RE: Can you teach someone how to learn?

[KMcLauchlan -at- chrysalis-its -dot- com]

I expect you *can* teach a certain segment of the population 
to learn. The corollory is, of course, that there'll be 
clumps and bunches of folks who can't be taught to learn.

But once you realize that you are addressing a subset of 
the population (even a subset of your intended user base... 
which is a mildly disheartening thought all by itself...), 
then you confront something that *has* been thrashed out 
in this list many times.

I refer, of course, to learning styles.

Many computer and other applications are, to a certain 
extent, self-selecting in terms of audience. There are 
a *lot* of mechanical and business and techy products 
and applications that just won't ever be used by 
people who are artsy and ... and... well, the french 
term I heard for the concept is "auditif/auditive"... 
a person who learns by hearing... a person who could 
lie with their eyes closed through 3 hours of first-time 
parachute instruction... and then perform well when 
they made their first jump.    Apparently, many 
actors are wired that way. They don't want to see 
written text or diagrams. They want to listen and 
absorb -- people who, no doubt, were really in their 
element in the heyday of radio.  People who hear the 
voices and sound effects, and construct a complete 
and vivid world in their heads.  They don't need no 
steenkeeng manuals (or online Help), and wouldn't 
get much use from them if they were the best possible 
manuals (and online Help).

Within the resulting self-selected group, you can 
attempt to address a sub-set of motivated potential 
learners.  And again, you confront learning styles.

Most people seem to learn best by doing, which 
implies that the instructional device (document 
or interactive tutorial thingie) must allow for 
a range of interest, capability and experience.
You want the quicker-picker-uppers, or those 
with some previous exposure to the field to be 
able to move along quickly.  You want those who 
are learning the field at the same time as they 
are learning the application (computer, mechanical, 
or whatever) to be able to poke along absorbing the 
whole milieu.  Invariably, those folks will need 
several different lessons/approaches for each 
concept.  After all, if you just don't understand 
what a lesson is trying to teach, it really 
doesn't matter that you can repeat it over and 
over.  But, if you could try "Lesson 3" again 
with different terms, approach, style, then the 
light might come on, and you'd really be ready 
to tackle "lesson 4".

But wait.  Your help/tutorial application begins 
to need god-like intelligence, to adapt to the 
needs of the learners, and their levels and their 
capabilities.

Some people (not I, so much) learn by rote repetition. 
They repeat a bunch of related tasks a bunch of times 
until one day they realize that they are anticipating 
how a new task will work. They may or may not be able 
to verbalize the understanding that they have achieved 
by a sort of osmosis.  If they can, they'll still be 
limited in explaining it in terms of their own style 
of learning.

Other people seem to take forever to get started, 
because they need to understand the underlying 
concepts, and get lost and frustrated if they 
haven't grasped the philosophy or concept before 
they try to make things work (that's more like 
me). But, once they do start to catch on, they fly.

Either of those groups can get really frustrated 
if required to learn in the other fashion. Either 
of those groups can get really, really, really 
frustrated if required to TEACH the other kind of 
learner.  Wars have started over less.

One says: "Stop pushing me to work examples. Explain 
again how this is supposed to work."
The other says: "Stop trying to explain. You're 
distracting me from practicing."

Your teaching tool must take that fundamental 
learning difference into account.

Some people like more words of explanation. Others 
like more pictures.  Some people zip along reading 
miles of text... until they get tired. Then, their 
brains shut off and will absorb no more, even if 
there's lots of time left in the day.  But, if you 
give them the option to also call up the pictures, 
they can press on, still learning -- maybe at a 
slower pace, but at least still going.  I don't 
recall meeting/observing anybody that swings the 
other way, though.

So, this /d/i/s/c/u/s/s/i/o/n/ monologue/diatribe 
would seem to suggest that the people whom you could 
actually teach how to learn a topic would tend to 
be the ones who seek understanding before starting 
to use -- versus those who just need to do, do, do, 
do... until "muscle memory" or something suddenly 
gives them insight.

I've had both experiences, but I tend toward the 
first.

Now, for those who have read this far:
When I count to three, you will awaken, feeling 
refreshed and alert...  one.... two...  





What?
Waiting for that third shoe to drop?

Shave and a haircut...

DUM-dada-DUM-dum...
 

/kevin


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