Learning never ends. I, for one, didn’t need National Learning and Development Month to remind me of that. But sometimes external reminders that pop up in our social media feeds or on our calendars can trigger thoughts on topics we normally don’t spend much time considering.
It’s probably not surprising that this month resonates with me, given my lengthy career in the field. But for once, I’m not just talking about engaging in regular professional development to stay abreast of advances in our career fields. I’m referring to the daily situations that remind us of how much we can still learn, whether out of an emergent need or simply a personal interest.
Here are a few of my personal daily situations that reminded me in recent weeks that my learning journey is never complete:
Situation 1: Auto Repair: The True Fear Factor!
The Circumstance: Unexpected car trouble left me stranded.
The Two-fold Learning Experience: Refresher Training – Turns out, my neighbors don’t mind me asking them for help!
Learning by Doing: I resorted to a YouTube video to learn how to successfully replace a dead battery by myself on a Sunday.
The Learning Outcome: An incredible sense of accomplishment in a completely unfamiliar field that initially had me shaking in my boots!
Situation 2: We’ve Always Done It This Way: Time for a Fresh Eye!
The Circumstance: Onboarding a new team member.
The Learning Experience: Trying to explain our organization’s complex processes to a new team member forced me to re-examine the way we do things and how to explain that to an outsider. Viewing our programs through that newcomer’s lens revealed several areas where we can achieve process improvements that have a positive impact on outcomes for team members AND clients.
The Learning Outcome: A renewed focus on our internal continuous improvement lifecycle!
Situation 3: Resistance is Futile: Get with AI!
The Circumstance: AI has found its way into learning and development.
The Learning Experience: After continuously honing a model-practice-based approach to the field I have worked in for more than two decades, I finally had to face the fact that the old ways are no longer necessarily the best ways. So, after taking a foundational course on the ethical use of AI a few months back, it was time to take a deeper dive into the practical uses of AI in instructional and curriculum design – not to replace tried and true practices, but to make them more efficient or targeted. Turns out, combining neuroscience with AI can have a significant impact on developing power skills; who knew?!
The Learning Outcome: Integration of the consistent use of emerging technologies in the interest of better development and – ultimately – learning outcomes.
These three examples of my recent impromptu learning experiences in life serve as a keen reminder that learning (and teaching) can take place at any time, in any area of our lives. Very often, the only aspect of these learning moments we can control is the way we approach the challenge.
Continuous learning, which is it? The bane of our existence or the spice of life?
Despite some tense moments and fear of failure, ultimately, I’m leaning towards ‘spice of life’. If I think about all the things I’ve learned over the years – in school, from friends, in my profession, from blind and low-vision colleagues, from my kids – it seems that learning is all I’ve ever done. The thought of stopping now – or ever – feels like an unimaginable loss that would result in a bland future, indeed.
What’s an upcoming learning challenge I’m anticipating, you ask? It appears that I have wasps building a nest behind the shutters of the guest room window. Looks like I’ll be researching wasps’ nest removal next. Wish me luck!