Basic HTML Version
“There’s no end to learning”
New ways to acquire knowledge
This quotation from the famous composer
and pianist, Robert Schumann
(1810–1856), is more relevant today than ever. On the job seminars, private further
education, information on the Internet, exchanging information on networks – the
opportunities for acquiring knowledge seem infinite. But what do people actually need
from it and how do people learn best what is most relevant?
Pre-requisite
for successful
learning: the quality of the
information must be right.
W
hether you are seeking
general or expert knowledge,
the opportunities for
obtaining it are endless and
open up hitherto unknown sources for
people in 21st century. Global knowledge
platforms, social networks and
companies’ internal knowledge
management systems try to combine
the flow of data and make it available
in a systematic way. Now it is primarily
a matter of finding new ways of filtering
and processing relevant information.
Learning itself is not the main focus here
but rather the meaningful preparation and
processing thereof. Thinking and learning
must be freed from old attitudes so that
they can be focused more on creative
processes and problem solving.
Stimulating interest
A prerequisite for any type of learning
is predominantly interest as well as the
quality of the information. If you look
back at your own school days you will
certainly remember the mindless learning
by rote of mathematical formulae, the
periodic tables of the elements or the
mantra like declination of verbs. Often,
in spite of all our efforts, we still didn’t
learn it. If you want to be really good and
successful in an area you must be
interested in it and create suitable
conditions. Successful learning is the
result of being interested. That makes you
more motivated, and in turn, that
motivation makes you more interested.
That is what stimulates increased
curiosity and a thirst for knowledge. As
the Latin roots of the word reveal, interest
is made up of inter, which means
“between” and est “to be” – when
someone is in the middle of things and
actively takes part in a topic or a process.
The 24-hour rule
There are lots of tricks and methods that
can be used to help retain something you
have just learnt. These include memory
techniques, such as associating content
with graphical characters or devising
mnemonics. These are based on two
principles: the association and conversion
of words into pictures and models. Using
these, even complex content can easily
be saved and recalled later. For example,