Learning through life

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Learning through life

• Professor Gina Wisker
• Head of Centre for Learning Teaching

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Please consider

• How, when and why we learn?
• From what do we learn?
• In what ways?
• Learning theories and practices
• Our own experiences
• Learning curves
• Personal and professional planning of learning

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• There is more to learning than meets the eye
• Like the Tardis, it opens up greater and more
  exciting spaces - inner as well as outer

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Research and experience tell us that

• There are many different ways to learn
• We are all different kinds of learners at
  different points in our lives in relation to
  different contexts and needs
• We learn better from some situations than others
• Sometimes we have to develop new learning
  strategies to cope with new experiences and
  demands in work and in life

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Why do we learn what we do when we do?

• Think of something you have learned in the past
  or recently - in the last couple of years -
  either formally (course) or informally (at work,
  in life outside work)
• Why did you learn it? What motivated you to
  learn?
• How did you learn it? Repetition, trial and
  error, experience, reading, listening
• Did you have any difficulties with this learning?
  If so, how did you overcome them? What kinds of
  pleasure and success did you experience in this
  learning? And in its outcomes? What have you
  gained from it?

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• What can you do now?
• Are you changed as a result?
• What do you know about how you learn, why you
  learn, what helps or hinders you, because of this
  experience?
• Please share
• What have you in common?
• What differs?
• What have you learned about learning - yours
  and others - from this sharing?

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• Learner diversity presents in many ways
• Learning preconceptions, learning background,
  approaches, styles, previously rewarded learning
  behaviours all also affected by
• culture, origin, age, gender, class, mental
  state, distance, learning environment,
  expectations and learning outcomes of the
  subject, and the level of study - on the job,
  workplace, whether informal or formal, what else
  is going on in your life and that of others, how
  good or appropriate a teacher, mentor, support
  you have, others learning around you

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• Formal learning can be in a professional work
  context or on a course - foundation,
  undergraduate, postgraduate, adult education

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Some learning theories about learning styles and
approaches

• There is some debate about the usefulness -
  dependability/reliability/validity - of any kind
  of inventory or questionnaire or theory about
  learning styles and approaches
• However they can be helpful in giving us a sense
  of the variety against which we can measure our
  own changes and differences

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• Approaches to study inventory
• Deep, surface and strategic learning
• Reflections on learning inventory
• (i) What is learning (ii) How we go about our
  learning
• (iii) Why we learn i.e. motivation (iv) What
  outcomes we seek from our learning (v) How we
  know when we are learning
• Theories about kinaesthetic, auditory, sensory
  learning
• Theories about experiential learning - Kolbs
  learning cycle of experience, reflection,
  planning, action, evaluation, reflection and
  change - more action
• Schons reflective practitioner

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Learning styles - Honey Mumford

• Please consider the brief descriptions of the
  learning styles
• Activist
• Reflector
• Theorist
• Pragmatist
• Which style or mixture are you and when?
• What does that say about how, when and why you
  learn (or dont learn) from what experiences and
  in what situations? How might you develop your
  style further to benefit from other learning
  experiences?

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Learning curves - context and change

• How have you developed as a learner? When were,
  or are, your peaks and troughs?
• Explore your own learning curve
• Are you learning formally and/or informally? On
  the job? Working with others and learning from
  and with them? Because of experiences?
• Explore a very recent professional learning
  moment - either formal or informal - what were
  its characteristics?

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• We probably juggle and spin more than our
  predecessors did - in work, and as members of
  families and of the community
• Being careful not to drop any of the balls
• What are the implications of balancing for you as
  a learner and a professional?
• Managing stress and time, keeping your eye on the
  ball

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Life and learning And informal learning
Formal learning
Work and learning - during and on the job
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Continuing professional development planning

• At any one point in our lives there are probably
  personal, professional, formal and informal
  things we would like to learn whether
• Knowledge
• Skills
• Behaviour/attitude

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• Some of this is available through
• Formal courses
• Staff Development workshop programme
• CLT events
• Outside training and development
• Informal working groups
• Coaching and mentoring
• Critical friends
• Other outside activities

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Planning

• Please complete the grid individually, then share
  with your neighbours
• Think of THREE things you would like to learn
  over the next TWO years
• Then discuss
• Why?
• For what reason?
• How?
• Where?
• When?
• How will you know when you have learned?
• Then COMMIT! And enjoy!

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informal formal
knowledge
attitude
skills
personal professional



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Learning changes our perceptions