Learning is in the Eye of the Beholder

Learning occurs in many places and under a variety of circumstances — at work, in school, in social situations. But wherever it occurs, it’s important to remember that it’s the person doing the learning — trying something new — who is important. The teacher — be he/she a boss, a colleague, a teacher or a friend — is there to enable — to do what it takes to make the effort successful.

In fact, there are two ways that people learn. There’s the Dive In and Figure It Out Approach and the Template Approach. People do one or the other, not because they chose to, but because that’s how their brains work. There’s nothing good or bad about either —they just are.

The Dive In and Figure It Out Approach puts the learner into a situation and lets him/her handle it. The assumption is that the person will figure out what to do and be successful even though he/she has never attempted the task, worked with the people, undertaken the tasks, seen the software, the equipment … whatever.

The Template Approach provides the learner with some guidelines to use the first time something is attempted. It assumes that by using them the person will be reasonably successful the first time something is tried, become comfortable with the situation, people, tasks and so on and, from then on, be innovative and creative. In other words, once people get the idea, they will experiment.

Both approaches have variations. Combinations of the two occur. But the basics remain the same.

The biggest mistake the person teaching — regardless of venue or title — can make is to assume that what works for him will work for the person trying something new. In fact, the only thing that matters is what works for the person doing the learning — trying something new.

Left to their own devices, people automatically use the approach that works best for them unless they feel threatened, as for example, if they think their job is at risk. Under those circumstances, they will pull in and do whatever feels as though it is least risky.

Absent that, the person learning will use the approach that works best for him/her. And it’s the learner who counts.