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How to learn © 2008 Aspire Training & Consulting Level 8, 409 St Kilda Road MELBOURNE VICTORIA 3004 AUSTRALIA First published December 2008 Cover design: Rewind Creative, 86 Glenburnie Road, Vermont VIC 3133 Illustrations: Rachel Tonkin, 118 Lyttleton Street, Castlemaine VIC 3450 Printer: On Demand Pty Ltd, 323 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne VIC 3207 ISBN 978 1 74042 754 8 Contents Knowing how to learn 1 What are your experiences of learning? 4 Why are you learning? 7 How do you learn best? 10 How to learn better in class or at work 14 How to learn better by yourself 18 What have you learnt? 21 Final activity 22 © Aspire Training & Consulting Knowing how to learn Knowing how to learn is a skill. If you play a sport, you need to learn the skills of that sport. If you play a musical instrument you need to learn the skills of music. If you work on a computer you need to have technology skills. These days, things change very fast in the world. People change their jobs many times during their life. Many people move house, or even country, and learn new ways of living. Technology is also changing so fast that it is often hard to keep up. So, you must be able to learn new things throughout your life. And knowing how to learn these things is important. Activity Before you read on, think about things you have had to learn in the past. A good learning experience is when you learn well and you enjoy learning. A bad learning experience is when you don’t learn what you were meant to and you didn’t enjoy learning. 1. Think about one good learning experience you’ve had. Where was it? Why do you think it was good? Answer: © Aspire Training & Consulting 1 2. Think about one bad learning experience you’ve had. Where was it? Why do you think it was bad? Answer: Some people find learning difficult. They say they don’t enjoy learning or that they don’t like school. But school isn’t the only place for learning. In fact, you have been learning since the day you were born, as learning is not just about sitting in class and listening to a teacher. At about two years of age you probably started to learn how to talk. Before that you were learning how to understand the language your family spoke, even though you couldn’t speak it. Throughout childhood you learn the way your family do things. For example, you learn how you should behave and how to treat or speak to other people. You also learn how to keep safe; for example, being careful crossing a road, not speaking to strangers and so on. So, how did you actually learn these things? You learnt by watching and by listening. 2 © Aspire Training & Consulting Story Dana is a four-year-old girl living in Melbourne. She can eat well by herself using a spoon and fork. But she hasn’t yet learnt to use a knife. One day, Dana is invited to play with the little girl next door. She is surprised to see her friend, Mei, eating with two sticks. Of course they are chopsticks! How did these two children learn to eat in such different ways? They learnt by watching their family members. This type of learning occurs from the time you are born. When you are a child you learn many things because you really need to learn. You need to learn how to speak, how to behave in an acceptable way and how to stay safe. So, one of the main ideas about learning is being aware that you need to know something. In other words, you have reason to learn. Activity Think about one thing that you learnt last week, at home, at school, with friends, at work or on television. What was your reason for learning it? Answer: © Aspire Training & Consulting 3 What are your experiences of learning? A lot of the learning you do as a very young child is called informal learning. This means that you learn by doing everyday things in your life, and not in a classroom or by reading a book. Later, when you go to school, the learning is more formal. This means the teacher tells or shows you things, explains topics, such as maths, and gives you books or activities to help you learn. You learn about many different things that are not always part of your everyday life. Later, at high school, learning may become even more formal. This means there are fewer activities and more listening and reading to do. 4 © Aspire Training & Consulting Activity Think about your time at primary school and high school. 1. Did you find these formal learning experiences harder or easier than more informal types of learning? Answer: 2. Can you give a reason why? Answer: Many people find formal learning hard. Often, this is because they don’t see the need to learn what they are being taught. So, they don’t enjoy it. Have you ever felt this way? Outside school hours you may learn in other ways. You may be learning a sport like football, tennis or netball. A coach may teach you how to improve your kicking, striking or throwing. Another team member may demonstrate (show) you some skills. And you may practise the skills to become better. Or you may be learning how to save some music to your MP3 player or upload a photo onto Facebook. Sound easy? Yes, but when you had never done these things before, you had to learn them for the first time. You may have a casual or holiday job. This would involve a lot of learning, as you need