Use 'Print preview' to check the number of pages and printer settings.
Print functionality varies between browsers.
Printable page generated Friday, 26 April 2024, 1:26 AM
Week 1
Week 1
This week you will read about other people’s learning experiences and think about how you learn best. The week will also focus on helping you make sure your goals are as realistic as possible, and design your own action plan to achieve them.
Learner stories
Everybody is a learner, but we don’t always learn in the same ways. These three short paragraphs are snippets of stories where people tell about their experiences of learning online.
Mon Mon, a parent with teenage children
“Mingalabar, I’m Mon Mon and I have two teenage children. I’m not very confident with computers. I’m OK and I can do what I have to but it’s all moving on so quickly. Sometimes I feel I can’t keep up with my children and feel like they’re leaving me behind. So I decided to take an online course to get better even though It’s been a while since I studied. It was a very different experience from what I did at school. What I really liked about online learning was that I could study at anytime as the course was available 24 hours, which gave me the flexibility to study when it was convenient for me and my family. I couldn’t have attended fixed scheduled classes. The course was also free and when I’d finished I got a Statement of Participation. This is something I can use for when I go back to work to show employers that I have tried to get my skills up to date and have the digital skills to study online and alone.”
Banjar, a young chef
“Mingalabar, I’m Banjar and I love cooking, so I decided to become a chef. And that’s what I do in a restaurant in a big hotel in Mandalay. I think it’s a great job and one day I really want to open my own restaurant. I like to watch lots of online cooking videos. My family can’t get enough of my food.
I think I’m pretty good with technology. I mean, I’ve got a smartphone and I’m never off social media. I look up all my recipes online. I like exploring international recipes and recipe databases. Some sites have message forums, which I like to read as often people ask the questions I’d like to ask. There are also interviews with top chefs. They can give lots of tips and fresh ideas.”
Zin Min Thant, a businessman
“Mingalabar, my name is Zin Min Thant and I’m a businessman in Yangon. I’m quite confident with technology but I know I can do more online. I’ve been taking online courses on engineering as I was an engineer before I was a businessman. I found it a bit tough to get back into the swing of studying, but once I learned how to navigate the courses, I got more confident. The first course I took lived up to my expectations and I completed it in a couple of weeks when it said it was a four week course so I felt good about that. The second course gave me what I wanted in the first half to take my learning on, but them started going into a lot of detail about something I didn’t need to know so I stopped taking that course. I didn’t feel bad about this because I think that’s what online learning is all about taking what you need for your own learning journey.”
Soon you will be able to tell your story too.
Learning journals
Thank you for answering that question. As you work through the course it is a good idea to keep a Learning Journal, where you can make notes on activities, key words and concepts or elements that are particularly relevant for you. Your Learning Journal can either be a notebook or you may wish to create an electronic journal either by creating a document on your computer or mobile device, or create a personal blog.
Thinking about how you are getting on with your learning is also very helpful when it comes to improving how you are learning or simply looking back on your progress so far. You can use your Learning Journal to do this. Think about whether you have found the best time to study, whether you are taking enough or too many notes, and whether you have understood all the concepts covered in a course.
How you use your Learning Journal is personal to you. Writing things down in your own words will help your understanding. It will give you a handy review of the main ideas that you can refer to later. People learn in different ways, and it is important for you to experiment to find out which methods work best for you.
How do you learn?
How do we develop a skill or acquire a particular piece of knowledge? If you break down a learning experience and analyse it in more detail, it can help you think about how you learn best – and you can learn more effectively in the future.
For example, do you prefer studying on your own or in a more social environment? Maybe it depends on what you are learning? If you want to improve your dancing skills, for example, you will probably want to learn with others. However, you may well prefer to learn cooking by yourself so that you can make mistakes privately!
A point you may want to consider when planning future learning is that it is often easier to concentrate when we study on our own, but we gain new perspectives, stimulus and ideas when we are learning with others.
Activity 1.1 Breaking it down
1. Think of something you know about, and note down your example in your learning journal.
(This can be anything at all; for example, it might be how to cook a particular type of food or how to repair a bicycle tyre. What is important is that you choose something that you feel reasonably comfortable or confident about.)
2. Next, try to identify all the different stages of your learning.
(You might include things like whether you were taught by someone else, whether you found out by reading about it, or whether you picked it up as a result of trial and error.)
