When I first started teaching I thought being in class, with a teacher (who has a ‘good education’) explaining things to you, was how it all worked. That’s how you learned, right?…
Wrong!
Almost everyone learns through experience - and in real scenarios, projects, and situations.
Theory can be great at giving you the extra tools to comprehend, and underpin what you are learning - but to find things out, learn how to make up your own mind about something and consider all angles - you need to be ‘doing’.
To get in to that mode you have to be feeling motivated - and to be motivated you have to be progressing. Even small steps - but it has to be steps in the right direction.
5 tips for yourself, your kids, or students to engage your ‘motivation mode’
Go for a walk - at least 30 mins, every day. It’s been proven that walking activates all areas of the brain, and readies your for absorbing information;
Read - set aside time each day to read. Read whatever you want - but try not to be screen-based. For 15 mins, 30 mins or even an hour.
Reading is great for lots of reasons, one being it helps with vocabulary, which in turn builds confidence in communicating, allowing you to improve on your critical and analytical thinking.
Focus on the one task you have set yourself - whether that’s a new skill, project or assignment - trying to multitask will lead to none of the tasks being done well, and confuses your efficiency.
Volunteer, sign up, apply for an internship or ask someone already working in the areas that interests you to let you see their environment for a day - it can be daunting meeting new people, feeling out of your depth and awkward - but each hour you are experiencing this you are building confidence and new knowledge. Everything might feel weird, or new initally, but as you get more comfortable, you will progress and build more self-assurance. Being in a classroom can’t emulate this - being told how it might work, feel or operate isn’t the same as immersing yourself and experiencing it.
Make mistakes! Everyone is doing it! It might not appear that way -and some hide it better - but learning to laugh off silly mistakes and awkwardness intially, means a deeper level of understanding is engaged, without worrying about what others think.
Every single person has things they find difficult - and everyone makes mistakes. As long as you learn from them you are constantly progressing and building momentum - even if it takes a few attempts, or longer to grasp.
Further research, discussion and reading below: