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Orientation Series: 21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner Step 21: Inspired Learning

Learning seems to be more on people's minds in September because kids go back to school.  My daughter, Alexis, who is 2.5 years old went to her playschool for the first time last week.  She wasn't very happy at first even though she is there only for three hours a few days a week, but things are getting better.  This is a good time to remember that although it may have been a while since our own school days, learning never stops.  Moreover, certain things in life we have to learn despite or, maybe, because of our resistance and kicking and screaming.  This brings me to the topic of today’s post – inspired learning.

Even when we are done with formal education, we still live out our personal learning curriculum every day.  This learning is not about getting good grades or impressing others, but rather about our continuously improving and growing. It's about directed personal development that is the hallmark of a rich and vibrant life. How do we decide what to learn?  How do we keep track of what we are learning?  Here are a few things to consider in designing a personal learning curriculum.

Seeking learning that matters.  There is usually a gap between information and transformation, knowledge acquisition and action, intent and impact.  Possible causes for such a gap are the lack of relevancy, inertia, and wavering attention.  For the learning to stick and matter, it needs to be personal, meaningful, and inspiring.  The following three questions may help us close the gap.  As you consider what you should be learning, go ahead and ask:

1. What's in it for me?
2. What's in it for those who I love and care about?
3. What's in it for those I serve?

Inspired learning enables us to improve our own lives and lives of others.

Reflecting on our learning.   Awareness of how we learn every day is the first step to gaining more control over our personal learning curriculum.  The learning goals we set for ourselves are driven by the outcomes we want to achieve in work and life.  When we make a conscious decision to learn something, the progression towards our goals is easier to track.  But it's not the whole picture of learning.  The challenge is to become aware of what we learn unintentionally. For example, children model their behavior after parents, including negative patterns because they don't have yet the capacity to decide what's good for them and what's not so good.  Adults can also learn undesirable habits without much thought.  Mindfulness is the antidote for unintentional learning.  Awareness can also help us to focus attention on positive learning that sometimes goes unnoticed.  The following questions are good for detecting unintentional learning that have happened during the day:

1. What could I have done better?  This question gives us a chance to reflect on our actions and improve on them so that we can do better next time.  We unlearn negative behavior patterns by replacing them with better alternatives.  
2. What triggered strong negative emotions in me today?  As much as we like to attribute our negative reactions to the behavior of others, these reactions are opportunities to examine our own perceptions and mindset. If we get frustrated because the traffic light turns red, the problem is not the light. If left unresolved, these negative patterns may grow stronger if we are exposed to the trigger again, and as a result, we unintentionally learn to react in an undesirable way.
3. What should I do more of?  This question helps to reinforce what's working well for us.  As they say, energy flows where attention goes.  
4. What assumptions and beliefs undermined my achievements today?  Unchecked assumptions may lead to misunderstandings, poor decision-making, and repeated mistakes.  They keep us stuck in the old paradigms. This question aims to break rigid thinking patters that we may have learned unintentionally and open our mind to new perspectives.    
5. What assumptions and beliefs supported my progress?  We want to nurture these beliefs because they are the foundation of our future successes.  

Being mindful of learning as it happens.   The practice of reflection may lead us to a new level of awareness:  we may be able to monitor our learning as it occurs and adjust our course of actions as needed instead of reflecting on things only after they happened.  We are able to gain the state of clarity that I like to describe as the mental "white space."  In art and design, the concept of "white space" refers to the absence, or nothingness, that makes the content stand out.  White space creates balance.  Similarly, when we are truly present and aware, our perception is heightened.  We notice things we wouldn't otherwise.  We experience more insights.  We respond to situations as they arise without stress or worry generated by mental clutter.  This is learning in the moment, with the mind open to all relevant cues our environment has to offer.  

Expanding our information channels.  Information is inside and all around us.  How do we decide what to notice and act upon?  We are used to relying on our critical thinking and cognitive abilities to process and filter information.  This limits our learning to what we can observe through our senses and get to know through thinking.  Recognize that we can access information through a variety of channels:  text, images, people, experiences, dreams, intuition, feelings, emotions, etc.  Some of these channels are rarely used, if at all.  If we only stick to the preferred ways to receive and process information, we may develop a tunnel vision.  The challenge is to learn how to use different information channels and integrate them for the optimum decision-making.  For example, if you are a logical/analytical type, try using your intuition more often or notice your emotional and physiological responses once you've made a decision.  

Emptying the mind-cup.  You may have heard the Zen parable about a cup of tea.  A university professor came to visit a Zen master to inquire about Zen.
The Zen master served tea.   He poured the cup full and kept on pouring.  The professor watched the overflow in bewilderment and then protested: "It is overfull. No more will go in!"  The Zen master said, "Like this cup, your mind is full of your own opinions and preconceptions. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"

There is learning, and then there is knowing that comes from learning less rather than more.  Information overload doesn't make us wiser.  Sometimes, we need to quiet our mind to have a true insight.  Try incorporating practices that help you gain clarity and heighten perception, such as meditation, guided visualizations, longer walks in nature, or simply naps.  You may discover that you are able to concentrate better, notice more, and respond creatively to challenges as they arise.     

Creating flow.  In his book “Finding Flow,” Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi talks about how to achieve the state of complete engagement, "being in the zone," or "flow."  It is a very joyful state when we are completely immersed in the experience, free of fears and doubts, and we often lose the track of time.  According to the author, the conditions that make the "flow" more likely to occur include:

• clear and compatible goals,
• immediate feedback, and
• a fine match between the skills and the challenge to avoid anxiety when the challenge is too high or boredom when  it is to low compared to the level of skills.  

The state of flow is characterized by clear focus, involvement, and control – all important attributes of inspired learning.  Csikszentmihalyi writes, "Thus the flow experience acts as a magnet for learning – that is, for developing new levels of challenges and skills." 

Recognizing serendipitous learning opportunities.   As much as we'd like to control our personal learning curriculum, it is important to embrace some element of uncertainty when it comes to learning and be open to important lessons as they come.  Indulge your curiosity and trust your instincts to take you to the learning path you need to follow in the moment.  

What does inspired learning mean to you?   Please share...

Orientation Series:  21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner:
Step 1:  Setting your learning objectives
Step 2:  Taking an inventory of your skills
Step 3:  Taking an Inventory of Your Learning Tools
Step 4:  Finding opportunities for cognitive apprenticeship
Step 5:   Determining the "IIQ" of what you read
Step 6:  Choosing helpful books for law students
Step 7:  “The Three 'P's of Performance” in Action
Step 8:  Tapping into your social networks
Step 9:  Identifying your learning barriers
Step 10:  Finding your sources of motivation
Step 11:  Managing your energy
Step 12:  Focusing on how you think
Step 13:  Mastering informal learning and professional development
Step 14:  Asking Good Questions
Step 15:  Condensing your knowledge
Step 16:  Memorizing
Step 17:  Becoming a reflective learner
Step 18:  Establishing rhythms, rituals, and routines
Step 19:  Learning holistically
Step 20:  Learning to learn

Orientation Series: 21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner

Step 20:  Learning to learn

What distinguishes best lawyers, doctors, architects, etc. from the rest of the crowd?  What do they know or do that others don't?  One possibility is that they are very proficient in using certain meta-skills that can be applied to multiple tasks and contexts and supercharge whatever these experts do.  Effective learners invest time and effort in developing the skills that help them learn and perform to their best potential.  What could those meta-skills be and how can we develop them?  Here is what I've brainstormed so far:

Extracting only relevant information. Being able to zero in on the essential elements saves time and brain power.   

