THE LEARNING PROCESS

By Osman Hj. Kamaluddin

Most of us have learned to ride a bicycle when we were small. Well, let us see the learning process that we went through. First, we told our self, (THOUGHT) that we want to learn and the reasons for our decision would be:

1. It can be done as others have done it.
2. It is fun.
3. It is useful as a mode of transport. (Better than walking!)

From the above, we could say that because of the reasons mentioned, we got motivated (MOTIVATE) and decided (DECIDE) that we want to learn. So, after we made the decision, we took the BIG STEP, that is, learning to ride the bicycle (ACTION).

After we started to learn, we find that we were unable to do it with ease and to some of us (I believe, most of us), we had some ‘nightmare’ and even the ‘scars’ may have remained until now. (Mine, had to drink a couple of gallons of drain water from the drain in Klang back in the 70’s). Even though we had those bad experiences (OBSTACLES/PROBLEMS), we did not gave up! We went on learning even though, we had to go through, some of the ‘nightmares’ again. (PERSEVERANCE). We went on because we kept on ‘putting in our head’, the reasons mentioned above and also, those people who are closed to us gave us some ‘words of encouragement’ (MOTIVATE AGAIN). We learned and learned until we became good in riding the bicycle (PERSEVERANCE AGAIN).

Once we have mastered how to ride the bicycle, we felt the joys of achieving it. So, from the above, we could summarize the simple process of learning as follows:-

A THOUGHT ► MOTIVATE ► DECIDE ► ACTION ► OBSTACLES/PROBLEMS ► PERSEVERENCE ► MOTIVATE AGAIN ► PERSEVERENCE AGAIN ► LEARNING COMPLETE.

However, whether we realized it or not, our learning process we used when we were learning to ride the bicycle, did not stop when we could ride the bicycle! Nobody ‘hung up’ their bicycles immediately when they could ride the bicycles! Did we?

So, what did we do after we have learned the skill i.e. ride a bicycle? Of course, after that, we utilized it. We rode the bicycle to the school, to friends' houses, to shops etc. We rode and rode our bicycles until we had other modes of transportation that we know how to use. That is why, until now, if you have not ridden a bicycle for such a long time and if given one to ride, you could still do it and with ease. This type of learning process puts the skill and/or knowledge that you have acquired not only into your brain but also into your body or system. So, the Re- Summarized Learning Process should be:-

A THOUGHT ► MOTIVATE ► DECIDE ► ACTION ► OBSTACLES/PROBLEMS ► PERSEVERENCE ► MOTIVATE AGAIN ► PERSEVERENCE AGAIN ► LEARNING COMPLETE ► UTILISED LEARNING SKILLS AND/OR KNOWLEDGE.

No wonder I cannot remember my algebra now!

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Osman Hj Kamaludin is a marine surveyor who has for the past many years researched and observed on accelerated learning techniques.