you stay motivated and
to make you want to learn to speak Spanish online.
Find a native speaker that you are romantically interested
in. Since you will probably want to impress him or
her with your Spanish, this should motivate you
to keep studying and make you want to learn Spanish
online. You will also notice that you
are making progress quicker by practicing your
Spanish with a native speaker and that should also
motivate you to keep studying and practicing Spanish.
Of course, this tip only applies to single people
or other people without a significant other.
Key Numero Dos to Learn to speak Spanish Online:
“Don’t Be Afraid of Making Mistakes”
Make lots of mistakes. And then after you have made
lots of mistakes go make some more mistakes. And then
go make some more mistakes.
Many people are afraid of making mistakes
when learning Spanish online. If you really
want to learn to speak Spanish online, then you
have to accept the fact that making
mistakes is part of the learning process.
The more mistakes you make, the quicker
you learn to speak Spanish online.
If you are not making mistakes, that’s probably
an indication that you are not making
the effort to learn Spanish online.
Some people will try to learn to speak Spanish
online by ONLY listening. Their reasoning is
that once they learn enough Spanish that’s
when they will begin trying to speak Spanish online.
But I can I assure you that it doesn’t work that way.
It works in reverse.
That is, once you start trying to speak Spanish
and making mistakes that’s when you will begin to
learn to speak Spanish online. Not the other way around.
So go ahead and make mistakes. The mistakes
aren’t there to embarrass you. The mistakes
are there to help you master Spanish.
Key Numero Tres to Learn Spanish Online:
“Focus on how to speak Spanish”
Don’t focus on “why Spanish is Spoken
the way it is”
Many people have sent me emails with questions
such as why is it “me gusta” (I like) instead
of “me gusto” or why is it “me toma” instead
of “me tomo”
Of course, I could easily answer these questions.
(And I do) But the objective is not to try equate everything
in Spanish with English or your native language.
Accept the fact that Spanish grammar is different
from English grammar. And focus on the objective
of any language — which is to communicate effectively.
And in order to communicate effectively, you only
need to understand and be understood. It is not
necessary that you understand each and every
grammatical facet.
Trying to do so will only hinder your learning and make
it difficult to learn Spanish online.
Imagine trying to teach a 4 yr old the definition
of a direct pronoun vs. an indirect pronoun.
We would never attempt such a thing. But the
4yr old child is still fluent in his or her
native language.
So make your goal to understand and be understood.
Focus on “how to speak Spanish”
Don’t focus on “why Spanish is Spoken
the way it is.”
Key Numero Cuatro to Learn to Speak Spanish Online:
“Master the Fundamentals”
Many people spend their time learning
a bunch of Spanish vocabulary that they could
go a life time and never use. That’s
because the words are hardly used
in normal everyday conversation.
If you want to learn to speak Spanish online without
Wasting anytime, I advise you to master
the fundamentals. When I say the
“fundamentals” I am referring to
the basic vocabulary and basic grammar.
I know adults that have studied Spanish
for a few years and they know thousands
of words in Spanish. Although they may
be proficient in Spanish, I would not
consider them fluent. On the other hand,
a three or four year old native Spanish-speaking
child can speak Spanish fluently. It is not
because the child knows thousand of words in Spanish.
The child may only know about a thousand words
or less in Spanish. But the child has mastered the fundamentals.
Mastery of the fundamentals is what separates
the proficient from the fluent.
If you really want to learn to speak Spanish online
make it a priority to master the fundamentals.
Key Numero Cinco to Learn Spanish Online:
“Take Advantage of downtime”
Finding time to study can be a challenge.
Many people just don’t have the time
to sit down and study. But who said that
you have to be sitting down? If you are
waiting in line at the bank or waiting at the
doctor’s office, turn on your mp3 player
or ipod and listen to an audio Spanish lesson.
If you drive to work everyday, that’s
an excellent opportunity to practice your favorite
audio Spanish course. If you like to jog or
exercise on a stairmaster or treadmill,
bring your mp3 player or ipod with you
and listen to your favorite audio Spanish course
Instead of watching the 10′ clock News. Watch
“Las Noticias” Instead of watching a movie
on HBO, watch a movie on HBO Latino.
So to those that say “I just
don’t have the time to learn Spanish online.”
My response is that you can make excuses
or you can learn to speak Spanish online.
But you can’t do both. The choice
is yours.
Key Numero Seis to Learn to speak Spanish Online:
“Become an Imitator”
Some Spanish courses do not put much emphasis
on pronunciation. I think that is a big mistake.
If you really want to be understood, you must try
to mimic native speakers.
Have you every experienced someone that
asked you for directions or some other question
and you were unable to assist the person because you didn’t
speak her language. And then you suddenly
realized that the person was actually speaking
English but her accent was so thick that you
thought the person was speaking another language.