       What to do: 

1. Learn the basics well.  Applying meta-skills takes up working memory, which is very limited.  When you have to think about the basic content and try to use your meta-skill, your working memory gets overloaded.  You have to know the foundations well in order to filter any additional information.
2. Clarify and simplify.  If you have clutter on your desk and somebody leaves an important piece of paper there for you, you may not see it.  But if you have a clean and well-organized desk, anything new will jump out at you.  The same applies to your head.
3. Practice "selective ignorance."   In this day and age, we consume much more information than we really need.  It's not always better to read and learn more.  Making sure you pick the best in the ocean of information is important, so become selective.  Each piece of information you consume should have a purpose and application.
4. Learn to prioritize.  Prioritizing forces you to make decisions about the relative importance of things.  The ability to see the essential will strengthen with this practice.
5. Use effective reading strategies that allow you to get to the important information quickly.

Recognizing patterns easily.  If we can connect pieces of information into a pattern, we are able to use our previous knowledge and experience more effectively.  Once something falls into a familiar pattern, we know what to do because we encountered a similar situation before and we can draw from the past experience. 

       What to do: 

1. Compare and contrast things.  You will teach yourself to notice important differences and similarities. 
2. Reflect on your past experiences.  As you do so, look for patterns in actions and outcomes. 

Memorizing. Working with our memory means being selective about what we need to memorize and why.  It is also about choosing the right strategy to retain information. 

        What to do:

1. Learn how memory works. 
2. Find memorizing strategies that work best for you.
3. Ask yourself why you need to remember something.
4. Choose the appropriate strategy and give your full attention to the material you need to memorize.

Analyzing and comprehending information.  We constantly rearrange our knowledge base to integrate new information.  How do we know that we truly comprehended something?  It fits into our big picture of how things work. 

        What to do:

1. Summarize and synthesize what you have learned.  Make sure you know how the concepts fit together.
2. Ask questions.  Questions help to reveal blind spots in your knowledge, challenge assumptions, expand your thinking.  Opt for open-ended questions, which start with what, who, how, why, when, where.
3. Teach what you have learned to others.  It will help you master the subject matter. 

Occasionally, we analyze something incorrectly, hence the next point…

Verifying and testing the knowledge.  Effective learners are able to test and adjust their mental maps continuously.  They are not afraid to put themselves out there because that is how they receive feedback and make improvements.   

       What to do:

1. In the ideal world, you encounter a problem and ask yourself what you need to know to solve it.  Then, you go and learn what you need in the easiest and fastest way.  It is called "just-in-time" learning.  It ensures that your learning is relevant and valuable.  You apply it right away and gain competence in the process.  In the "learning-in-advance" scenario, look for opportunities to practice what you have learned.  If it is a skill, try transferring it to a different context and use it there. 
2. Learn collaboratively.  Share your ideas with others.  Talk through your thought process. 
3. Capture your ideas in writing.  Writing makes things clearer.  If somebody reads it, you may get feedback as well. 
4. Be adventurous and get out of your comfort zone.      

Reviewing. Assessing past actions is a crucial step if we want to achieve mastery.  We need to figure out what worked and what didn’t and adjust the behavior.

        What to do: 

1. Develop a habit of looking back at your actions and evaluating how well they served you.  Did you get the outcome you wanted?  Can you think of a better and faster way to achieve the same result? What would you do differently in the future?
2. Always search for ways to simplify, speed up and improve the process.
3. Ask people for feedback and once you’ve received it, consider it carefully.

Self-monitoring. Here, we have to assume the roles of the doer and observer at the same time.  We assess the performance in the moment, react, predict, and make adjustments as we go.  Such self-regulation offers a big learning advantage because we are attuned to instant feedback and can correct our course of actions accordingly.

        What to do: 

1. Practice mindfulness.   
2. Think about your thinking.
3. Pause and reflect on what you are doing.  Eventually, you will be able to monitor yourself without having to stop what you are doing.  It will be like a second layer of awareness that will allow you to stay attuned to the relevant clues in the context and adjust your actions as needed.

Maintaining the right attitude. Cognitive skills are important but they are not everything.  Emotional intelligence is needed as we navigate through our lives.  Think about how much information is encoded in people’s emotions and attitudes.  We have to be "emotion detectors" to succeed.  Read my earlier post on "How to develop your emotional intelligence" for more tips and resources. 

How do you develop your meta-skills?

Orientation Series:  21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner:
Step 1:  Setting your learning objectives
Step 2:  Taking an inventory of your skills
Step 3:  Taking an Inventory of Your Learning Tools
Step 4:  Finding opportunities for cognitive apprenticeship
Step 5:   Determining the "IIQ" of what you read
Step 6:  Choosing helpful books for law students
Step 7:  “The Three 'P's of Performance” in Action
Step 8:  Tapping into your social networks
Step 9:  Identifying your learning barriers
Step 10:  Finding your sources of motivation
Step 11:  Managing your energy
Step 12:  Focusing on how you think
Step 13:  Mastering informal learning and professional development
Step 14:  Asking Good Questions
Step 15:  Condensing your knowledge
Step 16:  Memorizing
Step 17:  Becoming a reflective learner
Step 18:  Establishing rhythms, rituals, and routines
Step 19:  Learning holistically

Orientation Series: 21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner

Step 19:  Learning holistically

When we think of learning, we often focus on cognitive functions and memory.  But learning doesn’t happen just in our heads.  I think there's a benefit in looking at learning from the holistic perspective that involves body, mind, and spirit (I am talking about human spirit here).  If the learning is powerful, what we learn becomes integrated into our belief system and behavior.  Learning has the potential to change not just what we know, but who we are.  How can we experience holistic learning?  Here’re a few suggestions:   