Your notes might look something like this:
This is Mon Mon’s example of learning to drive a car.
"When I think about it, I learned to do this in many ways. I had a driving instructor who told me what to do. I also had written information about things like where the pedals (the accelerator, brake and clutch) were placed. My father also took me out in the family car. He told me things about driving – these were not always the same as the instructor, so I had to decide which was more helpful. Practice during lessons and with dad was important".
3. Now try to answer these questions about your chosen example:
- Why did you want to learn this particular thing?
- What did you find was easy to learn, and what did you find was difficult?
- Is this a typical example of how you approach learning something new?
- In what ways is it typical?
- Are there any aspects of your learning in this example that were unusual for you?
Discussion
Thinking about the way you have successfully learned in the past should help remind you that you are not just able to be a good learner, but someone who already has valuable personal qualities and knowledge.
Much of our learning is informal or ‘everyday’ learning. In some ways, it is precisely this kind of learning that is the most important, as we use it to negotiate our way through life.
Setting SMART goals
When you think of a goal that you are keen to achieve, how do you make sure it doesn’t just remain a dream? How do you check that it is realistic and achievable? Well, you need to think very carefully about exactly what it is you hope to achieve and how you phrase it – vague goals often have vague results! There is another technique to help you do this.
SMART is a popular mnemonic (a memory aid) for shaping goals so that they are really achievable. You may have come across this term at work, as it is often used in business too. There are some slight variations on what the letters can stand for, but here they will stand for:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Agreed
- Realistic
- Time limited
Let’s look at each of these in more detail.
Specific
You need to be very clear and precise about what you are setting out to do. Have a few attempts at expressing exactly what your goal is. Check that it can be interpreted in only one way.
Measurable
How will you know if you have achieved your goal? You have to be able to measure it – in other words, assess whether or not you have achieved it.
So, try to make sure your goal is phrased in a way that allows you to monitor progress toward your goal. Sometimes this is straightforward; you can ‘measure’ achievement directly. For example, you can easily tell whether or not you have achieved a qualification – you have the certificate!
Sometimes though, it is not so straightforward. How can you measure, for example, developments in your communication skills? The best approach is to break them down into small stages, such as:
- maintain eye contact when speaking with people
- stop blushing when people notice me
- contribute to group conversations.
Agreed
You are more likely to achieve your goal if you have people on your side. Most successful changes involve the support of others in some way.
If one of your goals is to study – even part-time – you may need to discuss this with family and friends to get them on your side. If you are working, you may need to persuade your manager that it is a good idea too.
Realistic
Be realistic. Achieving new goals may well mean moving outside of your comfort zone. Don’t try to push yourself too far too quickly – be honest about your current qualities, knowledge and skills. You also need to think a little about how much support you have available to you and any challenges you might encounter along the way.
Time limited
You need to set target dates for each of your steps and for your final long-term goal. As well as making it measurable, setting yourself a time frame for achieving your goal helps you concentrate. If you say, for example, ‘By the end of the year I will have …’ or ‘In three years’ time, I will be …’, it may prompt you to set things in motion.
Writing SMART goals
The following video from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk explains how to write SMART goals.
Do you think you got it? Check your understanding of SMART goals by completing the following activity.
Activity 1.2 Identifying SMART components
a.
Specific
b.
Measurable
c.
Agreed
d.
Realistic
e.
Time based
The correct answer is a.
Discussion
This goal is not SMART because it is missing the Specific component. I have not set out how much weight I want to lose.
a.
Specific
b.
Measurable
c.
Agreed
d.
Realistic
e.
Time based
The correct answer is e.
Discussion
This goal is not SMART because it is not Time based. I haven’t said when I’m hoping to be working.
a.
Specific
b.
Measurable
c.
Agreed
d.
Realistic
e.
Time based
The correct answer is d.
Discussion
This goal is not SMART because it is not Realistic. I might be over-stretching.
Examples of SMART goals
In this section we point you in the right direction to read more concrete examples of SMART goals.
If you are a student, you might find this article by Ramit Sethi helpful: SMART Objectives: Good Goals vs Bad Goals.
If you operate in the world of business, the following link contains Examples of Business Goals That Follow the SMART Criteria.
Are you ready to set up your own SMART goals?
