1. proven techniques
I don't claim to give you a miracle method, but rather 10 concrete and pragmatic tips that will really make a difference if you apply them. They come from what I have learned, but also and above all from my own experience as a learner and trainer.
Indeed, I apply a good part of what you are going to discover here as a trainer in IT development. In particular during the 3 months training courses for people in reconversion.
I have also applied many of these techniques to my own self-taught computer training. And I think that my professional successes are mainly due to my ability to learn quickly and well, and then to pass it on. That's a big asset.
Without further ado, let's get to the heart of the matter.
2) Curiosity is not a bad thing
Curiosity is the desire to discover, to deepen, to understand, to test... So yes, intellectual curiosity is an essential quality in all learning. Because it pushes us to learn new things and to understand more deeply what we already know partially.
Curiosity helps a lot to go from phase 1 to phase 2 (unconscious to conscious), but also from phase 2 to phase 3 (incompetent to competent).
3. stay focused on the essential
Be careful not to fall into a classic and devious trap: dispersion. Curiosity pushed to excess can quickly lead you astray from your initial path and ultimately lose you.
This is unfortunately a tendency I have myself, and I have to fight not to give in to it.
Scattering can waste precious time. You can spend hours wandering around looking at things that are interesting, but far removed from your initial problem. Until you realize that the day is over and that you haven't made any progress. You then feel an unpleasant mixture of guilt and frustration. In the long run, this is very demotivating.
Scattering can also be confusing by drowning the essential in a sea of unimportant things. This only makes memorization more difficult and learning more laborious.
The middle way is often the best way. In this case, it's about finding the right balance between focus and curiosity. Apply your curiosity to understand your subject in depth, to discover its different facets. But if you see that you're straying too far from it, cut it short right away so you don't waste time and stay focused.
4. Engaging in real-world projects is a huge help to learning quickly and well.
Not only does it give you a real reason to learn (the why).
But it also makes you ask questions about the best ways to do things, and thus find answers and make progress.
Finally, your motivation to look for answers and to understand will be much greater if you have a concrete problem to solve for yourself, than if a teacher simply asks you a question.
Plus, if you have a deadline for your project, it will force you to not spread yourself too thin 😉
When I run 3-month training courses for developers, I have them do 4 small projects in groups and independently (with minimal help from me). All of them tell me afterwards that it helped them a lot to integrate what they learned.
This is also how I trained myself as a self-taught person. My university education had little to do with computers. And it is by developing small applications for myself, or within the framework of my work, that I learned the essential.
For example, I learned VBA while making a project tracking tool on Excel. It was a really useful tool for me and I needed it quickly, which increased my motivation tenfold.Working on concrete projects
5. regularity
Several times, I had to abandon an online training course in the middle of the course. Almost every time, it was after a vacation or a week's break to see my family.
It was as if getting out of the bath didn't make me want to go back in.
Regularity also allows you to repeat things, and it is no longer proven that repetition is essential for memorization and long-term retention.
The ideal is to practice your learning every day. But the most important thing is not to let more than 2 days go by without practicing at least a little.
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