• Let your heart and passion drive your learning.  We are so conditioned to follow somebody else’s curriculum from school to college to corporate training, we come to believe that there is no learning without a syllabus.  Try setting your own learning agenda and let your curiosity guide you.  Learn something not because you have to, but because you want to.      
• Develop your intuition.  Intuition is a powerful blend of experience, awareness and inner wisdom.  It offers you a shortcut to knowledge that you may not gain through logical reasoning.  For more information on how to develop intution, check out the intuition resources at the Institute of HeartMath.
• Engage your multiple intelligences when you learn.  You can find tips on how to do it in my post "8 times smarter:  learning with multiple intelligences."  Think about how you can use various senses in learning.
• Be emotionally engaged.  Feeling inspired requires consistent work.  Create your own learning “bliss bank” and fill it with words, images, articles, and other things and activities that motivate you.  When you need an emotional uplift, go to your “bliss bank.”    
• Experiment with your learning environment.  Pay attention to how the physical space and tools you use to learn make you feel.  Escape into nature to see how fresh air and movement influence your thinking and memory.  For example, you can experiment with the "memory palace" technique as you walk along a familiar route. 
• Approach learning as play.  Our fear of failure and self-limiting constraints often prevent us from entertaining our best ideas.  Play is less threatening and can help us unleash the creative potential inside.  Next time you need to solve a problem, first create a list of bad ideas.  Get this fear of "looking stupid" out of your system.  You may be surprised how this simple technique can lead you to some great solutions.
• Consider the moral and ethical implication of what you are learning.  Will the use of your new knowledge be congruent with your values and beliefs?  Are you a better person because of this recently acquired skill?  Focus on developing skills that help your life mission. 

Do you have any suggestions for how we can learn better holistically?

Orientation Series:  21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner:
Step 1:  Setting your learning objectives
Step 2:  Taking an inventory of your skills
Step 3:  Taking an Inventory of Your Learning Tools
Step 4:  Finding opportunities for cognitive apprenticeship
Step 5:   Determining the "IIQ" of what you read
Step 6:  Choosing helpful books for law students
Step 7:  “The Three 'P's of Performance” in Action
Step 8:  Tapping into your social networks
Step 9:  Identifying your learning barriers
Step 10:  Finding your sources of motivation
Step 11:  Managing your energy
Step 12:  Focusing on how you think
Step 13:  Mastering informal learning and professional development
Step 14:  Asking Good Questions
Step 15:  Condensing your knowledge
Step 16:  Memorizing
Step 17:  Becoming a reflective learner
Step 18:  Establishing rhythms, rituals, and routines

 

Orientation Series: 21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner

Step 18:  Establishing rhythms, rituals, and routines

As you set a direction for your learning with the help of learning goals, you also want to consider establishing rhythms, rituals, and routines to support your learning process. 

Rhythms

Most things we do in life have a rhythm.  Our hearts pump blood through our bodies rhythmically.  We breathe, walk, talk in a rhythmic fashion.  Learning has its rhythm too.  If you were to design your ideal day, what kind of rhythm would it have?   The following questions may help you discover your natural rhythm:

• What kind of flow does your typical day have?  Do you feel rushed all the time?  Are you exhausted by the end of the day?  How often do you feel bored?  Does time fly by or does it drag?
• What times of the day are you at your best?  When is it easier for you to stay focused? 
• When is your energy at its lowest?  When do you usually feel like you need to take a nap?
• Do you first complete the easy tasks or the difficult ones?  Why?
• Do you like to work on one project for a long time period or do you switch between projects and tasks to get more variety into your day?
• How often do you take breaks when you work or study?  If you are not sure, try 50-minute work sessions with 10-minute breaks and see how it works for you. 

Rituals

A ritual is a set of actions that has a special symbolic meaning.  I am talking here mostly about personal rituals that you can devise and perform just for yourself.  Rituals may not be directly related to learning but they can help it by giving a signal to your brain to prepare for something, shift focus, or recharge, depending on the meaning and purpose of your ritual.  For instance, you may have a ritual to start your day on a good note.  Here are some examples of rituals and their possible purposes:

• Reading an inspirational story or listening to a motivational podcast in the morning to get yourself excited about the day.
• Meditating for 15 minutes to quiet your mind before a challenging task.
• Taking a brisk walk when you feel stuck and want to recharge.
• Doing a visualization exercise to calm your mind before an exam. 

Rituals can give you a sense of security and control in a challenging situation.  If you have a recurrent challenge in your day, try devising a ritual for it. 

Routines

It is not just kids and dogs who need routines.  Adults can benefit from them too.  Well thought out routines can give a healthy rhythm to your day, support its natural flow and give you enough energy for all the things you need to do and learn.  Once you determine your natural energy peaks and lows throughout the day, start grouping and ordering your tasks and activities around those time periods.  It may require some experimenting before you come up with your optimal day structure.  For example, my productivity increased when I stopped checking my email the first thing after I turned on my computer in the morning.  Instead, I now prefer to do some writing or research for a few hours before I open my inbox.   As you create your routines, consider the following questions:

• What tasks should you be doing when your energy is high? 
• Which activities do you reserve for your low points?
• If you like variety, how can you break up your projects to stay motivated and efficient at the same time?
• How should you order your learning activities to process information faster and remember and use it better?
• How can you ensure uninterrupted time for the tasks that require concentration?
• How well is your work or study schedule coordinated with the rest of your daily routines?
• How can you safeguard your well-being and meet the essential needs for a healthy diet, sleep, and exercise?  Too often, people sacrifice those needs only to discover too late that their immune system is compromised, they feel run down, or they are just simply unhappy.

Once you’ve planned your day, make sure you protect your routines.  It may require setting some boundaries with people and making a few unpopular decisions, but ultimately, you may discover that you are more productive, energized and enthusiastic about your life.  And learning to live well is no small accomplishment! 

What would your ideal day look like?

Orientation Series:  21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner:
Step 1:  Setting your learning objectives
Step 2:  Taking an inventory of your skills
Step 3:  Taking an Inventory of Your Learning Tools
Step 4:  Finding opportunities for cognitive apprenticeship
Step 5:   Determining the "IIQ" of what you read
Step 6:  Choosing helpful books for law students
Step 7:  “The Three 'P's of Performance” in Action
Step 8:  Tapping into your social networks
Step 9:  Identifying your learning barriers
Step 10:  Finding your sources of motivation
Step 11:  Managing your energy
Step 12:  Focusing on how you think
Step 13:  Mastering informal learning and professional development
Step 14:  Asking Good Questions
Step 15:  Condensing your knowledge
Step 16:  Memorizing
Step 17:  Becoming a reflective learner

 

Orientation Series: 21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner

Step 17:  Becoming a reflective learner

Reflective learners are better at learning because they regularly look for opportunities to improve the learning process.  They are also likely to use their new knowledge more effectively and purposefully.  What distinguishes reflective learners?  Here are few characteristics you want to cultivate to become a reflective learner:

• Motivation.  When you are motivated, you see learning challenges as opportunities to perfect your learning skills.
• Curiosity.  Inquisitiveness drives your mind to experience, explore and ask questions.  It works up your learning appetite.
• Focus. Focus makes you persevere and stick to the subject matter until you get the results.   When you are focused, you are more discerning and selective when it comes to information, and that helps to deepen your knowledge.
• Self-awareness.  You should know what kind of learner you are and what learning strategies work best for you.   
• Confidence.   Don’t be afraid to fail.  You want to be open to new ideas and approaches even if they involve risk.  You should also welcome criticism because it helps you grow.
• Info-savviness. You need information processing and learning skills to be able to locate, evaluate, synthesize, and integrate new information. 

