Until today, there is a common but wrong belief that learning is the ability to remember information. A sharp memory is key to getting higher grades in many schools.
Many professionals cannot think critically or make quality decisions because they were not required to think when they were young schoolchildren.
One thing I learned from teaching is this: my job is not to teach. My job is to teach students how to learn. Therefore, I am successful only when learning happens.
What is learning?
Learning includes the acquisition of information, knowledge, and skills. But it is more than these. Learning is a change in behaviour brought about by experiences.
Even animals learn through experience. Ivan Pavlov’s dogs have shown us how previous experiences can influence future behaviors.
One does not need to personally experience something to learn. You can learn by watching others.
Reading an excellent article about marketing does not make one a good marketer. You have to experience the idea. That means you need to take the risk to apply what you’ve read.
The moment you take action on an idea, it becomes yours. Your experience is yours alone. And whatever the result of your experimentation is a new experience.
If the experience changed how you think and do things, then you can say you’ve learned.