Activity 1.3 Writing your own goals in a SMART way
- Remind yourself of all the SMART criteria.
Now have a go at writing your chosen goal in a SMART way. You may want to start with something like:
‘By [put a date here], I will have done/I will be able to …’
- Check that you have covered all the SMART criteria – even leaving one out can limit your chances of success. If it helps to break the goal down further into smaller goals, then do that.
Discussion
Here are Zin Min Thant’s SMART goals. He is looking to grow his business.
Specific: Using my network of contacts, I will seek out new companies in need of my business services.
Measurable: I will meet with three new clients within two weeks, aiming to meet with three new clients each week thereafter.
Achievable: I will clearly and professionally outline what I can do for the new businesses, getting better at identifying their need and how I can meet it.
Relevant: Knowing that I have a good business offering and I’m good at pitching for new business, is I will use my existing contacts to meet new ones and remain focus on winning more work.
Time-based: I will start meeting new clients this week, and within a month, I will have signed one new business contract.
Developing your action plan
It is all very well having goals, but for them to have a high chance of success it is important to have a clear plan to follow. This does not mean you can’t change it later – everyone’s circumstances change – but it will help to keep you on track.
One effective approach to developing an action plan for learning might be as follows:
- setting yourself a goal to work towards
- working out what you need to do before you can achieve your goal – breaking the goal down into smaller chunks until you get to a point where you think, ‘Yes, that’s manageable. I feel I could tackle that.’
- putting the steps in a logical order – some will be dependent on others having been completed first, while some will be more flexible and can be completed at any time
- putting a timetable next to each step to spur you on to achieving that step.
You have already chosen your goal, so working out the ‘smaller chunks’ is the next logical stage. To help you think about this, consider Mon Mon’s story:
Mon Mon hasn’t worked for a long time because she has been looking after her children. She likes helping her children with their homework and thinks she would like to be a teacher. Mon Mon has no experience or qualifications for teaching, so her ‘smaller chunks’ include finding out what is involved – identifying what qualifications she needs and how she could acquire them, preferably in her home town so that she has the support of friends and family while she does it – and working out the finances. She also has a short-term goal of getting some work experience to help decide whether being a teacher would be as fulfilling as she hopes.
Did you notice that the steps she plans to take are designed around her own personal qualities, skills, knowledge and resources? Yours should be, too.
So now the next stage for you is to break your goal down into manageable steps – ones that fit with your personal qualities, skills, knowledge and resources and that you can tick off individually along the way.
Activity 1.4 Steps along the way
Revisit your goals from Activity 1.2 and try to think of at least three steps along the way to achieving one of these goals. The first one should feel like something you can really do in the very near future. Each step might depend on you completing the one before, or it may be free-standing.
Now you have all the information for drawing up an action plan for your chosen goal: your SMART goal itself, several steps along the way (preferably SMART too) and you should also have identified all the key helping and hindering factors related to your goal. So, let’s go!
Activity 1.5 Your action plan
Start a new page in your learning journal and lay out your action plan with the following headings.
My goal:
Date to achieve by:
Steps along the way (with dates):
Factors that should help:
Factors that might hinder:
How I might deal with the hindrances: (Don’t forget to think about all the resources available to you, to help you address any hindrances.)
(You might even want to sign it – as a commitment to yourself!)
You now have a detailed plan for achieving your chosen goal. Make a point of checking off each of the steps of your action learning plan as you complete them. By doing this, you will be engaging in the process of collecting evidence of your achievements, which can:
- really boost your confidence and motivation
- help you to develop your CV when you are applying for paid or voluntary work.
It is a good idea to continue to use a learning journal as you work on developing your action plan and as you learn. It can help you look backward by reflecting on your thoughts, feelings and actions about new activities you have tried, and look forward by developing your ideas and plans for new learning experiences.
Sometimes just the act of writing things down can clarify your ideas, and writing down your thoughts and feelings about your learning is valuable in itself – helping you to get things off your chest, to remind yourself to look for solutions to any problems and to celebrate successes.
You have now reached the end of Week 1. Next week you will be finding out about the skills you need to be effective in a digital world: from improving what you do online and the way you do it, to finding information, communicating and collaborating with other people. You will also be given an opportunity to assess how confident you are in a range of skills. Are you ready?
If so, continue to Week 2.