One step you can take right now to become a reflective learner is to create your personal learning portfolio.  A learning portfolio is a record of your personal learning experience.   Here are a few suggestion on how you may want to approach it:

1. Identify the content of your learning.  What is it that you want to know?  Look at your current projects and goals and identify a learning component in them.  For example, you want more clients.  What do you need to learn to get more clients?  Do you want to know how to market effectively on the internet?  How to network?  How to contact your strategic partners?  You get the idea.  Identifying a learning component in each task will force you to look at the efficiency of what you are already doing.  Ask yourself what you can learn to become better at this task.  Engage your curiosity.  Record your ideas in your learning portfolio. 
2. Write down the reasons why you want to learn those things.  How does your learning fit into the larger context of your personal development, career objectives, and social life?  You are more likely to focus on and achieve your goal if you have a reminder of why it is important.   
3. Determine how you are going to accomplish your learning objectives.  What experiences do you need to have?  How do you develop the skills you need?  Who can be your teacher / role model / mentor?  Use your info-savviness as you create your own learning curriculum filled with activities that can boost your professional and personal development.
4. Figure out how you can measure you progress.  How do you know that you have reached your goal?  What are your milestones?  Be confident enough to ask for feedback.  Record your successes and challenges.
5. Reflect on your learning process.  Practice self-awareness as you write down your observations of what works and what doesn’t work for you.  How could you learn more effectively?  Here are some questions you may want to ask yourself:
   - What confused you most?
   - What is the best way to resolve your confusion?
   - What key ideas and information did you learn?
   - What surprised, dismayed, delighted you most in you learning experience?
   - How does your learning relate to the larger context of your life and work goals?
   - Have you learned any practical skills, ideas, tools, techniques that you can easily apply to real-life situations?
   - Have you learned anything new about yourself, your interests, feelings, values?
   - What helped your learning?
   - What interfered with your learning?
   - What should you do more of?  What should you do less of?
   - What is one thing (skill, habit, activity) you want to focus on next?
6. Find the ways to use and apply your new knowledge and skills.  Stay confident in your abilities as you brainstorm new ways to use your knowledge.  How can you learn more by doing? 
7. Have a section where you can record random comments and observations, clip images that appeal to you, write down quotations, ask yourself questions and just let your thoughts flow onto the paper without reservations.  This will fuel your motivation.

What do you do to be a reflective learner?

Orientation Series:  21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner:
Step 1:  Setting your learning objectives
Step 2:  Taking an inventory of your skills
Step 3:  Taking an Inventory of Your Learning Tools
Step 4:  Finding opportunities for cognitive apprenticeship
Step 5:   Determining the "IIQ" of what you read
Step 6:  Choosing helpful books for law students
Step 7:  “The Three 'P's of Performance” in Action
Step 8:  Tapping into your social networks
Step 9:  Identifying your learning barriers
Step 10:  Finding your sources of motivation
Step 11:  Managing your energy
Step 12:  Focusing on how you think
Step 13:  Mastering informal learning and professional development
Step 14:  Asking Good Questions
Step 15:  Condensing your knowledge
Step 16:  Memorizing

 

Orientation Series: 21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner

Step 16:  Memorizing

Even in this day and age when a lot of information is at your fingertips, memorization is still an essential component of learning.  We just have to remember certain things, there is no way around it.  The memory acts like a glue allowing us to put various pieces of information together and transform them into usable knowledge.  So it is only appropriate to review various techniques that may help us remember things better.   Some of them are well-known, others are more unique and often overlooked. 

1. Mnemonics are easy-to-remember combinations of letters or images that can help you memorize concepts and lists.  For example, the letters of a catchy word, phrase, or rhyme can represent the items in the list you need to memorize.  If you remember the mnemonic, you can then reconstruct the list.    
2. An effective way to aid your memory is to look for associations and metaphors that help you peg the new information to something you already know.  For example, you can create memorable hypotheticals by associating a concept you are trying to learn with a scenario from a well-known book or movie.  Here’s how – with the story of the Crow.
3. Use the “Memory Palace” visualization technique when you need to memorize a sequence of items.  First, you choose your “memory palace”, which can be any place or route that you remember well.  Next, you place your thoughts or images that you want to remember next to the distinctive points in the rooms of your palace or along your route. Those points serve as memory hooks.  When you need to recall the material, you mentally walk through the palace and “collect” the pieces of information that you left at each distinctive point. 
4. Create crossword puzzles for the subject matter you study. Crossword puzzles help memory by presenting the material in both visual and verbal formats.  You can use a crossword to connect related items that you need to remember together.  It is a good way to brush up on terminology.  And it is a fun activity for a study group.  Best of all, with a variety of free crossword puzzle making software available, it is really easy, just search for a “crossword maker.”  All you need is to come up with the words and their clues, and the software will generate a crossword puzzle for you.
5. PQ4R is a popular method of working with text to remember it better.  PQ4R stands for Preview, Question, and four R's: Read, Reflect, Recite, Review.  You begin with a preview of the text to get an idea of how the material is organized and what it is about.  Next, you come up with questions about the text. Then, you read the text with your questions in mind and reflect on it, looking to connect the new material with what you already know.  Later, you put away the text and recite the main points out loud in your own words.  The final step is to review.  Summarize the main points and test your comprehension with more questions.
6. If you need to memorize a complex concept, try creating a memory collage.  Pick the key elements and relationships that describe the concept.  Then, find images that you associate with those elements and arrange them in a collage trying to reflect the relationships among the underlying elements.  A memory collage allows you to see the concept as a whole while the verbal description can only be sequential.
7. Use the smell-coding technique to evoke associative learning – a process by which you link one item, in this case the subject matter you are studying, to another item – a particular aroma.  For example, as you study, you can use certain performance-enhancing essential oils, such as citrus smells (orange or lemon oil), which promote mental awareness and concentration, or peppermint, which improves the performance of clerical tasks by increasing attention.  Later, when you need to recall the material you were studying, you help your memory by smelling the aroma associated with that subject matter. 
8. Study in multiple sessions with longer breaks.   If you space out your review sessions a month apart, you may find that you will remember the material longer, according to a study done by Doug Rohrer and Harold Paschler that measured how well the participating students remembered the material tested at different times depending on their studying patterns (reported by Wray Herbert at We’re Only Human…). 
9. Manage your stress because it affects your memory.  Short-term, acute stress can help you concentrate and remember things better.  The adrenal glands respond to the initial dose of stress by immediately releasing adrenalin, which can help your performance.  Long-term stress, however, has the opposite effect.  If the stress is severe or persistent, the adrenals release cortisol, which damages the neurons in the hippocampus, a part of the brain that is central to memory and learning.
10. Last but not least, take afternoon naps as they help to absorb large quantities of information and improve memory.

