The Learning Nut: May 2011

May 25, 2011

Big Picture Learning

Over the past few months this space has been dedicated to our progress and eventual success as great learners. We’ve examined what it means to be a great learner, why we would want to be one, and how we can become one. More specifically we’ve looked at how to generate motivation for learning, how to prepare ourselves for learning, and specific techniques for realizing our full learning potential.

Today the focus shifts to curriculum, specifically to what I’m calling ‘big picture learning’. Here’s a working definition:

Big picture learning is that which enables us to interpret and effectively manage the most persistent and difficult problems in our lives, individually and collectively.

So what are some of those intractable problems? At the personal level that list may include:

§ Sadness or depression when you are separated from things you like

§ Irritation or anger when you encounter things you do not like

§ Anxiety about money or resources

§ Physical or mental sickness

§ Fears of ageing or death

§ Failing to satisfy desires

§ Dishonesty

At our place of work we may encounter:

§ Unclear methods

§ Unexpected layoffs

§ Poor working relationships

§ Poor or non-existent training

§ Lack of clear or consistent purpose

§ Failure to remove barriers to effective performance

§ Failure to anticipate the needs or desires of customers

In our local community, region or nation problems may include:

§ Crimes of various types – theft, assault, murder and so forth

§ Failure to effectively balance the needs of various groups

§ Deterioration of infrastructure

Nationally or globally we observe the following problems[1]:

§ War

§ Famine

§ Poverty

§ Disease

§ Economic failure of organizations – or governments

Big picture learning can help with all of these problems – personal, organizational, community, regional, national and even global.

We may think that learning focused on a ‘big picture’ is for high-ranking corporate or political leaders. Although big picture learning may be very useful to such people, it is intended for everybody, no matter what their personal circumstances.

With motivation and effective methods we can all learn this curriculum. We do not need to occupy high-level positions. We can, for example, lead by example in our families, in our workplaces, and in our communities large or small.

Here are some of the topics I will explore here in the weeks ahead:

§ What is big picture learning?

§ Why does it matter?

§ Preparing for big picture learning

§ Exploring cause and effect

§ Distinguishing ‘problem’, ‘symptom’ and ‘root cause’

§ The big picture curriculum

§ A theory of knowledge

§ Servant leadership

§ Systems thinking

§ Understanding variation

§ Understanding psychology

I hope to build on the work of several esteemed theorists and practitioners, particularly Robert Greenleaf and W. Edwards Deming.

I intend to borrow as well from eastern philosophy, in particularly from the writings of Tibetan guru and meditation master Geshe Kelsang Gyatso.

I hope you will enjoy this series. I know I will!

PS Please note that this is very much a work in process. I will welcome any and all constructive suggestions and comments!

[1] Some of these ‘problems’ may be more accurately be described as ‘symptoms’ but for simplicity’s sake I am labeling them here as ‘problems’.

May 19, 2011

Dedication

I sincerely hope that some of what I have written over the past two months will be helpful to you, and that the 10-step model outlined in this recent series of posts provides you with a useful framework.

Of course there is no guarantee that by following these practices that you will become a great learner, at least not immediately, or even that you will experience all of the benefits outlined above.

I am nevertheless convinced that if you engage in these practices sincerely you will note progress in your life, and an increasing sense of fulfillment. You will eventually become a great learner, and experience all of the benefits outlined above.

I dedicate this series of posts and this blog to your happiness. May your life be long and may all the conditions appear so that you have the opportunity to meet, study and practice the most beneficial guide, teacher, mentor or coach and teachings imaginable, and may you progress swiftly along your learning path, with great success.

-David Luke, Senior Consultant at FocusFit (2007) Inc.

© 2011 D. G. Luke and FocusFit (2007) Inc.

Transforming adversity

One of the most important lessons that guides, mentors and teachers can offer students is how to understand that ‘failure’ can be a good thing.

No one likes to fail but so-called failures carry substantial information about performance and provide the opportunity to become a great learner.

If you view your learning as a life-long path you may already know how to turn such adversity to your advantage. It is easier said than done, but if you can take those ‘negative’ experiences and use them as powerful learning experiences you will find yourself catapulted forward in your realizations and personal growth.

In this step you re-evaluate past beliefs and experiences which you previously understood one way (typically as negative or harmful) and now understand another way (typically, as positive or beneficial). To ‘re-frame’ you think about adverse conditions, failures and mistakes in a way that helps you continue learning.

