Ein a new job, professional reorientation or personal enrichment by practicing a skill – for adults lifelong learning today more important than ever. But compared to young people, older people often find it more difficult to absorb and retain new information.
The biggest problem: Many automatically fall back on the learning techniques they know from their school days. But there are more effective ways to learn successfully as an adult and to retain what is new in the long term.
“Learning is often a great challenge, especially since many people bring with them traditional beliefs about how learning works,” says Stefan Müller, consultant for university didactics at the West Saxon University of Applied Sciences in Zwickau.
Often, what has been practiced is never questioned. For him, the most important question of any learning strategy is: What is my actual learning goal? Depending on whether facts are to be reproduced, psychomotor skills are to be learned or one’s own attitude is to be changed, different learning methods can be used.
It is therefore advisable to be clear in advance why you want to learn something and what goals are associated with it. These goals can be professional in nature, such as seeking a promotion, or reflect personal interests and passions. Knowing and nurturing your motivation is a crucial first step on the path to effective learning.
Another important aspect is choosing the right learning techniques. Many adults automatically fall back on methods they know from school days, such as memorizing texts for hours or stubbornly cramming facts.
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But these techniques are often not optimal for the adult brain. “Blunt repetition is inefficient. That’s simply the wrong approach,” says Markus Hofmann, memory expert and learning coach. He promises his customers that he can teach them to remember just about anything.
“People keep coming to me who have been sent by their employer and who actually have no motivation at all because they have negative associations with learning,” says Hofmann. He teaches them to think in a completely new way. “Adults often try to store things rationally, but it doesn’t work. We have to learn again and feel like a child, we have to think in pictures and put the information in the mental mailbox in such a way that we are guaranteed to find it again.”
In concrete terms, this means linking information and facts with emotions and then using a fixed structure in the brain to save. “By associating information with a clearly defined place in an exaggerated, painful, funny, erotic, or blatant way, I keep finding it,” says Hofmann. This learning technique is sometimes referred to as the memory palace or loci method.
In principle, this means above all: instead of passively absorbing information, adults should actively participate in the learning process. University didacticist Stefan Müller calls this “planned learning, with a system.” This can be done through active reading, discussions or creating your own summaries and notes. By actively dealing with the learning material, the brain is activated more and what has been learned is better anchored in the memory.
The right learning place
This also includes the right learning environment. Most adults prefer a quiet, undisturbed place to study, where they can relax focus others like a light acoustic stimulus in the background and prefer to study in a café.
Still others in a sober place like a library or in their own bed. However, distractions such as cell phones, social media or other disruptive influences should be minimized or eliminated. A structured schedule and clear learning goals can also help make learning more effective.
“When I learn, I have to ask myself: How can I deal with the subject cognitively,” advises Müller. One possibility is learning in a group, because you not only take responsibility for yourself but also for others, prepare yourself, deal more intensively with the topic, and enter into discussions.
Müller also considers self-tests on what has been learned to be an interesting learning technique to get away from superficial reading. As you read, you create a series of questions that you later answer yourself. The aim should be to be able to take a stand on what you have learned. What were the most important statements? What’s critical about it?
“Regardless of which learning method you choose, it should always be about dealing with a topic in depth,” says Müller. He also recommends regularly reflecting on how well a measure has worked – and adjusting the setting, time or method if necessary.
In addition to the positive approaches mentioned, there are also mistakes that adults often make when learning and that should be avoided. A common mistake is to push yourself too hard and have unrealistic expectations. Learning is a process that takes time and patience.
reduce learning resistance
It’s important to give yourself enough time and appreciate small advances. “In a relaxed environment where learning is encouraged and fun, I automatically achieve my learning goal,” says memory trainer Markus Hofmann. Pressure, punishment or reward, on the other hand, are not effective because the motivation is not intrinsic.
For a long time, researchers were of the opinion that if you only had to find out your learning style, then you would be able to learn more easily. However, this assumption is now considered outdated, warns didactician Stefan Müller.
Learning resistance cannot be justified by types, but mostly by the fact that people like to justify their previous actions and defend the meaningfulness behind them. Therefore, the division into learning types creates a feeling of control. However, this can be counterproductive.
Just like an overly strong focus on certain learning methods. Everyone learns in different ways, and it’s important to try different techniques to see which ones work best.
A mix of different approaches can help to make learning varied and effective. Techniques such as repeated reading, memorizing, highlighting and underlining or summarizing material have the least benefit in Stefan Müller’s opinion.
Instead, it makes sense to view learning as an active process of understanding and applying knowledge. This means making connections, thinking critically and applying what you have learned in different contexts. A text is not only read, but what has been read is questioned again and again, so that one has actively dealt with it and can remember it better.
The SQR3 method could be used here, for example. The abbreviation stands for “Scan”, “Question”, “Read”, “Recite”, Review”, i.e.: First read the text, then think about questions, then read the text, reproduce yourself and at the end again Interrogate.
According to the learning expert, you can also use various methods to improve time management when learning: a precise learning plan packed into small individual units and setting an alarm clock for 25 to 40 minutes (Pomodoro method) are two examples here.
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