What Is Learning by Doing And Why Is It Effective? - Lifehack

Learning by doing is the simple idea that we are capable of learning more about something when we perform the action. For example, say you're looking to play a ... YourCurrentChallenge HowtoLiveaFullLife(WithoutCompromisingonWhatTrulyMatters) AchievingGoals:TheUltimateGuidetoGoalAchieving&GoalSettingin2022 WhatIsMotivationAndHowToGetMotivated(YourUltimateGuide) HowtoIncreaseMentalFocusandStaySharp HowToLearnFasterAndSmarter HowToGetFitIfYouHaveaBusySchedule HowToBoostEnergyAndPeakPerformance Courses Mastercourses FreeClasses Topics LifePotential StayingMotivated GoalGetting Focus Leadership CareerSuccess SuccessMindset Entrepreneur LifeBalance RestoreEnergy Exercise&Training Diet&Nutrition MentalWellness Relationships Parenting Learning LifehackShow Shop ⌄Scrolldowntocontinue⌄ Learning WhatIsLearningbyDoingAndWhyIsItEffective?LeonHoFounder&CEOofLifehackReadfullprofile ⌄Scrolldowntocontinue⌄ Share Pinit Tweet Share Email Thelistofteachingtechniquesisever-expandingastherearemultiplewaysforustogainknowledge.Asaresult,therearemultipletechniquesouttherethatleveragethoseparticularskills.OnesuchtechniqueIwanttosharewithyouislearningbydoing.Thistechniquehasbeenaroundforalongtime,andit’sasurprisinglyeffectiveonethankstothevariousperksthatcomewithit.Alsocalledexperientiallearning,I’llbesharingwithyoumyknowledgeonthesubject,whatitisdeepdown,andwhyit’ssuchaneffectivelearningtool.TableofContents WhatIsLearningbyDoing?WhatAreItsBenefits?HowtoGetStartedFinalThoughtsMoreArticlesAboutLearningbyDoingWhatIsLearningbyDoing? Learningbydoingisthesimpleideathatwearecapableoflearningmoreaboutsomethingwhenweperformtheaction.Forexample,sayyou’relookingtoplayamusicalinstrumentandwerewonderinghowallofthemsoundandmix.Inmostothertechniques,you’dbeplayingtheinstrumentallbyyourselfinastudio.Learningbydoinginsteadgivesyouabasicunderstandingofhowtoplaytheinstrumentandputsyouuponastagetoplayanimprovisedpiecewithothermusicians.Anotherwaytothinkaboutthisisbytakingamoreactiveapproachtosomethingasopposedtoyoupassivelylearningaboutit.Theargumentisthatactiveengagementprovidesdeeperlearningandthatit’sokayifyoumakemistakesasyoulearnfromthoseaswell.Thismentalitybroughtforthanewnameforthistechnique:experientiallearning. WhatAreItsBenefits? Experimentallearninghasbeenaroundforeonsnow.ItwasAristotlewhowrotethat“forthethingswehavetolearnbeforewecandothem,welearnbydoingthem.” ⌄Scrolldowntocontinuereadingarticle⌄ ⌄Scrolldowntocontinuereadingarticle⌄ Overtheyears,thatwayofthinkingchangedanddevelopedandforatimewaslostoncecomputerswereintegratedintoschools.It’sonlybeeninrecentyearswhereschoolshaveadoptedthistechniqueagain.It’sclearwhyteachersareencouragingthisasitoffersfivebigbenefits. 1.It’sMoreEngagingandMoreMemorable Thefirstbenefitisthatit’smoreengagingandmemorable.Sincethisrequiresactiononyourpart,you’renotgoingtobeabletoweakenyourperformance.Thisisbigsince,traditionally,you’dlearnfromlectures,books,orarticles,andlearnerscouldeasilyread—ornotread—thetextandwalkawaywithnoknowledgeatallfromit.Whenyouareforcedintoasituationwhereyouhavetodowhatyouneedtolearn,it’seasiertorememberthosethings.Everyactionprovidespersonalizedlearningexperiences,andit’swheremotivationisbuilt.Thatmotivationconnectstowhatislearnedandfelt.Itteachesthatlearningisrelevantandmeaningful.Beyondthat,thisexperienceallowstheopportunityforlearnerstogothroughthelearningcyclethatinvolvesextendedeffort,mistakes,andreflection,followedbyrefinementofstrategies. 2.ItIsMorePersonal Stemmingfromthereasonmentionedabove,learningbydoingoffersapersonalexperience.Referringbacktothecycleofeffort,mistakes,reflection,andrefinement,thiscycleisonlypossiblethroughpersonalemotions—themotivationandrealizationofknowledgeofaparticulartopictyingintoyourvaluesandideals.Thisconnectionispowerfulandthus,offersaricherexperiencethanreadingfromabookorarticlessuchasthisone.Thatpersonalconnectionismoreimportantasitencouragesexplorationandcuriosityfromlearners. ⌄Scrolldowntocontinuereadingarticle⌄ ⌄Scrolldowntocontinuereadingarticle⌄ Ifyou’vealwayswantedtobakeacakeorcookauniquedish,youcouldreaduponitorwatchavideo.Oryoucouldgettheingredientsandstartgoingthroughitallyourself.Evenifyoumakemistakesnow,youhaveabettergraspofwhattodoforthenexttimeyoutryitout.You’realsomoreinvestedinthatsincethat’sfoodthatyoumadewiththeintentionofyouhavingit. 3.ItIsCommunity-Connected Learningbydoinginvolvestheworldatlargeratherthansittingaloneinyourroomoralibrarystuckinabook.Sincethewholecityisyourclassroomtechnically,you’reabletoleverageallkindsofthings.You’reabletogatherlocalassetsandpartnersandconnectlocalissuestolargerglobalthemes.Thisleansmoreintothepersonalaspectthatthistechniqueencourages.Youarepartofacommunity,andthisformoflearningallowsyoutointeractmoreandmakeaconnectionwithit—notnecessarilywiththeresidentsbutcertainlytheenvironmentaroundit. 4.It’sMoreIntegratedIntoPeople’sLives Thisformoflearningisdeeplyintegratedintoourlivesaswell.Deeplearningoccursbestwhenlearnerscanapplywhatthey’velearnedinaclassroomsettingtoanswerquestionsaroundthemthattheycareabout.Eventhoughthereisalotofinformationoutthere,peoplearestillalwaysasking“what’sinitforme?”Evenwhenitcomestolearning,peoplewillbemoreinterestediftheyknowthatwhattheyarelearningisvitaltotheirverywayoflifeinsomefashion.It’sforgettableifthey’reunabletotieknowledgeinwithpersonalaspectsoftheirlives.Thus,experientiallearningmakestheapplicationofknowledgesimpler. 5.ItBuildsSuccessSkills Thefinalbenefitoflearningbydoingisthatitbuildsupyourskillsforsuccess.Learningbydoingencouragesyoutostepoutofyourcomfortzone,discoversomethingnew,andtrythingsoutforthefirsttime.You’reboundtomakeamistakeortwo,butthistechniquedoesn’tshameyouforit. ⌄Scrolldowntocontinuereadingarticle⌄ ⌄Scrolldowntocontinuereadingarticle⌄ Asaresult,learningbydoingcanbuildyourinitiativefornewthingsaswellaspersistencetowardsgrowthanddevelopmentinafield.Thiscouldalsoleadtoteammanagementandcollaborationskillgrowth.Theseareallvitalthingsinpersonalgrowthaswemovetowardsthefuture. HowtoGetStarted Whilealltheseperksarehelpfulforyou,howareyougoingtostart?Well,thereareseveraldifferentapproachesthatyoucantakewiththis.Herearesomeofthemthatcometomind. 1.Low-StakesQuizzes Inclassroomsettings,onewaytointroducethistechniqueistohavemanylow-stakesquizzes.Thesequizzesaren’tbasedonassessingone’sperformance.Instead,thesequizzesaredesignedtohavelearnersengagewiththecontentandtogeneratethelearnedinformationthemselves.Researchshowsthatthismethodisaneffectivelearningtechnique.[1]Itallowsstudentstoimprovetheirunderstandingandrecallandpromotesthe“transfer”ofknowledgetoothersettings. 2.TypeofMentalDoing AnotherapproachisonethatPsychologistRichMayerputtogether.Accordingtohim,learningisagenerativeactivity.