From the moment we were born right up to who we are today, we have spent our whole lives learning, educating ourselves and developing our skills. We learnt to walk, to eat, to talk, and so on. We went to school to learn to read and write, to university, to...
From the moment we were born until we became who we are today, we have spent our entire lives learning, educating ourselves, and developing our skills . We have learned to walk, to eat, to talk, and so on. We have gone to school to learn to read and write, to university, to vocational school, or to a training center to learn a trade. To become a person, as they say, and to take responsibility for ourselves.
Learning is therefore an essential activity for humans to exist, be, and become. However, it must be noted that this learning process is not always successful for everyone.
Many people invest a fortune in training that ultimately proves useless to them, whether it's academic, professional, or vocational training. This isn't because they received a different education than those who succeeded in that particular program, but because they don't understand the intrinsic learning process.
Indeed, there is a process, a structure , that you absolutely must know and apply in all your learning or training to ensure your success, regardless of the field or objective. Whether it's learning a technology, a method, a trade, a skill, or anything else, there is an indisputable technique for succeeding at all of them.
In the rest of this post, I'm going to share the 6 steps of a learning process that you absolutely must know and apply to quickly go from beginner to expert. These steps are the ultimate key to learning anything and succeeding at it, regardless of your starting level.
We will begin with the first step.
Step 1: Information
There can be no training without information. It's the starting point of any training or learning process. Information here refers to what the trainer or mentor tells you about the profession or what you want to learn. They explain and demonstrate how it works, the principles, the tools, the techniques, and everything involved in practicing the profession.
The quality of information is crucial at this stage. It can give you a good or bad impression of the profession, motivate or demotivate you. You can make the job seem difficult or, conversely, exciting. A poor quality of information can completely distort the rest of your learning process.
The goal you should pursue here is to have as much information as possible, without forgetting that the quality of the information is important.
You need to be attentive. Ask plenty of questions to clear up misunderstandings and doubts, and to uncover what's left unsaid. Doing research beforehand, consulting with experts, etc., are important steps to ensure a successful outcome at this stage.
Step 2: Imitation
After receiving all the necessary information to perform the job or achieve the training objective, you move on to the first DOING stage, which consists of imitating the trainer. SEE AND DO.
At this stage, you don't ask yourself many questions. The main objective is to succeed in doing exactly what the trainer or predecessor does. To produce the same result, or almost.
Many give up at this stage because they can't produce results that match the instructor's. This creates frustration or disappointment that affects the rest of the learning process and sometimes leads to total failure.
The main reasons for failure at this stage are primarily the quality and understanding of the information received (stage 1), but above all the conditions of imitation.
The same causes produce the same effects, as they say. To achieve the same result as the instructor, you must imitate them under the same conditions. Using a different version of the application can lead to a different result. Inconsistent internet connection speeds, a less powerful computer, or different weather conditions are just a few examples of likely reasons that can alter the final outcome.
This is why the learner must either reproduce the same conditions as the trainer before starting to imitate him or adapt the trainer's actions to his own working conditions and know that at this stage what is important to know are the principles.
Step 3: Do it
Now that you've achieved some results by imitating the instructor, it's essential to move on to the next step: applying what you've learned to produce your own results. You need to think outside the box.
Understand that the results you previously achieved are not yours. They are the results of the trainer you imitated. You must now learn from this experience to begin producing your own results.
You need to repeat the exercises from the previous step , this time on your own, under your own conditions, without watching the instructor. You can adapt everything that has been done to other examples that you define yourself.
Using the previous method, you were able to create a contact form. Create a registration form, an online application form, etc. Repeat this process, add more challenges, and repeat again. You were able to cut a 5 cm piece of wood, and then cut a larger one of 10 or 20 cm under different conditions.
This step will allow you to better understand the principles because it will lead you to do your own experiments, confront personal difficulties and give you arguments to do research and ask questions to the trainer in the next lesson.
You start by applying what you've learned and learning on your own.
You must move on to this step as quickly as possible after step 2 so as not to forget the principles.
Don't be like the majority of learners who are content to imitate, remaining at the previous stage, and who leave and come back the next day without trying anything of their own.
Succeeding at this stage makes a big difference, as it is at the root of 72% of failures related to training or learning.
Feel free to experiment on your own.
Step 4: Learning
At this stage, you must move out of the exercise phase of the previous stage, or you choose what you need to do and how you do it, to move on to this learning phase, the project phase.
