Learning is a crucial part of life. As the saying goes,
"You stop living the day you stop learning."
It takes learning to be fulfilled in your career and business. Learning is also a cure for depression and discontentment concerning your career pursuit. Learning is a skill that you need to cultivate all through life. If you want to master any knowledge or skill,
you need to learn how to learn. Without an effective learning process, you may end up repeating the same
learning styles with no significant impact on your personal growth and development. I know a friend who has a natural ability to compose songs. He always tells me he would love to play those songs on the piano but lack time to learn how to play the piano. Even if he wakes up one day with the ability to play that musical instrument, without practicing and spending time on the keyboard, he will never know how to run a simple chordal progression. You will continue to have a limited time as you progress on your career pathway. So, what can help you evaluate your learning strategies and adjust where necessary? A feedback loop.
What Is the Feedback Loop?
The feedback loop is a process whereby a learner appreciates the information about their performance and leverages it to optimize the quality of their learning methods or style. Here's a breakdown of this definition:
- Learner: The focus is on what the learner can do instead of the comments. Several parties could provide relevant feedback, and those parties include the teacher, the learner, his or her peers, or automated systems.
- Appreciation: This is a major setback in feedback design. How do we appreciate or make sense of a concept? What are the skills required by the learners for learning to take place? What characteristics of the process enhance adequate appreciation or sense-making?
- Information: What sort of feedback or information is relevant to the learners?(Individualized, detailed, personalized, multiple sources, task-oriented, thinking oriented, etc.)
- Performance: Should feedback be on a single performance or the total performance?
- Effect: How does the learner measure the impact of the feedback?
- Quality: Feedback details need to focus on improvement. What would be the benchmark?
The purpose of a feedback loop is to establish a progression in learning. It will frequently occur in all subject areas.
How to Create a Feedback Loop
You can organize the feedback process by following the steps below.
1. Establish Goals and Definite Outcomes
Define your learning goals, the proficiency level you aspire to attain, and when you desire to gain the competencies. You can utilize
a S.M.A.R.T goal technique in establishing your goals. Remember, goals are mental signals that inform you of the direction you want to go. The results or outcomes are the ends-the actual reward of the labor. Specify the outcomes of your learning activities to make informed decisions on what you intend learning, how you will learn it (online education, self-education, or classroom learning), and why you desire to learn.
2. Start from the Simple to Complex Elements
Unrealistic expectations are the biggest challenge that causes learners to give up. If you don't want to sign up for failure before you ever start, begin with the simple elements instead of jumping to the complex concepts. Failure is imminent when you skip the smallest concept and take on new learning tasks with an expectation of completing the new skill in a short timeframe. Set realistic time frames if you don't want to be frustrated, get burnt out or drive yourself insane. Always recall the
Japanese 'Kaizen' concept, which says,
Make small improvements every day.
It takes consistency and accumulation of smaller steps to achieve a bigger learning goal. We achieve giant strides when we are motivated during the learning process
3. Test Yourself
You need to evaluate yourself to know if you are learning or wasting time. Tests, not necessarily in the form of examination, will offer a proof of concept that check if your learning style is effective. Here are some ways to test yourself:
- Conduct an in-depth discussion on the subject
- Receive positive reviews on a job that leverages the new skill
- Estimate the task efficiency before gaining the expertise and after learning the skill
- Participate in an online test to test your knowledge
- Take online courses to check your previous knowledge and discover any knowledge gap
4. Teach Others
This strategy has worked for me several times. If you want to learn faster, find someone to teach that knowledge you have gained. Teaching is also a learning strategy. It compels you to unleash your ingenuity and view the concepts from different perspectives. You simplify complex concepts to help the learner understands when you teach. This also solidifies the knowledge you have gained as you remember and organize your learnings into different learning compartments. As Albert Einstein said,
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."
5. Reflect
No one wants to waste time utilizing a learning style or learning in a way that produces no significant learning outcome. So by doing a self-reflection, you identify the challenges you have throughout the learning process. Ask yourself: How far have you progressed towards the learning goal? Do you think you can move to a higher aim or proficiency level?
6. Find a Mentor
Mentorship is resourceful. A mentor will guide you on how to grasp a concept faster and holistically. They can utilize real-life experiences and ideas you will not find in courses and books. They can also easily detect the gaps in your skillset. Not only that, mentors can inspire you when you face daunting challenges. They can remind you of your previous achievements and show you the capabilities that you possess. Most times, we forget our capabilities and focus on our weaknesses. This article can help you find a suitable mentor:
How to Find a Mentor That Will Help You Succeed
How to Have an Effective Feedback Loop
To make sure your feedback loop is effective, you will have to look at 3 key factors:
- Consistency
- Speed
- Accuracy
If you want to learn more about this, make sure you go through this article to make your learning feedback loop effective:
How to Learn Quickly And Master Any Skill You Want with a Feedback Loop
Bottom Line
Feedback becomes a crucial component of continuous growth and development when a culture of learning and growth is created. With the feedback loop, you can learn new goals while working on models to apply feedback throughout the learning process.
More About Learning Faster
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