Orientation Series:  21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner:
Step 1:  Setting your learning objectives
Step 2:  Taking an inventory of your skills
Step 3:  Taking an Inventory of Your Learning Tools
Step 4:  Finding opportunities for cognitive apprenticeship
Step 5:   Determining the "IIQ" of what you read
Step 6:  Choosing helpful books for law students
Step 7:  “The Three 'P's of Performance” in Action
Step 8:  Tapping into your social networks
Step 9:  Identifying your learning barriers
Step 10:  Finding your sources of motivation
Step 11:  Managing your energy
Step 12:  Focusing on how you think
Step 13:  Mastering informal learning and professional development
Step 14:  Asking Good Questions
Step 15:  Condensing your knowledge

Orientation Series: 21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner

Step 15:  Condensing your knowledge

One of the important steps of information processing is to condense what you have learned into a manageable and memorable format.  The goal is to produce your own knowledge concentrate that you can later use to create new, fresh combinations of ideas and applications.  Try the following approaches to knowledge synthesis:

Outlining.  Outlining is a way to synthesize the material by showing relationships among various concepts.  For example, law students create outlines for each subject they study on the basis of their class notes, casebooks and any additional resources they use. Their outlines are summaries of the material that list main categories, legal standards and rules, cases, illustrations, and anything else that students may find useful. The process of outlining enables students to review the material and solidify their knowledge. Outlines help students to see the big picture.  Consider how certain notions applicable to advertising can be used to make the content of your outline more memorable.   

Mind-mapping.   Mind mapping is a powerful technique that allows you to capture the natural flow of your ideas in their relation to one another.  The goal of learning is to connect the new information to what you already know.  A mind map is a non-linear way of representing information.  You start with a word or image that symbolizes the subject of your attention in the center of a blank page.  You record the main themes by branching outward from the central image.  As ideas emerge, you place key words, images, symbols on branches and sub-branches connected to the "triggers." 

Wikis.  Wikipedia, one of the best known examples of wikis, gives the following definition:  “A wiki is a type of computer software that allows users to easily create, edit and link web pages.”  A great feature of wikis is that a group of people can work on a project collaboratively, making changes, adding information, linking to other resources as needed.  If you have a study group or a mastermind group, a wiki can be a great tool for brainstorming and knowledge synthesis. 

Note-taking.  We are all familiar with traditional note-taking.  The issue is how to use it effectively as a tool of knowledge synthesis.  Here are a few ideas:

• Get into a habit of taking notes as you read.  Then, use the notes to summarize what you have read.
• Add an organizational structure to your notes by highlighting keywords, using meaningful subheadings, bullet points or numbers to list items.
• Be selective and concise.
• Develop a system of abbreviations and symbols for frequently used words and concepts.
• Use visuals, such as pictures, tables, time lines, concept trees whenever you can.
• Review your notes on a regular basis and incorporate them into more highly organized systems, such as outlines, mind-maps or wikis.

Q&As.   Putting what you have learned into the Q&A format can help you prepare for exams and presentations by forcing you to think about the questions that can test your understanding and contexts in which the new information may appear.  For example, you can create hypotheticals and then write out your answers to test yourself.  For this technique to work, you should start with valid, genuine questions about the subject matter.  Don’t just turn a piece of information you already know into a question.   

Learning boards.  Similar to a dream board, a learning board is a collection of images that represent something you want to learn.  You list your learning goals, create mind maps, clip relevant pictures and articles from magazines, do your own sketches and attach them to a poster board.  Try to position the elements on your learning board to reflect the relationships among concepts and ideas.  Make your learning board visually stimulating to boost your creativity and aid your memory.

Presentations.  Creating a presentation on the subject that you are learning can be a great way to bring various pieces of information together in an easily digestible form.  You have probably heard the saying: “If you want to learn something, teach it.”  When you need to explain something to others, you have to look for the most straightforward way to present the information.  This brings clarity and precision to your own thoughts.  You should also be prepared to explain the same idea differently to accommodate a variety of learners.  Repeating the information will cause you to remember it better.  If you belong to a study group, you can make presentations a component of your group meetings.

What methods do you use to synthesize information?

Orientation Series:  21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner:
Step 1:  Setting your learning objectives
Step 2:  Taking an inventory of your skills
Step 3:  Taking an Inventory of Your Learning Tools
Step 4:  Finding opportunities for cognitive apprenticeship
Step 5:   Determining the "IIQ" of what you read
Step 6:  Choosing helpful books for law students
Step 7:  “The Three 'P's of Performance” in Action
Step 8:  Tapping into your social networks
Step 9:  Identifying your learning barriers
Step 10:  Finding your sources of motivation
Step 11:  Managing your energy
Step 12:  Focusing on how you think
Step 13:  Mastering informal learning and professional development
Step 14:  Asking Good Questions

   

Orientation Series: 21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner

Step 14:  Asking Good Questions

Questions are the power tool of learning.  They drill through the surface into deeper layers of meaning and understanding.  They shape and guide our thinking.  Asking good questions of yourself and others is an important skill of life-long learners.  It is even more valuable than knowing the answers because answers frequently change in our fast-paced world.   How do you make your questions more powerful?   

• Anticipate.  Use questions to propel yourself forward.  Look into the future and play with “What if” scenarios.   
  Example:  What if we did the impossible?  What would happen then? 
• Ask open-endedly.  Open-ended questions are more engaging.  They expand rather than limit your thinking.  Get comfortable with WH-questions:  Who, What, When, Where, How, Why.
  Example:  How can I do it differently?
• Change Assumptions. Ask questions to make a leap into the unknown and push yourself to the edges of your comfort zone.   Rebel against your own linear thinking.  Connect the opposites, flip the assumptions, mock the established theories.   
  Example:  How can we do the impossible?
• Seek relevancy.  Ask questions that are relevant to your life and your unique situation.  You want the knowledge gained from your questions to have a direct impact on you.
  Example:  What is the most important thing we should be addressing right now?
• Be authentic.  Ask authentic questions that reflect your values and aspirations.   When we connect to the subject matter on the emotional level, we feel more engaged, and as a result, we learn and remember better.   
  Example:  Why does it matter?
• Practice empathy.  Step into the shoes of someone affected by the question.  What are their fears and hopes?  Use questions to bridge the gap between the opposing points of view by revealing common interests, values, goals.  Questions promote collaboration while assertions may lead to unproductive conflicts. 
  Example:    How do you feel about...?

What are your favorite powerful questions?