The same thing happens to Spanish ears. If
you do not develop good pronunciation, you will
not be understand.
If you say the word “dad” in Spanish and you do
not stress the appropriate syllable, a
native Spanish speaker may think that you are
talking about “french fries.” To English ears
the difference may be very subtle. But to the
Latin American its the difference between
“dad” and “potatoes”.
So focus on mimicking native Spanish speakers.
I hope that you enjoyed these 6 Tips to Help You
Learn Spanish Online and that they truly help
you in your journey to learn to speak Spanish online.
Why Learn Languages?
Why learn languages? Why would anyone want to learn someone else’s language? Obviously, there are a lot of reasons, and if the question is on your mind, then you probably have a desire or need to learn a language yourself. The answer is often different for people. Put 10 random people together who are learning another language and you will probably have 7 or 8 different reasons and 5 or 6 different languages. Every answer is valid. Every reason is the right reason for that person and every language is the right language. There is no wrong answer to the question ‘why learn a language?’ and there is no wrong language to learn.
The ability to learn another language is not limited by economic background, ethnic background, nationality, gender, race, religion, age or the grades you got (or are getting) in school. While everyone is different, and we all have differing abilities and strengths, we all have language ability to some degree. Maybe we all aren’t going to become great orators or novelists in another language, but we all have the ability to learn, and communicate in other languages.
There is no danger of learning ‘too much.’ You can’t fill up your head with too much language, and there’s no danger of you losing knowledge of the languages you already know. In fact, learning a foreign language (or more than one) improves memory, math skills, analytical skills, problem solving and increases critical thinking and creativity. Furthermore and most remarkably, learning a foreign language actually improves our reading, writing, speaking and listening skills in English.
Languages don’t just pop up out of nowhere, they evolve from other languages and change over time. Many of the most widely spoken languages are related and share some vocabulary, and even if they aren’t, languages are always borrowing words from each other. English is full of words from many other
languages. Learning another language not only gives you new knowledge, but expands upon your existing knowledge of English and gives you a whole new way of understanding it. Furthermore, you begin to learn how to learn languages, making it easier to learn other languages and understand how language and
communication works in general. Other languages are not just a word for word translation of English, but an interpretation of events and opinions from a different point of view.
So, why learn languages? Ok, so there are some benefits. Can learning a language benefit everyone? In a word – Yes. I’m sure if you look around and evaluate your life you will see lots of opportunities to use different languages. We are all surrounded by people who use other languages, or opportunities we could
benefit from by using other languages. The possibilities are there if you look for them.
You may have relatives living in Japan, or you want to visit China. Perhaps you have a life-long desire to see Italy or you are planning a vacation in Argentina, or retirement in Costa Rica. All are valid reasons for learning a language. Learning for travel is one of the most common reasons to learn a language. There are more opportunities to travel today than there have ever been before, and they are likely to increase in the 21st century Global Village.
Many people learn a language to connect with their roots. You may still have relatives living in the ‘old country,’ or you may just want to define yourself a little bit. Learning the language of our ancestors can help bring us into better contact with ourselves and open up a whole new understanding of ourselves and how we got to be who and where we are.
Do you have a new addition to the family by marriage? Learning even a little of your new family members language can bring both families closer together. Or maybe you’re looking for love yourself. Think of the possibilities when you learn another language. The increase in possible social contacts is tremendous when you add a whole new way to communicate. That goes for love, friendship, travel or business.
Learning a language for business is a very common reason. The business opportunities that have arisen in the last few decades have made it almost imperative for a businessperson to have language skills. English may be spoken by many people and it is the language of the internet, but in order to really cultivate
business relationships and get ahead in the business world, language skills are a must. There are a wide variety of industries in which having language ability is a great advantage. It broadens our job skills and career options.
The reasons for students to learn languages are many, and not just because you need it to graduate or get a certain degree. Obviously, improving English skills and overall communication skills are both valuable to students. Improvement of memory, creativity, problem solving ability and analytical skills also are of significant importance to a student. Studies show that bilinguals routinely outperform monolinguals in all areas of testing. Scores for SATs and other tests are shown to be higher for foreign language students, and the longer the foreign language study the higher the average test scores. Having second language skills also makes a student more competitive in the job market.
Learning a language isn’t just learning some new grammar concepts, vocabulary and different sounds. It gives insights into other cultures. It creates a more positive attitude toward people who are culturally different and gives us a better understanding of what it’s like to be an immigrant. Accomplishing this life skill will give you increased prestige in your own culture and a markedly increased status in other cultures. It’s a required skill to become a World Citizen. Ultimately, learning other languages gives us a better
understanding of our own language and our own culture, and a new viewpoint to look at the world in which we live and define our place in it.
