It is quite disturbing that most of us pride ourselves as learners, we attend schools, boast of several certificates in different grades yet our society and the quality of life tell quite a different tale. One doesn’t need to look deep to discover the society is one mostly inhabited by “incomplete and invalid learners”
Learning they say is a process but very few times are we told about the nature of the process. It just seems cool to think of learning as a process. Perhaps if we knew how the process looked like, we would know how to track our progress. Which is why we have come up with what can be called the “basic learning cycle”. A cycle which must be completed before you can proudly say you have learnt anything.
This cycle comprises of 3 stages which we somehow have done a great job at keeping apart, employing them singularly and rarely.
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This is the first and most famous stage of the learning cycle. Coming into contact with new information on anything, sometimes it is an awareness created. Knowledge can be gotten from anywhere and everywhere not just in the four walls of a classrooms. It could be solid facts as well as opinion. But is knowing enough? - πππππππππππππ
Knowing something isn’t necessarily understanding it. There are a lot of things we know but cannot really boast of an apt understanding of those things. You could read and know the caption of this article and still have no idea what it meant. Comprehension is what makes us sensible. So, when we understand something, what difference then does it make? - πππππππππππ
Just like it’s position in the cycle it is the key to unlocking newer and better levels of life. The power of learning lies in the ability of knowledge to make an actual difference and that happens only through application. Lives are changed through applying understood knowledge, countries are developed through applying understood knowledge, it makes all the difference. Application also permits for modifications, adjustments and updates.
From our biology Class, we already know cycles are chronological and progressive. Skipping a stage invalidates the cycle. So should we approach learning. You cannot understand what you don’t know, neither can you apply what you don’t understand. One happening without the others becomes incomplete and invalid.
You aren’t “learned” if your life doesn’t see through the complete cycle. Of what purpose is learning and acquiring knowledge if it doesn’t make a difference? think about it.
There is no other purpose to learning other than that we be equipped well enough to engineer change, growth and development. If your knowledge thus far doesn’t do these things, you might want to check on which stage of the cycle you’re stuck in and fix it.
We cannot conclude without reiterating on the “CYCLE” nature of learning. It is continuous and at no point in time can we say we have graduated from learning. The cycle is unending, there is only room for upgrades, accuracy and efficiency.
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