to learn the skills of the job. When you work, you have a goal for your learning. The goal is to keep your job and to earn money. © Aspire Training & Consulting 5 Activity 1. Think about something you learnt easily in the past. What did you learn and why do you think it was easy to learn? Answer: 2. Was it enjoyable to learn? Why or why not? Answer: 3. Think about something you found it hard to learn. Why do you think it was hard to learn? Answer: 4. Was it enjoyable to learn? Why or why not? Answer: 6 © Aspire Training & Consulting Why are you learning? To help you learn you should know why you are learning. What is it that you need to know? What is your goal? Having a goal is your motivation or your reason for learning. If you don’t have a reason for learning, then you may find learning hard and not enjoyable. Some young people find learning maths at school very hard. Yet when they get a part-time job that requires them to use maths, such as handling money, they find it easy. This is because they suddenly have a reason for learning or knowing some maths. Story Rama really doesn’t like maths classes at school. In fact he ‘switches off’ during class and dreams about his next BMX ride. Then one day Rama gets a Saturday job on his BMX delivering pizzas. He has to handle money and give change to the customers at their homes. Rama needs to be sure he gives the correct change and has the right amount of money when he arrives back at the pizza restaurant. One night he made a mistake and got into a lot of trouble with his boss. After that, Rama saw for the first time that he actually had to use what he had learnt in maths class. He now understands that he really does need to know maths. © Aspire Training & Consulting 7 It isn’t always easy to see the reason for learning something. For example, there really was a reason for Rama learning maths in class, but he did not realise it at the time! Perhaps you are still at school and don’t see a reason for learning a certain subject. One way to make it easier to learn is to think about what jobs, or what people, may need that knowledge. You may need it yourself one day if you get a job that requires that knowledge. To help you learn even better, you should have a goal or a plan in your life for what you need to learn. For example, what job would you like to get? What sport would you like to play? What would you like to be able to do better? If you have a definite goal or plan, this helps you to learn as you know you are one step closer to your goal. 8 © Aspire Training & Consulting Activity 1. Think of one skill you have. It may be cooking, playing chess, using a computer, driving a car – in fact any skill at all. List your skill here: 2. How did you learn this skill? Answer: 3. Why did you learn this skill? Answer: 4. Was it easy to learn? If it was, then why? If it was not easy to learn, why did you keep going? Answer: © Aspire Training & Consulting 9 How do you learn best? Even when you have a good reason for learning, it may still be hard. For example, you may want to travel to a foreign country and need to learn the language spoken there. This is a very good reason to learn – so you can communicate with the people and enjoy your travels. However, it is also quite hard to learn another language, so to help you, what you need to know is how you learn best. Activity Complete these two sentences by writing in your responses. 1. I find learning hard when … 2. I find learning easy when … Being an active learner Some people find it very hard to learn by just sitting in a class and listening. They prefer to do activities or discuss the topic with others. They also like to find things out for themselves or be an active learner. Sometimes the place where you learn has an impact on how people learn. Are you like this? What can you do to make learning easier? It is always a good idea to ask questions about anything you don’t understand. To ask questions, you need confidence. You may ask a teacher, a coach or a friend. Asking questions is a very important part of learning and it shows you are interested. 10 © Aspire Training & Consulting You can find out more about a topic by researching in a library or using the Internet. Doing research is a common way to learn. You can also talk to other learners or have a discussion. You may be able to set up an online chat room with other learners so you discuss what you are learning or any problems you may have. Another good way to help you learn, is to find a way to use what you have learnt in class, outside the classroom. Give it a try. Put what you have learnt to some practical use at home or in your workplace. In the following story, Madison does exactly that. Story When Madison leaves high school, she wants to get a job in the media, working for a newspaper or television station. Recently she has been learning about Australian history at school. Another of her subjects is media studies. Madison decides to make practical use of what she has learnt in both subjects. She goes to an aged care home and asks the manager if she can interview one of the older men about his wartime experiences. Jock, who is 89 years old, is happy to help. Because of what Madison has learnt in history, she knows what she wants to ask about the war. Jock tells her many stories, which really make