Learners' Charter: Learn by Doing and Making

One of the other requests on the Charter for Learning was that "We want to learn by doing and making".

A quotation that I have used many times when talking about training and learning is this: you didn't learn to ride a bicycle by reading a book.

The same can be said for working a computer, writing a letter, cooking a meal, asking a girl out... you name it.

Our lives, our lifestyles, our jobs, our hobbies are mainly skills-based. Whatever job or business you are in, you will need some knowledge to do that job well. But nearly always, that knowledge and data is translated into actions before it has real impact. It is turning concepts and ideas into action that really counts.

As a trainer, for instance, you might learn about the different learning styles, but that knowledge is useful to help you design experiences that satisfy those different styles.

Is it more useful for me to tell you the step-by-step process of designing a presentation, or to ask you to use the process to design one of your own?

In many cases, learning becomes knowledge and experience, only once you put it into practice, try it out, reflect on what worked and start to create new pathways in your brain.

How many times do you tell people what to do, when instead you could either show them, or get someone to do it straight away?

So go on..... help people learn by doing and making!