Orientation Series:  21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner:
Step 1:  Setting your learning objectives
Step 2:  Taking an inventory of your skills
Step 3:  Taking an Inventory of Your Learning Tools
Step 4:  Finding opportunities for cognitive apprenticeship
Step 5:   Determining the "IIQ" of what you read
Step 6:  Choosing helpful books for law students
Step 7:  “The Three 'P's of Performance” in Action
Step 8:  Tapping into your social networks
Step 9:  Identifying your learning barriers
Step 10:  Finding your sources of motivation
Step 11:  Managing your energy
Step 12:  Focusing on how you think
Step 13:  Mastering informal learning and professional development

Orientation Series: 21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner

Step 13:  Mastering informal learning and professional development

Learning doesn’t end when you leave the classroom, submit a paper for grading, or finish a test.  Most of our learning in life happens informally through conversations, stories, actions, and mistakes.  Have you met people who always seem to know how to find an answer quickly, who to ask for advice and where to go for help?  The truth is you can be one of those resourceful people.   You just have to master informal learning.  Here are 7 pointers to get your started: 

1. Build awareness.  Don’t be a zombie who operates on autopilot.  Be mindful of what is going on around you.   There are many things at work that with experience, we can do almost automatically.  But in order to learn, we need to pay attention.  Get informed about your company, understand its history, the services you provide, markets, processes, culture and politics. 
2. Embrace the “TEAM” approach to learning:
   T = Test your understanding;
   E = Evaluate the results of your test;
   A = Assess the strengths and weaknesses of your current position in light of the results;
   M = Modify your understanding if needed.
   Repeat the cycle. 
3. Reflect.  Get into the habit of reflecting on the experiences of your work day.  What excited you?  What frustrated you?  What was the most important thing you learned today?  Did you manage your time effectively?  How can you improve your work processes?    You can come up with your own list of questions and use it as a checklist at the end of the day. 
4. Be strategic about your professional development.  Don’t assume that you will get the necessary training and resources.  Develop your personal learning agenda.  Identify the skills you will need as your career evolves and set a timeframe for developing those skills.  Create a personal curriculum that covers all possible ways and methods for you to learn.  When time comes for the conversation with your boss about your professional development, be prepared. 
5. Seek feedback whenever you can.  Constructive feedback can open new learning opportunities. 
6. Be social. Talk to people.  Ask them about their passions and areas of expertise.  The more people you know, the easier it will be for you to access information when you need it.  Figure out how knowledge flows in your organization.  Who generates it?  How is it distributed? Who are the connectors? 
7. Develop a curious mind.  A curious mind is inspired, attentive, ready to solve problems and build new connections.  It welcomes challenges and envisions possibilities.  It is a great mind to have when you want to learn.

Orientation Series:  21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner:
Step 1:  Setting your learning objectives
Step 2:  Taking an inventory of your skills
Step 3:  Taking an Inventory of Your Learning Tools
Step 4:  Finding opportunities for cognitive apprenticeship
Step 5:   Determining the "IIQ" of what you read
Step 6:  Choosing helpful books for law students
Step 7:  “The Three 'P's of Performance” in Action
Step 8:  Tapping into your social networks
Step 9:  Identifying your learning barriers
Step 10:  Finding your sources of motivation
Step 11:  Managing your energy
Step 12:  Focusing on how you think

Orientation Series: 21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner

Step 12:  Focusing on how you think

Learning to see the structures within which we operate begins a process of freeing ourselves from previously unseen forces and ultimately mastering the ability to work with them and change them.
- Peter Senge, “The Fifth Discipline”

There is no learning without thinking.  Effective learners know how to engage different types of thinking and how to think systematically and strategically.  Thinking about your own thinking is a meta-skill: it enables you to use your other skills in a more productive way across different disciplines and subject areas.  The Thinking Portal at Wikipedia includes a long list of thinking-related topics:

Abductive reasoning, Abstract thinking, Analogy, Attitude, Calculation, Categorization, Cognition, Cognitive restructuring, Cognitive space, Cognitive style, Common sense, Consciousness, Concept, Conjecture, Concrete concepts, Convergent thinking, Critical thinking, Deductive reasoning, Definition, Divergent thinking, Estimation, Evaluation, Explanation, Gestalt psychology, Heuristics, Historical thinking, Holistic, Hypothesis, Idea, Identification (information), Inductive reasoning, Inference, Instinct, Intelligence, Intelligence amplification, Intentionality, Introspection, Intuition, Knowledge management, Language, Lateral thinking, Linguistics, Logic, Logical argument, Logical assertion, LogoVisual thinking, Meaning (linguistics), Meaning (non-linguistic), Meaning (semiotics), Mental calculation, Mental function, Metacognition, Mind's eye, Mindset, Multiple intelligences, Morphological Analysis, Multitasking, Nonlinear, Pattern matching, Personality, Picture thinking, Prediction, Premise (argument), Problem finding, Problem shaping, Problem solving, Proposition, Rationality, Reason, Reasoning, Reasoning event, Self-reflection, Sapience, Semantic network, Semantics, Semiosis, Semiotics, Six Thinking Hats, Speech act, Somatosensory, Stream of consciousness, Syllogism, Synectics, Systems intelligence, Systems thinking, Thinkabout, Thinking, Thought act, Thinking maps, Thinking Processes, Thought experiment, TRIZ, Visual thinking, Working memory, Writing

There is obviously a lot to learn about thinking.   To keep it is simple, let’s begin with just a few types:

Convergent thinking - This type of thinking is cognitive processing of information around a common point, an attempt to bring thoughts from different directions into a union or common conclusion.

Divergent thinking - This type of thinking starts from a common point and moves outward into a variety of perspectives. When fostering divergent thinking, teachers use the content as a vehicle to prompt diverse or unique thinking among students rather than a common view.

Inductive thinking - This is the process of reasoning from parts to the whole, from examples to generalizations.

Deductive thinking - This type of reasoning moves from the whole to its parts, from generalizations to underlying concepts to examples.

Critical thinking - This is convergent thinking. It assesses the worth and validity of something existent. It involves precise, persistent, objective analysis. When teachers try to get several learners to think convergently, they try to help them develop common understanding.

Creative thinking - This is divergent thinking. It generates something new or different. It involves having a different idea that works as well or better than previous ideas.

To hone your meta-skills and to bring more focus and clarity to learning through a structured thought process, try applying the above types of thinking to a topic you are studying.  Pay attention to how you think about the subject matter, as opposed to what you think about it. 

Do you have favorite thinking models?

Orientation Series:  21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner:
Step 1:  Setting your learning objectives
Step 2:  Taking an inventory of your skills
Step 3:  Taking an Inventory of Your Learning Tools
Step 4:  Finding opportunities for cognitive apprenticeship
Step 5:   Determining the "IIQ" of what you read
Step 6:  Choosing helpful books for law students
Step 7:  “The Three 'P's of Performance” in Action
Step 8:  Tapping into your social networks
Step 9:  Identifying your learning barriers
Step 10:  Finding your sources of motivation
Step 11:  Managing your energy

Orientation Series: 21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner

Step 11:  Managing your energy

Energy is powerful.  Energy is also subtle.   We feel it, but we can’t always measure it easily.  We talk a lot about time management, and not enough about energy management.  You already know that your body needs a good diet, enough sleep and regular exercise to stay energetic.  What may not be so obvious is that our energy levels also correlate with what we do and how we feel about what we do.  Have you noticed how time flies when we engage in something that energizes us, and crawls when we do a task that drains us? Paying attention to the changes in your energy patterns throughout the day is a first step towards bringing more energy into your life.   

