As the professional development manager for my function I am deeply interested in the process of learning. What does a busy professional have to do to effectively learn new things and keep up to date with best professional practice. Perhaps the easiest way is to passively attend an online or, perhaps better, in person talk or lecture or YouTube video where a fellow professional describes whatever the topic is typically using PowerPoint slides and with any audience participation limited to questions at the end. An improvement on this is a panel of speakers who each make a short introductory speech and then discuss the topic facilitated by a chairperson who gathers questions from the audience maybe through the Chat function for an online event.
Any of these can work, but take a look at the Learning Pyramid graphic which shows one view of the most effective retention rates for different methods of learning. This can really help to inform how best we can learn: the traditional “lecture” comes out worse with a 5% retention rate bettered even by just “reading”. There are of course different “qualities” of speakers from the worst, who simply read a script with no slides, to a dynamic audio visual presentation (which on its own has a 20% retention rate) with slides videos and audience participation by, for example, online surveys. Nevertheless it is intriguing to see that that “discussion” and “practice doing” rate more highly in this analysis, with “teaching others” coming out on top with 90% retention.
I suggest that whatever method is used one of the forgotten arts is just to take the time to actively learn. Reading around the topic and the speaker before a talk and finding time to digest and put learning into practice can turn a passive exercise where you just receive knowledge into an active learning experience. In law firms trainees used to spend 6 months actually sitting with a senior lawyer to learn how they operated – almost learning by osmosis.
The objective of the speaker also matters. What are you trying to do as a presenter of knowledge:
See this blog 8 Ways to Prioritize Your Professional Development which defines professional development as taking positive steps toward improving your skills and knowledge exploring eight strategies for doing so including:
“Today’s fast-moving business landscape calls for organizations and their people to adapt to changing circumstances rapidly, and to always be learning. As Wired co-founder Kevin Kelly puts it, “Get good at beginner mode, asking dumb questions, making stupid mistakes, and teaching others what you learn.””
It also advocates “peer learning” that tried and tested but undervalued method when you simply “ask a colleague” who, where there is a culture of learning and development, will be only to pleased to help.
See also this Forbes post 5 Ways To Optimize Your Learning And Development which advocates Bite-Sized Learningand A Personalized Approach:
“On-demand courses tailored to employees' needs and preferences are the best way to motivate them to dedicate time to professional development. Corporate learning should also correspond to employees’ work and growth needs.”
And yet learning thoroughly can also take time; there are not necessarily effective shortcuts. In the Tai Chi class I attend we are learning a form, a series of movements, derived from a martial art. It is very tempting to want to learn all of the 24 moves quickly. However, we are actually doing it more slowly and thoroughly over several months. The teacher learned in an even more traditional Chinese model where he was simply not allowed to learn the next move until he had perfected the last one.
I have concluded that in reality learning is a mix of the approaches described in the learning pyramid and in practice some combination of the methods can probably result in a higher knowledge retention rate. I propose learning is a continuous process that in real life is a combination of formal learning sessions, application in practice and learning from and teaching others. For organisations it is about creating a culture of continuous learning – see my blog in April on A Learning Culture. For us as individual professionals it is about having a curious and open mindset however long you have been practicing. The really true expert knows how little they actually know and how much there is to learn.
And what does the future hold. Maybe virtual reality will move from the gaming world into professional development, simulating issues we may encounter in real life. We can also use AI and improve our knowledge base with ChatGPT and the like. However, the same willingness to learn and to find the time to do so will still apply to professional development as a part of a busy day job, whatever medium we use for it.
As the speaker and author Brian Tracy observed “Those people who develop the ability to continuously acquire new and better forms of knowledge that they can apply to their work and lives will be the movers and shakers in our society for the indefinite future.”
While Henry Ford said “Anyone who stops learning is old at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young”.
And Benjamin Franklin sums up this topic nicely “Tell me, and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”
Any of these can work, but take a look at the Learning Pyramid graphic which shows one view of the most effective retention rates for different methods of learning. This can really help to inform how best we can learn: the traditional “lecture” comes out worse with a 5% retention rate bettered even by just “reading”. There are of course different “qualities” of speakers from the worst, who simply read a script with no slides, to a dynamic audio visual presentation (which on its own has a 20% retention rate) with slides videos and audience participation by, for example, online surveys. Nevertheless it is intriguing to see that that “discussion” and “practice doing” rate more highly in this analysis, with “teaching others” coming out on top with 90% retention.
I suggest that whatever method is used one of the forgotten arts is just to take the time to actively learn. Reading around the topic and the speaker before a talk and finding time to digest and put learning into practice can turn a passive exercise where you just receive knowledge into an active learning experience. In law firms trainees used to spend 6 months actually sitting with a senior lawyer to learn how they operated – almost learning by osmosis.
The objective of the speaker also matters. What are you trying to do as a presenter of knowledge:
- display your expertise
- sell your professional services
- entertain as well as inform.
See this blog 8 Ways to Prioritize Your Professional Development which defines professional development as taking positive steps toward improving your skills and knowledge exploring eight strategies for doing so including:
- “Focus on Objectives – list the skills and knowledge you most want to learn
- Make learning a habit – build learning into your daily routine
- Learn at your best - schedule your learning for times of the day when your energy levels are high”
“Today’s fast-moving business landscape calls for organizations and their people to adapt to changing circumstances rapidly, and to always be learning. As Wired co-founder Kevin Kelly puts it, “Get good at beginner mode, asking dumb questions, making stupid mistakes, and teaching others what you learn.””
It also advocates “peer learning” that tried and tested but undervalued method when you simply “ask a colleague” who, where there is a culture of learning and development, will be only to pleased to help.
See also this Forbes post 5 Ways To Optimize Your Learning And Development which advocates Bite-Sized Learningand A Personalized Approach:
“On-demand courses tailored to employees' needs and preferences are the best way to motivate them to dedicate time to professional development. Corporate learning should also correspond to employees’ work and growth needs.”
And yet learning thoroughly can also take time; there are not necessarily effective shortcuts. In the Tai Chi class I attend we are learning a form, a series of movements, derived from a martial art. It is very tempting to want to learn all of the 24 moves quickly. However, we are actually doing it more slowly and thoroughly over several months. The teacher learned in an even more traditional Chinese model where he was simply not allowed to learn the next move until he had perfected the last one.
I have concluded that in reality learning is a mix of the approaches described in the learning pyramid and in practice some combination of the methods can probably result in a higher knowledge retention rate. I propose learning is a continuous process that in real life is a combination of formal learning sessions, application in practice and learning from and teaching others. For organisations it is about creating a culture of continuous learning – see my blog in April on A Learning Culture. For us as individual professionals it is about having a curious and open mindset however long you have been practicing. The really true expert knows how little they actually know and how much there is to learn.
And what does the future hold. Maybe virtual reality will move from the gaming world into professional development, simulating issues we may encounter in real life. We can also use AI and improve our knowledge base with ChatGPT and the like. However, the same willingness to learn and to find the time to do so will still apply to professional development as a part of a busy day job, whatever medium we use for it.
As the speaker and author Brian Tracy observed “Those people who develop the ability to continuously acquire new and better forms of knowledge that they can apply to their work and lives will be the movers and shakers in our society for the indefinite future.”
While Henry Ford said “Anyone who stops learning is old at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young”.
And Benjamin Franklin sums up this topic nicely “Tell me, and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”
RSS Feed