history come alive for her. Madison then uses her media studies knowledge to interview Jock again while filming. She has also learnt how to edit the film, so she turns it into a short documentary. Madison shows her family, friends and her teacher when she is finished. They are impressed. © Aspire Training & Consulting 11 Knowing where to find information When your grandparents went to school they often had to learn facts by heart. For example, the dates of important things that happened in history. These days, many people think that learning facts by heart is not so important. The important thing to know is where to find the facts. This is another way to learn. All around you there are ways to find information and places where you can learn. There are books, libraries, people to talk to, the television, newspapers, magazines and the Internet. Activity Imagine you have been asked to learn some facts about the following topics. Where could you find out about each of them? 1. How to bake a cake Answer: 2. The first man on the moon Answer: 3. The telephone number of your school or learning centre Answer: 12 © Aspire Training & Consulting 4. The telephone number of the nearest police station Answer: 5. The capital city of Italy Answer: 6. The longest river in the world Answer: © Aspire Training & Consulting 13 How to learn better in class or at work No matter where you learn, there are some things you can do to help you learn. Learning in class Are you a classroom learner? If so, here are some things you can do to help make learning easier. Be prepared – before each class try to go over what you learnt in the last lesson. Most types of learning builds on what you learn in each class. So if you don’t keep up, you may get further and further behind. If you have notes from a previous lesson, re-read them. If there is anything you don’t understand, write down a question you can ask the teacher. Don’t be hungry – make sure you have eaten before you go to class. It is very hard to concentrate if you are hungry. If you have morning classes, have a good breakfast before you go. Have everything you need – check if you need a textbook, pens or paper or anything else for each class. Having to borrow things or finding you can’t write because your pen has run out of ink won’t help you to learn. Be comfortable – always wear something comfortable and suitable to class. If you are too hot in class, you may get drowsy (sleepy) and lose concentration. If you are cold it is also very hard to concentrate. Ask questions – at the end of every lesson, check that you understand what you have just been taught. Is there anything you don’t understand? If there is, you can ask questions in class next time, or arrange to meet your teacher at another time. 14 © Aspire Training & Consulting Learning at work When you have a job you may need to learn many new skills. You may have to learn some of them quickly so you can be a good worker. Here are some things to do to help you learn at work. Take notes – after you have been told how to do a task, it is a good idea to write some notes for yourself. Keep them somewhere easy to see or find. You may prefer to draw a diagram to remind you how to complete the task. Next time the same task is given to you, check your notes or diagram before you start. Story Sara has just started work in an office. She is given clear instructions about how to send business emails. Sara knows how to send personal emails at home but the instructions for sending business emails are different. So Sara makes some notes and sticks them over her workstation as a reminder. Things to remember when sending a business email Check that the address is correct Make sure the subject line clearly tells what the email is about Check that any names are spelt correctly Set the email out like a letter Be polite and formal Sign off with ‘Yours sincerely’ and your full name Use the spellchecker to find any spelling errors © Aspire Training & Consulting 15 Ask questions – if you are unsure about your instructions, ask questions. Don’t be embarrassed. It is always better to ask a question than to make a mistake, especially if there is the risk of injury. Watch someone doing the job – if you are still unsure how to do something, ask if someone can demonstrate the task for you. Often being told how to do something isn’t enough. You may need to watch someone doing it, to learn the right or best way to do something. Practise – if you have some free time at work, it is a good idea to practise the tasks you have learnt. This way you’ll become better and more efficient (quicker) at what you need to do. 16 © Aspire Training & Consulting Activity 1. Have you ever been nervous or afraid to ask a teacher or someone at work for more instructions? Answer: 2. What was the result of not asking? Answer: 3. Why is learning to ask questions important? Answer: © Aspire Training & Consulting 17 How to learn better by yourself There may also be times when you need to learn something independently (on your own). To do this, you’ll have to plan and also decide the best environment to learn in. Planning to learn Are you learning something for school, studying for an exam or learning things for work? Here are some suggestions to help you. Plan your time – it is a good idea to plan your study time and