If you spend too much energy on things that you don’t enjoy, you are in danger of depleting your energy bank.   Can you identify five routine tasks that drain you most?  Is there a way to delegate them or eliminate them from your days completely?  If this is not possible, it helps to remember that energy comes with meaning, love, and purpose, so look for those qualities in what you do.  For example, I don’t like cleaning, but I can overcome the resentment if I think of it as creating and controlling my physical environment.  Such focus gives more meaning to a mundane task. 

While this type of reframing can work for some activities, use it only as the last resort because you are better off giving your energy to something that you truly love.   You can think of it as opening a channel:  when good energy flows form you, the Universe gives back, so you will replenish your energy fast. 

Energy needs to move.  You can’t conserve it by keeping it to yourself because it will dissipate, and you will feel lethargic without having done anything.  If you ever spent hours on the couch watching TV, you know what I mean. 

How do you make sure that your learning brings energy into your life?  Learning should be a source of joy and inspiration for you.  You have to find meaning and purpose in what you learn.  And finally, you must have a way to share the results of your learning with others and do it with love. 

Do you feel energized when you learn? 

Orientation Series:  21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner:
Step 1:  Setting your learning objectives
Step 2:  Taking an inventory of your skills
Step 3:  Taking an Inventory of Your Learning Tools
Step 4:  Finding opportunities for cognitive apprenticeship
Step 5:   Determining the "IIQ" of what you read
Step 6:  Choosing helpful books for law students
Step 7:  “The Three 'P's of Performance” in Action
Step 8:  Tapping into your social networks
Step 9:  Identifying your learning barriers
Step 10:  Finding your sources of motivation

 

Orientation Series: 21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner

Step 10:  Finding your sources of motivation

I wish I could fly out of my bed each morning and embrace the day with unwavering enthusiasm.  The reality is that sometimes it happens, other times I need a push.  Law school is often a rollercoaster when it comes to emotions.  One day, you can look around your classroom in amazement that you have made it that far and be excited about your future.  Another day, self-doubt starts eating a hole in your shield of confidence.  When you feel down for whatever reason, it helps to look for internal sources of your motivation.   Here is how to begin:

• Focus on your long-term goals.  Remind yourself why you went to law school in the first place.  Visualize your legal career as you want it to unfold.  If you were to write a script for a movie about yourself, how would you tell your story?  Are you a struggling character right now? 
• Remember what you felt when you found out that you were accepted by the law school of your choice.  Re-live that joy and excitement. 
• Picture yourself five years from now.  What would “You From the Future” tell “You in the Present”? 
• Write down all the things you are grateful for at the moment.  Sometimes, we forget how good our lives are.
• Notice what demotivates you. 
• Talk to people who care about you.  We all need support from time to time.  Even if you are very busy, find time to connect with your family and friends.
• Remind yourself that you are in control of your ship. You have the power to decide where and how fast you go.  Take an action that shows that you are indeed in control. 
• Read autobiographies of people who inspire you. 
• Notice what you tend to do or say to yourself when you lack motivation.  We often choose a behavior because it benefits us in some way even if we are not consciously aware of the benefit.  So next time you procrastinate, identify the upside of your procrastination.  Does it give you a potential justification for failure?  “Had I studied more, I would have done better.”  But because you don’t study hard enough, you always have an excuse of why you don’t do so well.  Face your fears and find a way to deal with them.      
• Sometimes, just doing what must be done is the best way to overcome your blues.  Act your way to success.

What are your sources of motivation?

Orientation Series:  21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner:
Step 1:  Setting your learning objectives
Step 2:  Taking an inventory of your skills
Step 3:  Taking an Inventory of Your Learning Tools
Step 4:  Finding opportunities for cognitive apprenticeship
Step 5:   Determining the "IIQ" of what you read
Step 6:  Choosing helpful books for law students
Step 7:  “The Three 'P's of Performance” in Action
Step 8:  Tapping into your social networks
Step 9:  Identifying your learning barriers

 

Orientation Series: 21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner

Step 9:  Identifying your learning barriers

We all have them.  They block our best learning efforts.  It is time to bring them to light, look at them carefully, and part with them decisively.  What are they?  They are learning barriers. 

Today, I suggest an exercise in self-awareness.  As you go about your day, take notice of all your good intentions:  all the things you want to learn and do.  Just get a small notebook and jot them down as they pop up in your head.  The next day, pull out your list, take another look at your intentions, and ask yourself what stops you from taking a step forward towards making them a reality.  Write down your justifications.  Repeat this exercise for a few days until you start seeing a pattern.  What prevents you from giving attention to your intentions?

Orientation Series:  21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner:
Step 1:  Setting your learning objectives
Step 2:  Taking an inventory of your skills
Step 3:  Taking an Inventory of Your Learning Tools
Step 4:  Finding opportunities for cognitive apprenticeship
Step 5:   Determining the "IIQ" of what you read
Step 6:  Choosing helpful books for law students
Step 7:  “The Three 'P's of Performance” in Action
Step 8:  Tapping into your social networks

Orientation Series: 21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner

Step 8:  Tapping into your social networks

Most important learning comes from people – from interactions, conversations, stories that help to create new meaning and new knowledge.  So it is only appropriate to think about people that can support and enhance your learning in various ways.  What are your most valuable sources of information? Who are you learning from?  Here is a process to help you develop and tap into your key social networks.

1. Pull out your list of learning goals that you created in Step 1.  For each goal, brainstorm personal and business contacts, organizations, associations, and social networks that have the potential to make your learning more compete and efficient.
2. Write down your thoughts on how these potential resources can help you. 
3. Now think about how you can contribute to these relationships.  Look for mutual benefits that can deepen and strengthen your interactions with others.  What can you give to other people?  Write down your observations.
4. Set up a system to manage your contact information.  You want something to make the relevant names, phone numbers, addresses, etc. always available and easy to update.   This can be a good practice for managing your future client database. 
5. Develop a plan to contact these resources.  Let’s say, you have three goals to focus on at the moment.  Prepare to engage the corresponding resources.  Decide how and when you will contact them.  Compile the initial set of questions or issues you want to discuss.
6. Just do it.  Get in touch, make a phone call, write a letter or an email, join, subscribe, enroll, invite somebody to lunch or for a cup of coffee.  Make a connection. 
7. The hardest part is to maintain the engagement.  It takes time, thought and effort, but the benefits can be huge and long-lasting.  So often we just scratch the surface and miss out on the opportunity to have deeper conversations and more profound insights.  If you were to take your conversation a step further, what would you say or do?  Get into a habit of thinking about the follow-up right after your initial contact.  If you want your relationship to grow, plan for it and commit to the path. 
8. Revisit your list of contacts and your networking plans periodically.  Weed out those that don’t work.  Focus your time and energy on productive relationships that enhance your learning. 