One of my favorite quotes about language by Ambrose Bierce :
Belladonna, n.: In Italian a beautiful lady; in English a deadly poison. A striking example of the essential identity of the two tongues.
It’s meant to be funny and it reminds us that languages really are different, but it makes me laugh every time I read it. This, to me, also reminds me why I like to learn languages. It’s fun! The inner workings of each language are full of little nuggets that are downright enjoyable to learn. So, why learn languages? Lots of the reasons above pertain to me, but my answer is much simpler – because I enjoy it.
Action Learning: It’s More Than OJT
For centuries companies have used on-the-job training (OJT). OJT works because it follows much of what we know about adult learning theory. For example, we know:
1. Adults learn best when new learning can be applied immediately.
2. Much of classroom “learning” is lost because it does not transfer back to the job.
Action learning is a two-part method to maximize learning and productivity by maximizing OJT. Action learning involves teams of organizational members working on real organizational projects and problems. The team members’ work is also accompanied by regular (and spontaneous) facilitator-led reflection and discussion meetings.
Action learning projects have led to new product launches, acquisitions and divestitures, and large-scale organizational changes. In addition to extensive and measurable productivity, there are significant learning benefits from these action learning projects. The benefits include:
* exposure to other parts of the organization,
* development of emotional intelligence (EI),
* learning the political realities of the organization, and
* being able to showcase skills to senior management.
Obviously, action learning projects require serious senior management commitment. Senior management buy-in includes not only contribution to choosing projects and participants, but also a commitment to evaluating and implementing projects.
Not every organizational project is an appropriate action learning project. Many projects have severe time constraints that would not allow sufficient time for reflection and discussion for the project team. Some projects are not strategically important enough to justify the investment of organizational resources (time, people, and money).
The facilitator for the action learning project must be a trained facilitator. To maximize the learning in an action learning project, the coach or facilitator must know how to extract learning from the team’s work. Learning goals must be identified early in the project. Provoking critical thinking, reflection, creative thinking, and self-awareness is the job of the facilitator.
Action learning is one of many organizational learning strategies. Action learning must be used in alignment with the other organizational learning programs, such as individual coaching. For example, many coaching discussion topics can be based on the real-time learning that takes place in an action learning project.
Obviously, action learning projects (like any other organizational learning methods) are not a cure-all for every learning need. But, the productivity and learning benefits of action learning should be considered by every organization.
For more information of action learning projec
Learning About Child Learning
Being an effective teacher one’s child begins first with knowing how you child learns. Getting a grasp on your child’s learning characteristics is essential to homeschooling success. What is your child’s learning ability levels? Motivation is also an important aspect. What motivates your child to learn? Knowing the pieces of your child’s learning style come together to make up the learning environment. A child’s learning activity is as diverse as each one’s personality. As you can see, a one size fits all approach isn’t going to be conducive to a dynamic learning environment.
In the beginning the best way to learn about how your child learns is to observe everything they do in their daily activities. Take notes, written or mental on how the child learns and approaches new learning situations. For instance, do they appear to learn more by touching and feeling, do they seem to learn more by drawing or expression? Do they learn by watching or doing? Today there are many child development tools, books, and software available on various types of learning styles to you to get you going in the right direction. Do some online searches regarding child learning, learning activities, children’s learning tools, child learning websites…. That type of criteria. You’ll find much information on all types of learning.
An often little thought of aspect to children’s learning is what time of day does the child learn best. When is their peak learning times? This is particularly more in play with younger children.
Again all of this discussion and now research that you have done is circling back to creating an optimal learning environment for you and your child. Knowing how they learn. What motivates children to learn? When do they learn best? All of these come under the heading of learning style. It’s important to know how to break the areas down into specific knowledge for yourself to insure that you create that highly effective learning environment, so the learning experience for both you and your child is a wonderful road filled with much joy and discovery!
6 Simple Steps To Accelerating your Learning
What is Accelerated learning?
Simply put, accelerated learning is the ability to absorb and understand new information quickly, and also to be able to retain that information.
It involves the process of unleashing the abilities within us. Every one of us learn differently. Accelerated learning calls upon us to learn techniques of learning that exactly match our personal learning styles. When we are learning in our preferred ways, learning becomes natural, easier and faster. That’s why it’s called accelerated learning.
Basically, the brain can be thought of being made up of the “Left Brain” and “Right brain”. The left brain is the expert in language, mathematical processes, logical thoughts, sequences and analysis. The right brain specializes in rhythm, music, visual impressions, color, and pictures. Although each is dominant in certain activities, both sides are involved in almost all thinking. The point is that to learn the accelerated way, you must involve your whole brain.
