Master the art of learning fast

What happens when you are given a job offer in a field that you’ve never worked in before? Do you honourably decline for the sake of the public who need qualified personnel to give them quality service?

Of course, that is “unAfrican”. Neither is it polite in our African tradition to decline something handed down to you no matter how green you are to its use.

Politically incorrect
It is also politically incorrect to decline taking up positions given by your appointing authority. This explains why cabinet reshuffles are usually without question or comment.

But we shall comment in the interest of the millions of people who will feel the impact of these changes in a few weeks.

Luckily, science has proved that it’s possible to excel in a field that you know nothing about. This is made possible by learning the art of learning.

To be an effective learner you need to accept that learning is a life-long process and never ends.

This may either be formal or informal gaining of knowledge — and the most important factor is to make your mind open to new ideas and their execution.

Nonetheless, this in itself is not enough. People running organisations or managing businesses need more than knowledge to be successful.

Life-long skillsLife-long skills
This extra curricula exposure will be the distinguishing factor of professionals channelled out by different institutions in the near future.

Some universities have found it prudent to offer skills that enable the students to manage any eventuality which might face them in the workplace.

Students are trained on life-long learning skills for communication, research, critical thinking and experiential learning.

Experiential learning has two important aspects: the first one is the skills and processes needed to learn from past experiences so that mistakes are not continued into the future and important insights are not lost.

Changing jobs
This is also regarded to as learning within the situation. Experiential learning takes the form of an in/externship where professionals or students alike work as volunteers in organisations or departments they have no previous experience in.

Their experience is monitored by assignments and one-on-one sharing so they learn skills of “learning on the new job”.

This programme may be a little uncommon in Kenya but it is tailored to prepare students and professionals to meet the demands of a fast and changing environment.

The second aspect of learning is that of competence. It is not just enough for students to know something about management and leadership. To be competent means that the students can apply their knowledge with skill and mastery.

Fast changing
This means students are requested to demonstrate how their learning will be applied in different scenarios. This kind of learning demands a learning formula involving programmed learning plus questions for insight into possible situations (Learning = programmed learning + questions for insight). Most assignments and examinations are based on this formula.

This article was first published in Daily Nation.