[2]HisknowledgeandtheresearchdoneinhislabatSantaBarbarahaverepeatedlyshownthatwegainexpertisebydoinganaction,buttheactionisbasedonwhatwealreadyknow.Forexample,sayyouwanttolearnmoreabouttheSovietdictatorStalin.Allyouneedtodoislinkwhatyoudoknow—thatStalinwasadictator—andlinkittowhatyouwanttolearnandretain.StalingrewupinGeorgia,killedmillionsofpeople,centralizedpowerinRussia,andassistedinthevictoryofWorldWar2.Thistechniqueevenappliestothemostsimpleofmemorytasksasourbrainlearnsandrelearns. ⌄Scrolldowntocontinuereadingarticle⌄ ⌄Scrolldowntocontinuereadingarticle⌄ 3.OtherMentalActivities ThefinalmethodI’llsharewithyouistakingtheliteralapproach—gettingoutthereandgettingyourhandsdirtysotospeak.Buthowyougoaboutthatisuptoyou.Youcouldtryreadinganarticleandthengoingoutandapplyingitimmediately—likeyoucouldwiththisarticle.Ormaybeyoucouldfindfurtherengagementthroughpuzzlesormakingagameoutoftheactivitythatyou’redoing.Forexample,ifyouwantedtolearnaboutanimalbehaviorpatterns,youcanreadaboutthem,goouttowatchanimals,andseeiftheyperformthespecificbehaviorsthatyoureadabout. FinalThoughts Learningbydoingencouragesactiveengagementwithavailablematerialsandforcesyoutoworkhardertorememberthematerial.It’saneffectivetechniquebecauseithelpsingrainknowledgeintoyourmemory.Afterall,youhaveadeeperpersonalconnectiontothatknowledge,andyou’llbemoremotivatedtouseitinthefuture.Withthatinmind,Iencourageyoutotakewhatyou’velearnedfromreadingthisarticleandapplythatintherealworld.It’sonlygoingtobenefityouasyougrow. MoreArticlesAboutLearningbyDoing 4LearningStylestoHelpYouLearnFasterandSmarter 6CommonTypesofLearners(WithLearningHacksforEach) EffectiveLearningTheories(andHowtoBenefitfromThem) Featuredphotocredit:VanTayMediaviaunsplash.com Reference[1]^ParklandCollege:UsingLow-StakesRepeatedTestingCanImproveStudentLearning:How(Some)PracticeMakesPerfect[2]^ResearchGate:LearningasaGenerativeActivity:EightLearningStrategiesthatPromoteUnderstanding Share Pinit Tweet Share Email Advertising Advertising ReadNext 6CommonTypesofLearners(WithLearningHacksforEach) 4LearningStylestoHelpYouLearnFasterandSmarter EffectiveLearningTheories(andHowtoBenefitfromThem) Advertising Morebythisauthor LeonHo Founder&CEOofLifehack HowtoWorkRemotely(YourCompleteGuide) 74HealthyHabitsThatWillImproveEveryAspectofYourLife HowtoFindAnAccountabilityPartnertoHelpYouBuildHabits 10PowerfulLearningHackstoBoostYourLearningAbility WhyHavingaGoalsStrategyCanHelpYouAchieveMore Advertising TrendinginLearning 1 10PowerfulLearningHackstoBoostYourLearningAbility 2 5LearningManagementSystems(LMS)forEffectiveLearning 3 23TricksToLearnAnythingBetter 4 HowtoReadFaster:10WaystoIncreaseYourReadingSpeed 5 29BestOnlineLearningPlatformsYouNeedToTry Advertising Morebythisauthor LeonHo Founder&CEOofLifehack HowtoWorkRemotely(YourCompleteGuide) 74HealthyHabitsThatWillImproveEveryAspectofYourLife HowtoFindAnAccountabilityPartnertoHelpYouBuildHabits 10PowerfulLearningHackstoBoostYourLearningAbility WhyHavingaGoalsStrategyCanHelpYouAchieveMore TrendinginLearning 1 10PowerfulLearningHackstoBoostYourLearningAbility 2 5LearningManagementSystems(LMS)forEffectiveLearning 3 23TricksToLearnAnythingBetter 4 HowtoReadFaster:10WaystoIncreaseYourReadingSpeed 5 29BestOnlineLearningPlatformsYouNeedToTry ReadNext 9EfficientLearningHabitsofSmartLearners 7LanguageHackstoLearnAnyLanguageFaster 7InsanelyFunWaystoLearnaLanguageWhenYou’reTooBusy 13WaystoDevelopSelf-DirectedLearningandLearnFaster 10RemarkableTraitsofSuccessfulLearners HowtoBecomeanExpert(AndSpotoutOneNearby) 17Note-TakingTipsThatWillTransformHowYouRetainInfo 11MostEffectiveCognitiveSkillsToSpeedUpLearning Advertising Advertising ExploretheFullLifeFramework HowtoLiveaFullLife(WithoutCompromisingonWhatTrulyMatters) AchievingGoals:TheUltimateGuidetoGoalAchieving&GoalSettingin2022 WhatIsMotivationAndHowToGetMotivated(YourUltimateGuide) HowtoIncreaseMentalFocusandStaySharp HowToLearnFasterAndSmarter HowToGetFitIfYouHaveaBusySchedule HowToBoostEnergyAndPeakPerformance Advertising Advertising