Have you heard of the 8 intelligences? Can you name all 8 to me? There are 8 multiple intelligences : Linguistic, Logical-Mathematics, Visual-Spatial, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Musical, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Naturalist as put forth by Harvard professor of education Howard Gartner. In accelerated learning, we use our strongest form of these 8 intelligences and learning will then be more enjoyable.
To master the art of accelerated learning overnight is impossible. It takes time and effort to increase the rate at which you learn. Still, let me give a brief overview of the entire process of accelerated learning. The 6 simple steps to accelerating your learning are:
Motivating the mind – motivating yourself so that you are in a confident and resourceful state that best supports learning. There are several ways, including the use of visualization, affirmations, and goals-setting.
Acquiring the information – using your personal and preferred way of absorbing the information. There are 3 distinct styles of processing information that we use. We’ll use all 3 styles, only the degree to which we use them differs and that accounts for our varying styles of learning. The 3 styles are Visual ( seeing ), Auditory ( hearing ), and Kinesthetic ( physical activities and involvement ). So, your job is to find out your preferred style of learning and use methods of learning that correspond to your style.
Searching out the meaning – when what you’re learning has meaning to you, remembering it is will be an easy feat! Again, this depends on the most dominant form of intelligence in you and how you exploit it.
Triggering the memory – recall whatever you’ve learned at will with proven memory techniques. Such techniques may include the link method, the number-shape methods and so on. You have to consider the workings of memory and learn only when your memory is in an optimal state.
Exhibiting what you know – show that you know and fully comprehend what you’ve learned. If your learning and absorption of the information have been effective, you must be able to be fully capable of showing it anytime and anywhere. If you can really show that you know, you have absolutely comprehended the material you’ve learned!
Reflecting upon what you’ve learned – learning is a continuous process; we must learn from our mistakes. Self-analysis is important as it marks the end of the accelerated learning of a skill or new knowledge. When, upon finishing your learning of something, you reflect upon the process itself.
Of course, reading about the process and not taking action will not in any way serve you to master accelerated learning. If you’re still unsure of how to proceed to really go into deeper depth into accelerated learning, you may download my free accelerated learning ebook course at: [http://self-improvement101.uni.cc/free-self-help-courses/mental/accelerated-learning.htm]
Remember, the essence of accelerated learning is in using methods of learning that really suits your natural learning style. Good luck with your quest towards accelerated learning!
Accelerate Your Learning
Although you may not currently be a student, learning is a life long process. Perhaps you need to learn something new for your job, or you would like to learn a new language before you take a vacation abroad, or you want to “brush up” on math so you can help your children with their homework. For many of us school and/or learning were not pleasant experiences, so we may hesitate to attempt to learn something new. Fortunately there are ways to enhance the learning experience to help make learning fun, easy, and successful. (This process works for kids too.)
“Accelerated Learning” is a system based on studies of the human mind and how knowledge is acquired. It is a powerful process that engages both the analytical and the emotional parts of the brain and uses both the conscious and the subconscious mind. The body is important to learning as well. Many of us need movement to learn. We also need to take into consideration our learning styles and our multiple intelligences. One of the important components of Accelerated Learning is the use of music.
Although any music can have an effect on your mind and body, there are particular types of music that can enhance learning, just as there are certain kinds of music that can interfere with learning. The founder of the Accelerated Learning movement, Dr. Georgi Lozanov, experimented with a wide variety of music in his research. He found that Baroque music affects the emotional centers of the brain as well as the heart and breathing. Today there are a number of composers who have designed music to enhance our learning abilities. I use both Baroque music and the specially designed music in all the classes I teach. At the end of this article there is a list of music that my students prefer.
This is by no means a complete list. Experiment to find out what suites you. One of the most important considerations is that the background music does not have words that you might sing consciously (or unconsciously), as that would interfere with information acquisition. You can use highly rhythmic music as a base for creating rhymes or raps or jingles to help you memorize lists or processes.
Preparation for learning is another key component of Accelerated Learning. There are several things you can do to assist your body and mind to get into a receptive state for learning. In addition to your traditional learning tools (books, computer program, paper, pens, etc.) you will need a cassette or CD player and your “learning” music in your learning space. If you prefer comfort to learn, you might choose an easy chair, if you need structure, a desk or a table would be better for you.
Before you open your book, or start your program, spend a few minutes getting ready to learn. Since an ideal state for learning is in a relaxed body with an alert mind, do a brief relaxation exercise with the music in the background. Then bring to mind a successful learning experience that you have had in the past – any kind of learning. Try to re-create the joy and pleasure you felt while you were learning and the satisfaction you felt when you succeeded.