In the words of meditation master Kelsang Gyatso:

“Our problems are opportunities to observe and contemplate the law of actions and their effects. They are opportunities to contemplate suffering and its causes, and to practice patience and joyful perseverance.”[1] (my italics)

Dr. Jacqueline Leighton mentions an interesting case of transforming adversities:

In her book Basic Black Cathie Black tells the story of decisions she made in the wake of the collapse of her marriage. She decided she needed a change in environment. Even though she had a great career at Ms. Magazine in New York City, she decided to take a job in San Francisco for a new magazine being unveiled by Francis Ford Coppola. She carefully studied the move and the plans for the new magazine. Everything seemed right. She uprooted herself, moved all of her belongings and established herself in San Francisco. Three months later the magazine failed. She went back to Ms. Magazine.

When asked some time later whether she thought the move to San Francisco had been a mistake she replied that it had not been a mistake at all. She had made valuable contacts while in San Francisco and she was able to negotiate a better job when she returned to New York City. The moral of this story is that she could have berated herself for taking a risk but instead she recognized that failure was part of pursuing her passion, and substantially advanced her understanding of the world of publishing.

I once told a friend, who happens to be a Buddhist monk, all about the collapse of my own marriage in the early 1990s. I described the horrendous decision, the anguish it caused for all around me, and the long litigious fight over money.

He responded, “How wonderful!”

At first I laughed, amused by this young monk’s audacity and then, upon reflection realized that this experience really was ‘wonderful’, because of the catalytic positive effect it had in my life. That experience helped me generate the motivation and engage in all the activities I have outlined here.

[1] Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Joyful Path of Good Fortune

May 10, 2011

Taking risks

If it hasn’t already happened there will be a point in your learning where you will need to take a personal risk.

These are the moments, as the Star Wars character Yoda might say, “Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try.”

By taking such risks you will almost certainly grow in confidence and capability.

This happened for me a few years ago when a colleague asked me to teach a class on a topic for which I had some familiarity, but had not yet fully mastered the material. I was concerned that I might present it in the wrong way, say the wrong thing, and disappoint the students because of my lack of knowledge. I thought, “I am not ready”. I was nervous.

The result: it was fine. Yes I may have seemed a bit awkward during the teaching, but because I had to take this risk, my understanding and deep appreciation for the material grew, as did my confidence.

There is always the possibility that by taking a risk you will in fact fail to meet the goal, let somebody down, or show to yourself and others that you have not mastered the task or the material.

Remember that such ‘failure’ is an essential part of learning, and that persistence and perseverance are essential ingredients in attaining your life goals—more on this in the next post.

May 03, 2011

Applying Joyful Effort

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been outlining the characteristics of a great learner. These are also the steps that each of us can follow to become a great learner.

Even if we accomplish each of the steps we will inevitably encounter some discouragement and other obstacles. We will realize that we need to find paths through or around these obstacles. We may even find that we need to push a little – or a lot – harder than we ever thought necessary to advance our learning journey.

I was once in a study program where the class was more focused on socializing than on making progress in our learning. The teacher was very affable, and the classes were very enjoyable, but there was almost no pressure to learn or perform.

Then I had to move to another city and had to leave the study program. I looked and found something similar in my new city and signed up. I was expecting a similar, low-key, low pressure environment. As soon as I started with the new class however I realized that the expectations were much higher, and that I would need to work a lot harder to make progress.

I became discouraged. After some reflection I went back to the learning steps outlined above, right back to generating motivation, then slowly began to apply effort to the materials. In the end it became a joyful process as I realized that my grasp of the material, and ability to participate, were improving.

Another way to characterize joyful effort might be happy, deliberate practice, something that all great learners do. Quoting Dr. Leighton,

Deliberate practice is about hard work and lots of motivation to engage in hard work. There’s no escaping it. In fact, K. Anders Ericsson, a pioneer and

groundbreaking researcher in the area of expertise said the following: “A century of laboratory research has revealed that learning is most effective when it includes focused goals, such as improving a specific aspect of performance; feedback that compares the actual to the desired performance; and opportunities for repetition, so the desired level of performance can be achieved.”

Then quoting from The New Yorker magazine, Dr. Leighton continues:

What do Wayne Gretzky, Yo-Yo Ma, and renowned brain surgeon Charlie Wilson have in common? A: They all practice over and over again, until they iron out even the smallest imperfections. Perhaps you were hoping that there was something more mysterious about the way in which high-level performers achieved their excellence in learning. On the one hand, that they practice until they get it right is strangely comforting because it is so accessible to all of us. On the other hand, it’s strangely discomforting that it is in fact so accessible to all of us. We cannot make excuses.

Next I’ll look at an interesting aspect of the learning path: taking risks.