have a weekly timetable. Work out exactly when you can study. Be realistic. If you find studying hard, start with short study times and gradually study for longer periods. Try to stick to your plan. Plan the ways you study best – do you like to write lists? Do you write study cards for yourself? If you are a person who doesn’t remember things by reading, perhaps you can draw diagrams or pictures of what you are learning. These may help you to remember. Story Leo is studying carpentry and is learning how to use a skill saw. He learns that using any saw involves safety as well as knowing how to use it and what to use it for. Leo finds that the best way for him to remember everything is to draw pictures of how to use the saw. He also draws cartoons of what may happen if he doesn’t use the skill saw properly. Doing the cartoons helps him to remember the safety rules. 18 © Aspire Training & Consulting Plan how to work out something you don’t understand – if you are learning on your own, you don’t have a teacher to help you. So it’s a good idea to plan how you’ll work something out on your own. For example, you may try to put the information into your own words to help simplify the topic. Plan who to go to for help – if you have family members or flatmates who are willing to help, you can get them to test you on what you have been learning. They can ask you questions from your book or notes. Or you can just tell them everything you can remember that you have learnt – pretend you are teaching them. Your learning environment Here are some ways to make the environment you learn in one that is good for studying. Be comfortable – just like when you are in a classroom, you need to be comfortable – not too hot and not too cold. You also need a comfortable place to read or write. This is not always easy if you share your home with many flatmates or a have a large family. Try to find at least a small, quiet space where you are comfortable and away from other people. Don’t be distracted – try to find a place where you are not distracted. You shouldn’t be able to see a television, watch people out the window or be interrupted by the telephone. Have enough light – you should have good light to read by, so you don’t have to strain your eyes. If the light is not good, your eyes may become tired and you may also get sleepy and find it hard to concentrate. Have snacks close by – having some snacks to eat as you study means you are less likely to get up and look for food. If this happens, you are likely to lose your concentration. © Aspire Training & Consulting 19 Play background music – some people find that they can’t study if the room is too quiet. They prefer to have some music on. This can be a good idea; however, try to play music without any words, which can distract you. Take breaks – it is important to take short breaks every half an hour or so. Walk around or do some stretching exercises. This helps you refocus after taking a break. Stick to the task – if you are working on a computer, try to finish what you need to do before starting something else. For example, don’t check your email until you have finished your study. Otherwise, you may be tempted to waste time sending emails and become distracted. Activity 1. Make a list of all the things that stop you from learning well. Answer: 2. Now next to each thing on your list, say what you could do to help you learn and make your learning easier. 20 © Aspire Training & Consulting What have you learnt? Put a 9 in the box when you have learnt these things. You should understand why you need to know what you are learning. It is important to have a goal or reason for learning. Try to be an active learner by asking questions and by trying out what you have learnt. Work out the ways you learn best by thinking about times when you enjoyed learning something. Learning includes knowing where to find information. If you are in a class, check that you understand what was covered in the previous lessons. If you are at work, learn by watching more experienced people do their tasks. If you are studying, plan your study time carefully. Wherever you are learning, make sure you are comfortable – not hungry and not too hot or cold. © Aspire Training & Consulting 21 Final activity Name: ____________________________ First, choose something that you want to learn. It can be for a job, a hobby, a game, something on the computer or something at home. Then answer the following questions. 1. What would you like to learn? Answer: 2. Why would you like to learn this? Answer: 3. Where can you learn this? Answer: 4. Where can you find out more about what you want to learn? Answer: 22 © Aspire Training & Consulting 5. When can you practise or study what you are learning? Answer: 6. What can you do to help you learn? Answer: 7. What may make learning this hard? Answer: 8. What may make learning this easy? Answer: 9. Why do you want to be successful at learning this? Answer: © Aspire Training & Consulting 23 For the trainer: You may wish to ask the learner questions or require some demonstration to confirm that the learner: has completed the work you require has understood the main concepts of the topic can apply the relevant skills as outlined in the What have you learnt? section. Name: Signature: Date: 24 © Aspire Training & Consulting