After spending a few moments in this pleasant experience, begin your current learning experience. If you find that you start to tense up, pause, take a few deep breaths, listen to the music for a few moments, and resume learning. Take frequent breaks and briefly review what you have learned when you return.
Some Baroque selections include Handel’s Water Music, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Pachebel’s Canon in D Major and Mozart’s Symphony in D Major (“Haffner”). OptimaLearning has created several volumes of specially compiled Baroque music for learning and productivity. The Sound Health Series by the Center for Psychoacoustical Research includes classical music for learning, concentration, thinking, motivation, inspiration, and relaxation.
Some of the specially created music by Stephen Halpern has subliminal messages, but you can find his Music for Accelerated Learning and Music for Creativity without subliminals. He has a variety of relaxing CDs as well. Daniel Kobialka uses Pachelbel’s Canon in his composition Timeless Motion and it is my personal favorite.
So, use music, relaxation, and positive visualization to make learning easier and more fun.
HR Field Guide – 5 Tips to Effective Learning Management
Learning management systems (LMS) manage all aspects of education by automating and managing the administration, management, delivery, and end user experience of blended learning programs. This field guide will explore five critical steps to ensure that you get the most out of your learning management investments.
Introduction
Learning management systems (LMS) manage all aspects of education by automating and managing the administration, management, delivery, and end user experience of blended learning programs. Organizations that have invested in these systems cite a number of significant benefits, including:
oAutomate and standardize learning and training practices, processes, and content
oReduce administration and delivery costs while providing faster delivery
oEnable blending learning programs (online and instructor-led curricula, courses, classes, and coaching) to increase reach and impact
oMeet and maintain compliance, certification, and quality requirements
oAlign learning programs to overall organizational goals and strategies
oEnhance internal talent pools for succession and promote talent mobility
oMeasure and track the effectiveness of learning programs to facilitate continuous improvement
oFacilitate a more holistic talent management strategy by linking learning to other talent functions such as performance and goals, employee development, and on-boarding
oAutomate student registration, approvals, notifications, and communications
This field guide will explore five critical steps to ensure that you get the most out of your learning management investments.
Tip #1: Link Employee Development To Learning Delivery
Development plans help employees improve in their current role, better prepare them for a future role of interest (which is important in the context of succession planning), or both. While employee skill, competency, and behavior gaps are typically identified during the performance assessment process (or a 360 feedback process), learning delivery is the mechanism to close the gaps.
Learning for learning’s sake is an ineffective strategy. But learning to close skill, competency, and behavior gaps and therefore improve an employee’s contribution in a current role or help the employee better prepare for a future role, is something altogether different. Therefore, development and learning processes must be seamlessly linked from both a process and underlying technology perspective. Yet only 29% of organizations have actually made this connection, with another 23% planning to within one year, according to a global survey of 300 HR leaders conducted by Softscape in November 2009. [Note: this survey data will be referenced throughout the report]
The impact of linking these functions is significant. In the same survey, organizations that have linked employee development and learning delivery report:
oImproved workforce alignment to overall strategy
oMore quickly respond to changing business needs
oHigher revenue per employee
oBetter internal talent mobility
oImproved workforce productivity
A few key questions to consider to link employee development to learning delivery are:
1.Are recommended courses and programs automatically presented to users within their development plans to facilitate training and coursework?
2.Is the transition between employee development planning and learning management seamless to users (e.g., same user interface, look and feel, does not give the user the impression of a disconnected process)?
3.Is systems integration effort and cost required to tie development and learning delivery together, or do all the requisite capabilities reside on a common technology platform that natively connects the functions out of the box?
Tip #2: Align Learning Activities to Business Objectives
Part of the promise of integrated talent management is improving alignment between workforce activities and overall business strategies and objectives. This alignment is typically achieved through performance management and goals. Managers and their directs establish goals as part of the performance management process and align the goals up through the organization. Alternatively, the organization cascades goals down to the workforce. In either scenario, it is often the case that employees need specific training to achieve their goals.
If employees are not provided the proper learning resources to complete goals, the impacts can be severe:
oPoorly trained employees who cannot achieve their goals
oThe organization is unable to complete its strategic goals and objectives
oTurnover at all levels due to frustration and inability to complete goals
Today, only 34% of organizations have linked learning and performance management to enable training as a key component of employee goal completion. An additional 31% of organizations plan to do so by 2011.
Part of the challenge in linking these functions has been technical in nature. Many organizations continue to use multiple systems (e.g., performance system, learning management system) that are not integrated. Yet as many organizations continue to gravitate toward single platform solutions that natively connect functions such as learning, performance, and goals, the technical integration challenges can be eliminated. These single platform solutions also make it much easier to report on key metrics such as the effectiveness of learning programs on performance since all of the data resides in a centralized repository. With this data in hand, HR leaders are better equipped to monitor and continuously improve their learning processes and programs.