Seek out work on real projects. Projects that meet specific specifications, objectives, and requirements. Start by learning in real-world conditions, start by addressing specific client needs.
You must stop controlling the outcome and let others impose it on you.
You have learned how to design a website, offer to design one for the family entrepreneur.
You've done the photography, start by covering your friends' birthday parties or family ceremonies.
Don't hesitate to work on projects. Join a team, a project, a company where a certain level of quality is expected of you. That's the purpose of internships. But it's still not enough.
The goal here is to receive requests, needs, and objectives from others and to respond to them. Without doing so, you will miss this step.
You must stop trying to control the outcome, let the project or others tell you what they want, the quality of the result, the standards, the objectives you must achieve.
Don't hesitate to work for free if necessary. You are still in a learning process, specifically in the stage of refining your skills.
It's also a way to build a portfolio, get references, and gain experience. Tools that will open many doors for you in the future.
Successfully completing this step allows you to move from the stage of learner to that of practitioner.
Step 5: Mastery
Mastery comes naturally after a lot of practice. You need to repeat things many times, working repetitively on similar projects. Don't hesitate to do it again and again, because mastery comes from daily practice in your work.
At this stage, you are now able to do many things almost instinctively, simply, effortlessly, and without much thought. You are capable of completing a project or applying the material from your training from beginning to end without needing to search for information again, without wondering how it will be done. You have already mastered it.
You are now a practitioner. You become a professional, a boss, a master. You can manage on your own without any outside intervention. You become more efficient and professional.
You begin by gaining a better understanding of things, by understanding and mastering the principles of operation that come into play in practice. It is precisely this understanding that allows you to work more naturally and intuitively.
But mastery isn't just that. You must combine all of that with your intrinsic abilities.
In the previous stage, you took the time to work on many projects. You had the opportunity to be confronted with various realities. You also normally had the time to observe yourself.
You must already have a working method. You must be able to say what works for you, how you work, and what conditions lead to better results. You must have your own strategies—things that are unique to you and that make you better and different from others.
This is what you need to add to your know-how, learning from the previous step to have total mastery of your profession or the subject of your training.
Once you reach this stage, you have achieved your initial goal: to learn a trade. You are now a master and can begin to make your training profitable.
The learning process is ongoing, so you shouldn't stop at this stage. You must continue practicing daily to reach the next stage.
Step 6: The Experiment
Let us understand expertise by quality, where someone's attitude is to identify and find a solution to a difficulty quickly and effectively thanks to everything they have learned, done and discovered in the past.
Experience comes from facing a challenge and overcoming it. So, in your professional life, strive to evolve; don't be content to do the same things all the time. Step outside your comfort zone, be open to new opportunities to gain experience.
The more experience you gain, the more experienced you become. You must confront so many difficulties through practice that you should be able to solve as many problems as possible, regardless of their cause. This is the pinnacle of the learning process.
Once you have the expertise, your income doubles proportionally because you are able to solve even the most complex problems. You are able to provide solutions and satisfy your clients more effectively.
In summary, it's important to understand that in a learning or training process, you, as the learner or student, bear more responsibility for the success of the training than the instructor. This explains why, in a class of 20 learners, less than half succeed and progress after the training.
No matter how competent the trainer is or how much energy they put into the training, you alone decide your success.
Taking these 6 steps into account will greatly help you to succeed, but also to know at what stage you are in the process so you know exactly what to do.
However, there is one last step which is not essential, but helps you enormously to strengthen your skills. This is training.
After completing all six steps, you can decide to share your knowledge by training others. The goal isn't necessarily to become a full-time trainer, but to pass on what you know, what you've learned throughout the process, and your expertise. You'll gain a great deal.
Finally, I would like to remind you that the learning process never stops. Even if you become an expert, you must continually seek out information and continue to strengthen your expertise every day. Learning never ceases.
The other important thing to know is that talent also counts, as well as the learner's physical and intellectual aptitudes and intrinsic strengths.
I hope I've provided you with information that will change the way you approach training from now on, and that you'll be able to achieve your goals more effectively.
If you decide to learn a trade in web development or programming, we have our training center, WIS AFRICA (Web Innovation School of Africa), where we have designed training programs that cater to both beginners and those already working in the field who wish to enhance their programming and web skills. You can explore our training programs by following this link.
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Take care and see you soon.
Abiola BELLO
Director of MEGATECH SARL
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