Sunday, May 8, 2011

Do Learners Like to Learn?

No one enjoys attending a lecture where you sit, listen, fall asleep, then scramble to take a few notes. However, no one really enjoys elaborate and detailed learning activities that take so much time and lead to learner frustrations.

So, what's the solution?

I learned of this equation in church and it seems to be relevant in this situation.

R – R = R (Rules – Relationship = Rebellion)

Learners are programmed toward a focus on their job tasks or at least toward their job. They begin work, read e-mail, attend conference calls, build a few PowerPoint slides, complete projects, and the cycle continues each day. In other words, they are bent toward a rebellion when it comes to formal learning. They are busy and don't want to break away from what they believe is productive work, their daily work routine. They don't want "rules" (i.e. they don't want formal learning; to have to attend at a certain time or be involved in a learning strategy that is boring).

The solution is that the learning organization must first build a relationship with the learner. And, the learner must trust the learning organization and own the responsibility of being present and active as a learner. I'm saying that it's not just on the shoulders of the learning organization to build the relationship. Relationships are a two way street. We must have learners that chose to learn.

The result is a new equation.

R + R = R (Relationship + Rules = Rest)

If the learners and the learning organization have a strong relationship (both dedicated toward one another), then the rules (i.e. courses, reference materials, other learning opportunities) lead to rest (i.e. learning organization feels confident it made a difference; learners improve performance and make true business impact).

Example of This in Action
I listened to my minister present these equations and one week later I had forgotten them. I knew the only way to solidify this in my long term memory was to critically reflect and write a blog that tied the idea back to my profession. I was dedicating to learning and internalizing this message. I determined my own learning approach.

My Point

In order to have true business impact, both the learning organization and the learner must really care and both must work hard. Building learning and learning itself is hard work. If you are a learner, make the choice to learn. If you are the learning organization, dedicate your resources to building learning for those who want to learn. That is how the right relationship is built.

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