Because I didn't study at all, I learned a lot.
In the past, people expected to remain in the same occupation for most of their working lives, but now during times of rapid change people may need to change their jobs fairly frequently. As a result, it is becoming increasingly necessary to be able to take on additional skills and engage in whole new areas of knowledge, and so the most vital skill of all to master these days is how to learn.
The Learning Skills track is concerned with the various elements of effective, creative learning. Fundamental to sound learning are high levels of self-esteem and motivation, and these are explored fully on the Personal Development track. However, in addition it is vital to develop the particular skills which are needed to assist the various aspects of your learning. For example, the use of mind-mapping is found by many to make a substantial improvement to their whole approach to learning, generally making it more enjoyable, as well as helping with individual skills, such as note-taking and memorising. And since examinations play a crucial role in the whole process of learning, it is clearly vital to ensure that one has developed appropriate examination-taking skills.
Fundamental to the Brainware approach is that the responsibility for learning is with the learner, rather than that the learner is a somewhat passive recipient in an educational process. And when the learner succeeds in taking on this more active autonomous role, the learning can become a highly enjoyable and challenging adventure. The Learning Skills track is therefore to be seen as a collection of pointers to information and ideas about learning which the learner is invited to explore and experiment with. A flexible and playful approach is therefore encouraged, with each person finding out what works best for them, rather than slavishly following the prescriptions of others. Enjoy the adventure!
Types of Learning Skills
The Learning Skills track consists of the following three sub-tracks:
- This explores various general-purpose skills, such as memorising and computing, which can have an impact on all aspects of learning.
- This sub-track examines key learning skills, such as reading and note-taking.
- The particular skills considered here are those which contribute to the carrying out of a doctoral research programme, such as establishing a research topic and writing the thesis.
To find out more about any of the above items, click on the appropriate heading.