Learning to create

In my role as a consultant focusing on the development of educators, I have come across the issue of return of investment in training many times. I have also been asked numerous times how we know that the training has been effective, which is essentially the preceding question phrased in a different manner. I feel that training or learning (being more than just attending courses) goes through a 5-step process. So unless we understand this 5-step process, we will always be left to wonder how learning can be more effective. Of course we also need to understand the individual who is receiving the learning to be even more effective in our approach.

Studies have revealed the 4-stage of learning that all individuals undergo. First is the stage of unconscious incompetence, which means you don't even know what you don't know. This is probably an extremely critical stage because without knowing what you don't know, you will stick to the old ways of doing things. This is easily illustrated by a child who uses a particular study technique to help her in her work. This leads to inconsistent results, sometimes good, sometimes bad. And she doesn't know how else to make it better.

However there are other more effective techniques out there that can help her in the challenge she faces. When she sees other kids using this more effective technique, she moves to the next stage of knowing what she doesn't know; or conscious incompetence. She now wants to learn this other technique so she approaches her friends and they teach her. Now she practises using this technique but as she is still learning it, she needs to refer to her notes every time she wants to apply this technique; or conscious competence. Let's say after numerous rounds of practice, she mastered this technique and the next time when she needs to apply it she becomes so familiar with it that she doesn't need her notes anymore. This is when she achieved the level of subconscious competence.

As adults, we all have many types of subconscious competence, for example driving, cycling, swimming, playing tennis, typing, dialling in the dark. But what can allow us to not just remain relevant but also to keep us at the fore-front is when we are able to create something new, ground-breaking, or innovative. It is here that we are able to take our learning to a new level.

Continuing from our discussion above, we know that by being aware opens us up to new possibilities or new areas of learning. By being aware that there is a better way of doing something, we now know that when we master this better technique, we will be more effective or more efficient; or both. So creating awareness amongst your staff is a good start, as they now know of the benefits of this new way or this new framework. They can also understand how this new way can make them more effective. When that happens, and if sufficient awareness is being created, individuals will want to know more, or to learn it.

That's when attending a seminar or a course will help. It gives the participants the tools, techniques, and knowledge for this new way. Of course they can read a book or observe a colleague to see how it's done. Hence, attending courses is just but one of the ways. The thing is, usually after a course they are pretty much left on their own with little or no follow-up. Hence, they might revert to their old ways.

This is just like learning to type with 10 fingers after you've been typing with your index fingers for as long as you can remember. You try using 10 fingers, it feels odd, and what's worse, you may even be typing slower than before; and you wonder if typing with 10 really has any virtues at all. Hence you may revert to your old ways and stop practising. All learning may then be lost. Worse, you might even come to believe that typing with 10 fingers is worse. The next time you come across a similar course or a colleague tries to convince you about typing with 10 you can probably tell them why it doesn't work or it's useless.

Therefore it is essential that learnings be reinforced with application so that it will be strengthened towards the stage of subconscious competence. This is where guidance or coaching is critical as the learner can receive support for her application. During application, the individual may also find out the pitfalls or challenges. She may also meet with success and its through this process of application that understanding deepens. To further deepen the understanding, she can share with her colleagues about her successes and non-successes, and through the sharing, she could perhaps receive other perspectives on the challenges that might help her resolve them.

At this stage, she is likely to be in the stage of subconscious competence. Now, to further the learning is to apply the same techniques with other techniques. This is when the next level happens where the individual is able to synthesize. This coalescence of two or more techniques can bring about cross fertilisation of ideas or solving issues with a combination of more than two techniques. At this point, the learning may become so deeply entrenched that she can create new solutions or techniques to solve problems. Here, the level of learning creates new products or services that are innovative or ground-breaking. This is when the learning really pays many times over and reap returns like 2000% or more.

How an individual can achieve the last level depends on what some might say, resourcefulness or creativeness. And to be creative, you need to adopt a new perspective on the same issue. By doing so, you can then be able to create new and innovative solutions to the issues at hand.

So understanding where the individual is at is critical; understanding what kind of learning deserves such attention and allocation of resources is also extremely critical.