Skills for Effective Lifelong Learning (Part 2)

 

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Didactic Unit 3	Theme	Time
Skills for effective lifelong learning 2	recognise an ability to engage in LLL;	5 hours
	assess personal strengths and areas for development;
	identify and assess learning sources and opportunities (select and analyse relevant information);
	use information appropriately to solve defined problems;reflecting on learning process;

 

 

 

There are many testing tools developed for assessing learning abilities on different subjects and for learners of different ages and backgrounds. It may be easy for you to learn computer literacy but difficult to learn foreign language, or vice versa.

Important!

Your path for most effective learning is through knowing: yourself; your capacity to learn; the process you have successfully used in the past; your interest in, and knowledge of, the subject you wish to learn.

Adult learners, as they return to learning, often question and re-evaluate their original assumptions and motivation as they use learning to recreate their lives.

The following steps will help you to better understand how you learn:

Reflect upon this...

Begin with the past:  What was your experience about how you learn?   Did you: like to read?  solve problems?  memorize?  recite?  interpret?   speak to groups? ask questions about what you studied? have access to information from a variety of sources? like individual learning or study groups?

 

 

 

Skills needed for effective learning: Time Management Goal Setting Group Studying Motivation Listening Skills Problem Solving Skills Decision Making Critical Thinking

Important!

There are common principles of making your learning effective applicable to adult learners with different backgrounds. Make your learning active. Your learning will be more successful if you: take an active role in planning, monitoring, and evaluating your learning. get rid of preconceived fears about what you can learn and what can not; choose subjects and courses that are most relevant to your occupation or personal life.

There are several universally important skills for effective learning:

Active listening:
Listener focuses his/her attention  in order to understand what is said. This does not mean you agree with, but rather understand, what they are saying.

Looking/seeing:
Look at images, such as pictures and graphs and maps. Try to understand the use and importance of each image.

 

You must take into account that…!

Learning styles and preferences vary for each of us and in different situations. By understanding this, and developing the skills that help you learn in a variety of ways, you make the most of your learning potential.

Smart study tips:
What exactly should you be doing during your study time?

• Learn what's needed to get through each subject.  Study training module outline and refer to it periodically to make sure you're on track. 
• Schedule regular study periods. The most effective way to learn anything is to rehearse it regularly.  Whether you are practicing computer literacy, or reviewing your notes, you are learning through the principle of repetition.
• Be realistic.
• When you make up your schedule, decide how much time you really want to study and divide that time among your courses. It's better to spend half an hour on each subject than to plan one hour for each one and not follow through.
• Establish a regular study area. When you study in the same place every time, you become conditioned to study there. Your mind will automatically kick into gear, even when you don't feel like studying.
• Study short and often. Your brain takes in information faster and retains it better if you don't try to overload it. Four short study periods a week are more effective than two long ones for two reasons: (1) frequent repetition is the key to building your memory, and (2) if you leave a long time between study periods, you may forget a good portion of the material you studied.
• Start study sessions on time. It sounds like a small detail, but it's amazing how quickly those 10-minute delays add up. Train yourself to use every minute of your scheduled time.
• Study when you are wide-awake. The majority of people work most efficiently during daylight hours. In most cases, one hour during the day is worth 1 1/2 hours at night. Decide what your best time is and try to schedule your study time accordingly. You accomplish more when you are alert.
• Set a specific goal for each subject you study. You'll accomplish more, faster if you set a specific goal for each study session.
• Study your most difficult subjects first. You're most alert when you first sit down to study, so you'll be in the best shape to tackle the tough stuff. You'll also feel better getting the worst out of the way, and you won't be tempted to spend all of your time on easier or favourite subjects.
• Review your notes regularly. Taking good notes is the first step; reviewing them regularly is the second. As we keep saying, the best way to learn anything is to review the information (aloud, if you will) often.
• Take regular breaks. The general rule of thumb is a 10-minute break for every 50 minutes you work. Don't study through breaks. They rejuvenate you for your next hour of studying.
• Vary your work. Try to give yourself some variety in the type of studying you are doing. For example, if you tried to read textbooks for three hours, you'd not only get bored, you'd have trouble processing the information. Instead, alternate reading, taking notes, doing homework. 15. Problem solve.
• Reward yourself. When you complete one of the goals you set for yourself, give yourself a reward. The reward system gives you an incentive to reach your goals, and a pat on the back for achieving them.

Important!

While learning  you must study and digest a huge volume of information. Therefore Information literacy become important skill for effective lifelong learning.

An information literate individual is able to:

• Determine the extent of information needed;
• Access the needed information effectively;
• Evaluate information and its sources critically;
• Use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose;

Information literacy is recognized as:

• A basic competency necessary for meaningful  everyday life in information society;
• A key component of independent, lifelong learning;
• A distinct and broader area of competence than computer literacy;

 

Information can be sought for various reasons: sometimes for study-purposes, sometimes for work-related needs. Information can be sought by discussing with colleagues, reading, watching television, using the Internet or consulting a friend, a teacher or library staff.
The information seeking method that is chosen depends on the situation or the task at hand. The Internet seems to be the most popular information source at the moment and it is necessary to be able to use it efficiently in order to survive in modern society.

Remember!

Because information sources and information-seeking tools are constantly and rapidly transforming, it is necessary to update one's information-seeking skills every once in a while. This means that learning such skills has to be viewed as a life-long process, not something one can learn during one single course.

The choice of information seeking methods and sources used during the information-seeking process depends on the subject and the field of study. Before learning the specific details about seeking information that is relevant to their own study fields, it is recommended that learners gain a little more general understanding of the nature of different information sources.

Because of the information overload problem that is facing every information-seeker, it is important to be able to limit the search in order to find information that is relevant and make sure that relevant information sources are not missed.

Reflect upon this...

When defining the information need, the first step is to ponder the following questions: What do I already know about the topic? Why do I need more information about the topic? What kind of information is needed? Do I need general information or does the information have to be academic? What is my point of view on the topic? How old (or new) does the information have to be? From what period of time? What are the methods I should use when searching for information; what are the most essential and relevant concepts of the topic?

Analyzing the information need in this way before conducting the search is a good way of reducing the time and effort spent in actually seeking the information.

 

 

 

Read each statement and consider how it applies to you. If it does apply to you, mark Y. If it does not apply to you, mark N.
.
1. Y__ N__ I spend too much time studying for what I am learning.

2. Y__ N__  I usually try to study with the radio and TV turned on.

3. Y__ N__  I can't sit and study for long periods of time without becoming tired or distracted.

4. Y__ N__  I often find myself getting lost in the details of reading and have trouble identifying the main ideas.

5. Y__ N__  I rarely change my reading speed in response to the difficulty level of the selection, or my familiarity with the content.

6. Y__ N__  I often wish that I could read faster.

7. Y__ N__  When I get to the end of a chapter(or training programme, module), I can't remember what I've just read.

8. Y__ N__  I don't know how to pick out what is important in the text.

9.  Y__ N__  I often find myself getting lost in the details of reading and have trouble identifying the main ideas.

 

Answers to the questions and exercises of Didactic Unit 3

Exercise 1

1.

Exercise 2

2.

Exercise 3

If you have answered "yes" to two or more questions in any category, you need to pay attention to learning skill for those categories. If you have one "yes" or less in a category, you are probably proficient enough in these areas.

• Concentration - 1, 2, 3.
• Reading – 4,5,6
• Understanding information - 7, 8, 9.