The Learning Machine
Your brain is a fantastic learning machine!
Before starting on the main Study Units – it's worth spending a little time thinking about the many things that you (and your brain!) have learned in the past, and the ways in which you learn best.
You might be a 'study addict' – but then you might not have done any studying for quite some time or possibly done some studying but never really enjoyed it that much.
If you have not done any formal courses for a while (or since leaving school), taking on this ADI training course is a great opportunity to realise just how much you have been learning in your day-to-day life.
We learn and remember new things every single day - often without even realising that we are doing it:
- New tasks at work.
- How to use new products and equipment in the home.
- Routes to avoid busy traffic.
- Stories from soap operas on TV or radio.
- How to find the best deals.
- How the benefit system works if you are made redundant.
- How to make your computer do what you want it to.
- How to operate your smart phone.
The list is endless!
With everyday and lifelong learning in mind, now is a great time to remind yourself of all the things you have successfully learned to do in your life up to now.
One of the first major things you learnt to do was to speak your own language and you did that at a very early age without the help of any teachers!
You have also learnt many practical things, one of the very first being how to walk. You learned this incredibly complex skill without a teacher!
(The world's top robot scientists are only now beginning to develop robots that can walk like humans.)
More recently (although it might have been some years ago!) you learned to drive. Learning to drive is the most complex skill that the majority of people ever learn. I know that you probably had a driving instructor – but, you did the learning!
You might have a hobby where you have had to learn skills for yourself, sometimes with the aid of books or instruction manuals or with the help of friends or relatives who are interested in the same activities.
Often people do jobs for which they have had little, if any, formal training. They just picked it up as they went along which is another way of saying they learnt what to do naturally. Other people will have learnt job skills by being trained by an employer or attending a training course.
The point of all this is that everyone learns and has the ability to learn. By reminding yourself of all the stuff you have already learned in you life so far, you can give yourself a big boost in confidence - you can master the knowledge and skills necessary to become a driving instructor.
School
Lots of people only associate learning with school or college (an experience that some people would rather forget!).
But the truth is - very little of what you now know and use on a day-to-day basis was learnt at school!
We all learn things throughout our lives, often without the help of teachers or formal education. This is because we have a 'learning machine' in our heads.
Next: Complete the short exercise in Step 2 to help you realise just how good at learning you are.
Spend about half an hour on the exercise and you will start realising just what a great learning machine your brain is.
