Involve Me and I Learn: A Psychological Exploration of Engaging Education

Introduction

Life-long learning is a bit of a focus right now, with individuals being encouraged to develop their potential throughout their lifetime, and organisations recognising the benefits of training (or retraining) personnel to ensure they have a future-fit skill set. It is clear to most of us that learning offers many positive benefits for individuals, communities, and the wider economy - and that increasing and widening access to learning is not only crucial to future prosperity, but also for social inclusion. This article delves into the psychology of learning, exploring the multifaceted factors that influence our ability to learn effectively and the importance of active involvement in the learning process. From understanding different learning styles to overcoming personal barriers, we will examine how to create a more engaging and inclusive learning environment for all.

The Importance of Active Involvement: "Involve Me and I Learn"

Benjamin Franklin said, ‘Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.’ This quote encapsulates the core principle of effective learning: active involvement. The reason that quote is accurate, is that each part of the brain has a distinct role in things. Knowledge that's widely distributed throughout, by direct action is more readily accessible for later use. What we learn is best learned by doing. This concept aligns with the kinesthetic learning style, one of the three primary learning styles.

Understanding Different Learning Styles

We encounter both formal and informal learning at different stages of our lives - whether at school, university, in the workplace, extra-curricular courses (online & classroom) or from simple everyday experience. We also know that people learn in different ways. To cater to diverse learners, organisations and educational institutions need to recognize and accommodate these different approaches. The three learning styles are:

Visual (spatial): Learning through seeing, using images, and spatial understanding.
Aural (auditory): Learning through listening and sound.
Physical (kinaesthetic): Learning through doing, touching, and hands-on experience.

I always thought I was visual. As I get older, not so much. I need it all!

Personal Barriers to Learning

Motivations for learning are wide-ranging and influenced by personal, social, and economic circumstances, as well as past experiences. However, various barriers can hinder one's motivation and ability to learn. These barriers can be personal, social, or economic in nature. I’m also aware that in the past, a lack of confidence and fear of failure has been a major barrier to my motivation to learn. I’ve thought about this a lot over the years and believe that this relates to a couple of things - my childhood upbringing, and early young adult learning experiences. My parents held academia in high regard and expectations of performance were high (well this is how I had processed it, in my mind I would be seen as I had achieved something through academic success). Yet living with dyslexia (undiagnosed for some time!) lead to a lack of confidence and low self-esteem along with a touch of anxiety, which meant I did not push myself or try just in case I failed. So despite having the opportunity to learn from an early age and having the support of a loving family, it’s only relatively recently that I’ve had the motivation to seize it.

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Lack of Confidence and Fear of Failure: Past negative experiences can create a fear of failure, hindering individuals from embracing new learning opportunities.
Socioeconomic Factors: Barriers, such as occupational status, parental education level and experiences, income and level of qualification all shape the likelihood of participating in learning and are all interrelated with social class.
Disability and Access: And throw in disability, ethnicity, cost, time, lack of access to technology, financial constraints, and time pressures, or simply being ‘A slower adapter to technological advances’, and many people will be overwhelmed before they even begin.
Lack of Opportunity and Connections: It’s also clear that having connections to the labour market enhances your opportunity to participate in learning. Even being registered unemployed or having a low skilled job gives you greater learning and workplace training opportunities. Public sector and corporate jobs often include access to learning as a key component of employee benefits. And simply having working parents gives opportunities for children to learn about jobs, and the world of work.

Motivations for Learning

Motivations for learning are wide-ranging and influenced by personal, social, and economic circumstances, as well as past experiences. We might want to get a promotion or a pay rise at work, learn a new skill, boost our confidence, be curious about something, or simply enjoy the eventual sense of achievement. An often-overlooked motivator is a desire to fit in, perhaps with a new social or professional network, where you need to build new relationships and to inspire and be inspired.

The Impact of Hands-On Learning on Brain Development

The drawing of the homunculus is telling us something. It illustrates the proportion of the motor and sensory cortex devoted to particular portions of the human anatomy, with the hand occupying a disproportionately large proportion of the brain's activity. If we were to better understand and accept the role of the hands in our perceptions of who we are, we would come to the point of dramatic change in the ways we educate our children, and be more successful for it. Want me to spell it out more clearly? Restore the arts, music, dance and wood shop and integrate them with core subject areas. Make, fix and create.

Building Confidence and Embracing Opportunities

I will always remember the first office job I got , I moved from being a Nursery Nurse to training administrator in a software company. I had never switched on a computer so had a lot to learn, my company was kind enough and believed in me enough to give me a week of one on one training on computers which changed how I thought about what I could achieve if I took the chance , opportunities in front of me. I have found that growing my social and professional circle, gaining new experiences, understanding different values and perspectives has all helped me to grow my self-confidence and enjoyment in learning. I may not have A levels or have gone to university, but I have many life skills and qualifications that I use every day and have continued to learn both formally and informally throughout my adult life.

Lifelong Learning and Personal Growth

Now, more than ever, I see the benefits of staying curious and learning new skills. Throughout 2020 in lockdown, I saw many friends do just this (baking, pottery, gardening, setting up new businesses) - they had a thirst and a new drive for self-learning, honing their skills and exploring to thrive in their life, whatever the direction it was taking them. I’m proud of what they have achieved - and also proud of my own achievements in what has been a tricky period.

Supporting Women's Career Development

At Smart Works, we work every day with women to help them gain the confidence to succeed in their career. Over lockdown, we have developed a new “Career Coaching” service, which is for any women that could benefit from one-to-one coaching to help them find their next role in employment. This could be about understanding your strengths, writing your CV , or identifying your transferrable skills - but it’s also about learning who you are, and who you can be. Don’t let a lack of learning, of connections, of opportunity - or the fear of failure - hold you back. Let us help you have the confidence to take your career forward. I regret the years when though lack of confidence I put learning to one side and didn’t focus or grasp opportunities that came my way. Smart Works Reading is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity. Company registered in England and Wales No. 626510. Registered Charity No.

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