A few key questions to consider to align learning activities to business objectives are:
1.Does your current learning system enable you to dynamically link business objectives and goals with specific learning activities?
2.Does the system natively integrate learning, performance, and goals vis-à-vis a broader talent platform? If so, does it also provide a robust reporting and analytic capability that enables you to monitor and continuously improve your processes and programs?
3.Does your learning system provide capabilities to dynamically push content to users based on their goals? Can assignment rules be easily created to support this dynamic push?
Tip #3: Maintain Regulatory Compliance
Learning management systems (LMS) are an important mechanism for managing compliance and certification training within an organization. Without a central tracking repository, and no way to report globally, organizations can quickly fall out of regulatory compliance. The potential negative impacts to this are fines and work stoppages, not to mention the high overhead and costs associated with managing compliance activities and reporting in a manual fashion.
Competencies also play a key role, especially from a quality standards (e.g., ISO 9000) perspective. A rigorous competency-based training program is a key mechanism for ensuring ongoing compliance to quality standards. As such, competency management plays a critical role in learning management strategies. The system employed, whether an LMS or a broader talent management platform, must instantiate a flexible competency library as a central component that is seamlessly exposed to all other functions within the system or platform.
A few key questions to consider to maintain regulatory compliance are:
1.Can compliance-related courses be automatically assigned to new hires as a part of the on-boarding process? Can triggers and alerts be established to automatically inform employees when they need refresher training?
2.Does your current learning system provide a library of pre-defined competencies? Does it provide tools for managing competencies, including competency categories, supporting definitions, behaviors, on-the-job activities, and development opportunities? Can you easily import your existing competencies into the system?
3.Does your learning system include robust reporting and analytic capabilities to facilitate compliance reporting? Does it come with out-of-box standard reports? And is the complexity of the reporting and analytic engine abstracted so that non-technical users can run their own reports without IT intervention?
Tip #4: Track Learning Effectiveness Throughout the Organization
Within many organizations, there is no systematic way to track the impact of learning programs on organizational outcomes. These outcomes may include workforce productivity or even individual performance. In fact, only 21% of organizations are currently measuring the impact of training on performance, with another 34% planning on doing so by 2011. Overall learning program effectiveness fares somewhat better, with 35% of organizations currently measuring overall learning effectiveness.
The impacts of not tracking learning effectiveness can be significant:
oMoney spent improperly on ineffective curricula and courses
oEmployees spending time in courses that are not effective
oInability to distinguish between which courses are working and which are not
Part of the challenge lies in the fact that data is spread out in various silos across the organization and there is no common employee system of record. A single, fully-connected talent platform that covers the gamut of HR functions and processes, including learning, can alleviate some of the problems since the data is all in one place. And with a robust analytic and reporting function, previously unavailable insight can be gained.
By shifting to a more measurement-oriented approach to learning, organizations can realize numerous benefits:
oSpend the right time and resources on effective courses
oEliminate or change ineffective courses
oAllocate training budgets more accurately
oIncrease employee engagement (employees are not wasting time in ineffective courses)
A few key questions to consider to track learning effectiveness throughout the organization are:
1.Does your current learning system leverage a robust and industry standard analytics engine which provides interactive graphical displays of all data?
2.Does the system abstract the complexity out of the analytics engine so that non-technical users can conduct their own analyses via an intuitive, web-based interface?
3.Are you able to conduct reporting and analysis across modules? For example, can you easily glean insight into more strategic metrics such as the impact of training on performance?
4.Does the analytics system reduce administrative overhead by leveraging the same comprehensive security access rights and rules as the learning system so that security policies only have to be established once?
Tip #5: Create Seamless On-Boarding Plans for Employees
An effective new hire orientation and on-boarding program is essential to ensuring the long-term success of new employees. Yet employees – and their managers in many cases – often find it difficult to know which training courses to take, especially if development planning is not a part of the on-boarding process. As a result, a lot of time and frustration can occur early in a new employee’s career within the organization, which can lead to an early engagement deficit or even increased turnover.
Today, only 32% of organizations have linked learning with hiring and on-boarding to facilitate automatic scheduling of courses for new hires. Fully 46% of organizations have no plans to link the processes at all. To fully understand the impact of integrated learning and hiring/on-boarding, Softscape’s global survey of HR leaders conducted reveals that organizations that have explicitly made the linkage report:
oImproved workforce alignment to overall strategy
oBetter internal talent mobility
oDecreased voluntary turnover
oFaster on-boarding (time-to-productivity)
oImproved workforce productivity
This data reinforces the importance of integrating disparate talent functions, and the role that single platform HR solutions can play in facilitating the integration. Single platform solutions also make it much easier to report on and analyze key cross-functional metrics such as on-boarding effectiveness.
A few key questions to consider to create seamless on-boarding plans for employees are:
1.Can courses and curricula be automatically assigned to new hires as a part of the on-boarding process? This is especially important for compliance.
2.Do new hires have transparent visibility into their on-boarding plans, including learning and training activities, so that expectations are aligned from the start?
3.Does your current learning system have the capability to measure the impact of learning programs on hiring and on-boarding effectiveness (e.g., time-to-productivity, voluntary turnover, new hire engagement)?
Conclusion
To get the most out of your learning management investments, linking and aligning seemingly disparate HR and talent functions is essential. Learning, development, performance and goals, and hiring and on-boarding. All must come together seamlessly to fully realize the benefits of a learning-driven culture. Single platform solutions that natively connect all of these functions facilitate the linkages, and also provide the mechanism to measure, analyze, and relate deep analytic views across functions.
To summarize the top five tips to effective learning management:
1.Link Employee Development to Learning Delivery
2.Align Learning Activities to Business Objectives
3.Maintain Regulatory Compliance
4.Track Learning Effectiveness Throughout the Organization
5.Create Seamless On-Boarding Plans for Employees
Steve Bonadio, Vice President of Product Marketing, Softscape, Inc.
Softscape is the global leader in complete people management software solutions that enable organizations to more effectively drive their business performance.
Softscape’s vision and history of innovation is consistently recognized by industry analysts and luminaries. The company’s complete, end-to-end platform natively connects all human resources (HR) and talent functions, including performance management, succession planning, learning, career development, compensation, hiring and recruiting, workforce planning, social networking, and core HR records.
Understanding Prisoner Learning
The first question I am usually asked is why? Why are you interested in prisoners? For me that is a simple question. I am interested in prisons because a family member went to prison and I got curious. What was prison really like, what would they be like when they got out, what would they learn from the experience? As a family member of a prisoner I have personal experiences which influence my perception of what prisoners learn during their incarceration, I have my own stories and experiences of previous research into the phenomena of prisoner learning. Being in the field did affect me deeply, my research diary states ‘I think about the lives housed in the buildings I see before me, and those who have passed through the gates, I think about the children who visit their mums and dads, of the tears and the pain experienced by the families. I think about the visits that I had with my family member and the tears that I shed each time I walked out and he went back in.’ I have felt the pains of imprisonment as a family member of a prisoner and I have also felt pain as a victim of crime and the family member of a victim of crime.
As an adult educator and a passionate lifelong learner, I started to research what prisoners learn while they are in prison – both what they can access formally in education and programs and what they learn from their everyday lives as prisoners, today I will discuss with you some of the things that I have learned so far, particularly in regards to the barriers prisoners face. But for me, research alone is not enough – sharing knowledge and developing understanding are even more important, so in 2008 I started an organisation called the Australian Prison Foundation – to encourage information sharing, research and supportive relationships for all those touched by prisons in Australia.
What is Prisoner Learning?
Life is a tangled web of experiences which form and develop us into unique individuals. Our thinking and behaviour is formed by our experience of the world around us. Our social and familial relationships, our physical environment and our genetic code all effect our behaviour and what, how and why we learn. Learning is at the root of personal change and growth. Our social world and physical environment sets the stage for individuals to ‘act’. The roles individuals play includes those characterised by their involvement with others such as mother, wife, or brother; or with activities such as student, teacher, or officer; or with the environment such as prisoner, patient; or with our race such as Aboriginal, Maori, or Caucasian. Indeed we may play a wide variety of these roles simultaneously during different stages in our lives. What we experience whilst we play those roles contributes to our learning and our development as people. This brief article will focus on the key concepts of learning which occurs within prisoners whilst they are experiencing the social and physical environment of prison.
Learning may be categorised as formal in that it is accessible through formal institutions, such as social and educational institutions, set up by our society to assist in our personal learning. Formal learning usually leads to recognised qualifications or learning outcomes. It is, however, informal learning which comprises most of our learning experiences. Informal learning is any activity that involves learning outside of formal learning (Connor, 1997). Foley (1995) defines informal learning as that which occurs when people consciously try to learn through their experiences, whereas formal learning is distinguished by curriculum, organised by professionals and occurring within an institutional setting. Informal learning occurs in a variety of places, involves a heterogeneous population and uses a wide variety of methods. It does not reflect the political and socio-legal frameworks of formal learning patrimonies and therefore does not reflect the ‘narrowness’ of formal learning. It encompasses a diversity of arrangements, actors and practices (Cullen, et.al., 2000). “It reflects subscribed, emergent and highly contextualised needs, rather than the ‘operational’ needs of formal education and training policy and practice” (Cullen, et.al., 2000, p. 4). Often participants when engaged in informal learning, do not see themselves as learning (Cullen, et.al., 2000). Informal learning is embedded and often taken-for-granted by learners (Livingstone, 1999).
Adults tend to engage in multiple types of learning on an everyday basis with a variety of emphases and tendencies (Livingstone, 2001). Learning is a natural human process, neither good nor bad of itself, however, the outcomes of learning may have moral, cultural and social consequences (Jarvis, Holford, & Griffin, 2003). The moral context of learning is influenced by the attitudes, values and behaviours of the surrounding social environment (Garratt, 2000). Learning is an individual process of change and as individuals develop their potential it may challenge the existing status quo of the culture and social environment in which they are situated. Learning can therefore develop a political dimension (Jarvis, et.al. 2003).
In differentiating between formal and informal learning available to prisoners, we are in essence also differentiating the control of that learning. Formal learning is “approved”, it is controlled by prison administration, the criminogenic and non criminogenic needs of prisoners is assessed by “experts” and may or may not reflect the needs and wants of the individual. This will affect the choices available to prisoners, the learning climate and learner motivation. Informal learning may not be “approved”, is more likely to be controlled by the learner and is more likely to occur in informal social settings (Knowles, 1980). Informal learning is an under researched area probably due to its difficulty to measure and its grounding in experiential knowledge within social groups (Livingstone, 2001).
Learning is a result of the learner interacting with their environment (Hartel, Fujimoto, Strybosch & Fitzpatrick, 2007) and is constructed in a social environment (Bickford & Wright, 2006). As such the learning which occurs within the prison environment is unique to that prison and to the prisoner. The social, cultural and historical contexts, along with the learner’s position within these contexts, all impact on the content and methods of the learning experience. People learn from and with other people and as such social relations impact learning (Jarvis, Holford, & Griffin, 2003).
A significant factor in adult learner motivation is supportive social relations. Indeed it has been proposed that the quality and strength of social capital is a strong influence on the propensity to commit future offending behaviour (Vold, Bernard, Snipes, 2002). The social environment then, not only shapes what is learned but why the learning is important. A focus on the social dimension of learning allows for a greater understanding of the impact of informal learning within a prison environment and how learning about criminal activity occurs. The social relations within the learning environment also reveal much of the hidden curriculum (Jarvis, Holford, & Griffin, 2003). In essence the social environment answers for prisoners the question ‘what does the ‘prison system’ say about the importance of learning and what should be learned’.
One aspect of informal learning within a prison environment is the learning of criminal behaviour from others and that during this learning process, norms, values and behaviours are internalised. Thinking of crime in the same way as any other behaviour leads to exploring the social environment including such things as peer groups, family and other role models and how they encourage or discourage crime. Miller, Schrek & Tewksbury (2006) propose that criminal behaviour is learned in interaction with others through communication and within intimate personal groups. These authors (Miller, Schrek & Tewksbury, 2006) contend that the process of learning criminal behaviour is no different from learning anything else. This is in direct contrast to criminologists and others who view criminals as “defective”. Burke (2005) based on work by Ackers (1985) focussed on four central concepts: the patterns of interactions with others, the personal meanings applied to personal behaviour, the actual or anticipated consequences of behaviour and imitation as a process of observing and copying what others do.
It is possible that prisons are a school for crime, that they damage to a greater degree than they heal (Abramsky, 2001). If this is the case it is probable that the ‘school for crime’ occurs as informal learning within the prison environment and that the damage is as a result of a combination of social acculturation, informal learning and a lack of positive experiences. It is for this reason that informal learning, which is difficult to distinguish from social acculturation (Livingstone, 2001), warrants attention from the community and those concerned with the prison system. Despite interest in informal learning growing within the corporate sector (Connor, 1997), among education and employment policy makers (Cullen, Batterbury, Foresti, Lyons & Stern, 2000) and also in the area of recognition of competencies in the vocational education sector (NCVER, 2008), informal learning is mentioned only briefly in research conducted into corrections education. There is, however, wide interest among the corrections community in the role and benefit of learning through education and training for individual prisoners’ and for corrections systems. This interest stems from a desire to understand the most effective approach and means of delivery, so as to achieve positive outcomes for prisoners’ and for society as a whole (Bearing Point Inc., 2003).
Conclusion
Understanding prisoner learning is a complex thing, but something that is incredibly worthwhile, because the outcomes of prisoner learning can create a better life for individuals, can help to create better families and better communities. By working to understand and break down these barriers we can create a better future.