Your networks are like a garden.  You design and plant it.  You water it regularly and give it food to grow.  Some plants die, others flourish. But if you put attention to it, you will have a beautiful garden to enjoy.

Are you ready to grow your learning networks?

Orientation Series:  21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner:
Step 1:  Setting your learning objectives
Step 2:  Taking an inventory of your skills
Step 3:  Taking an Inventory of Your Learning Tools
Step 4:  Finding opportunities for cognitive apprenticeship
Step 5:   Determining the "IIQ" of what you read
Step 6:  Choosing helpful books for law students
Step 7:  “The Three 'P's of Performance” in Action 

Orientation Series: 21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner

Step 7:  “The Three 'P's of Performance” in Action

As many L1s have probably discovered by now, the law school curriculum is intense.  There are many things competing for your attention.  How do you stay in control of your learning?  It’s time to review the three 'P's of performance:  Prioritize, Plan, Prepare. 

Prioritize.  There is so much to learn that sometimes you can’t decide where to focus.  If you don’t have control over the learning process, you are more prone to stress and anxiety.  Having a prioritizing system in place will help you be more confident and efficient.  Below are a few factors to consider when you prioritize.  You may want to assign weight to each of them and rank your tasks accordingly.  It is a good idea to do this in writing so that you can review and revise your priority list as needed.

• Your learning objectives.  When you have a learning agenda, you can tie each task to your larger long-term learning goals.  Are you reading a case to be able to answer your professor’s questions if you are called on in class?  Or are you reading it to learn how to construct arguments, apply law to the facts, or understand the court’s reasoning?  You want a priority system that allows you to achieve your personal learning objectives with the least amount of effort.  The learning goals are your focus lenses.
• Deadlines.  When are you projects due?  Meeting deadlines is an important skill to develop not just for law school, but for legal practice as well.  If you are not given a deadline, create it for yourself.  Too many students fall behind on reading and try to catch up later when it is time to outline and review for the exams.
• Difficulty.  Some prefer to tackle more complex tasks first.   Others like to get the easy stuff out of the way.  Whatever you strategy is, it helps to rank the difficulty of your assignments.
• People.  Are there people who count on you to complete the project?  How do your actions affect their performance?
• Consequences of not completing the task.  What happens if you don’t do it?  Can you accept the consequences?
• Benefits.  Consider the benefits you gain if you accomplish the task. 

Plan.  Once you know the priority of the things that need to be done, it is time to figure out how you are going to do them.  Here are some tips to get you started:

• Get into a habit of creating “Week-at-a-Glance” plans.  Weekly plans seem to work well in law school.
• Break down your projects into smaller manageable steps.
• Make your plan specific by including deadlines, time allotments, numbers, etc.
• Plan for help.  Know your resources and support systems.  Where do you go if you have trouble?
• Look for the easiest and most effective ways to do things.
• Plan to measure your progress.
• Take into account your learning style, preferences, and the best studying practices.  If visualizing information makes it easier for you to learn, your plan should build on it.  Also, plan to review the material in multiple sessions rather than in one longer period of time because multiple reviews work best for our memory.
• Allocate extra time to each task because we tend to underestimate the amount of time it takes us to do things.   

Prepare.  Once you have a plan, all you need to do is to execute on it.  Preparation is the key to your success.  There is not a lot of academic “supervision” or feedback in law school.  You are the one who has to motivate, scare, or cheer yourself along.  Be prepared.

Orientation Series:  21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner:
Step 1:  Setting your learning objectives
Step 2:  Taking an inventory of your skills
Step 3:  Taking an Inventory of Your Learning Tools
Step 4:  Finding opportunities for cognitive apprenticeship
Step 5:   Determining the "IIQ" of what you read
Step 6:  Choosing helpful books for law students

Orientation Series: 21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner

Step 6:  Choosing helpful books for law students.

What books helped you in law school or law practice?  I want to start a list of useful books for law students.  I am searching the web for recommendations.  Please consider sharing your favorites in the comments.

To start, Law School Academic Support Blog recommends the following books:

• “Whose Monet? An Introduction to the American Legal System” by John A. Humbach.
• “Hidden Sources of Law School Stress” and “A Deeper Understanding of Your Career Choices” by Lawrence S. Krieger.
• “Five Types of Legal Arguments” by Wilson Ray Huhn.
• “Succeeding in Law School” by Herbert N. Ramy.
• “1000 Days to the Bar - But the Practice of Law Begins Now: How to achieve your personal best in Law School” by Dennis J. Tonsing.
• “Pass the Bar!” by Denise Riebe and Michael Hunter Schwartz.

Stephanie West Allen recommends

• “Should You Really Be A Lawyer?: The Guide To Smart Career Choices Before, During & After Law School” by Deborah Schneider and Gary Belsky.

Top Law Student recommends:

• “Law School Confidential: A Complete Guide to the Law School Experience: By Students, for Students”by Robert H. Miller.
• “Getting to Maybe: How to Excel on Law School Exams” by Richard Michael Fischl and Jeremy Paul.
• “Guerrilla Tactics For Getting The Legal Job Of Your Dreams: Regardless of Your Grades, Your School, or Your Work Experience!” by Kimm Alayne Walton.

Here are a few books on legal writing I want to add to the list: 

• “Legal Writing in Plain English: A Text With Exercises” by Bryan A. Garner. 
• “Academic Legal Writing: Law Review Articles, Student Notes, Seminar Papers, and Getting on Law Review” by Eugene Volokh.  (Professor Volokh is a co-author of The Volokh Conspiracy blog).

What books do you like?

Orientation Series:  21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner:
Step 1:  Setting your learning objectives
Step 2:  Taking an inventory of your skills
Step 3:  Taking an Inventory of Your Learning Tools
Step 4:  Finding opportunities for cognitive apprenticeship
Step 5:   Determining the "IIQ" of what you read

Orientation Series: 21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner

Step 5:   Determining the "IIQ" of what you read

Lawyers read a lot.  There are lots of things to read out there:  from required legal research to professional development to personal improvement.  In this wealth of written information, do you ever pause to consider how much you are influenced by what you read?  I am thinking of a tool.  Let’s call it “IIQ.”  It stands for “Information Impact Quotient.”  Imagine a continuum of influence ranging from  “zero” impact to the earth-shattering, life-changing kind of impact.  There can be many gradations in between.  For the sake of simplicity, we can start with the following four:

• React.  This is a point when we read something and have a reaction to it.  Maybe, we like it, maybe we don’t.  The response may not be lasting, but this is the beginning of our relationship with the text.  The impact is small.
• Reflect.  At this stage, we take time to reflect on the reading.  There is something in it that causes us to stop and think. 
• Internalize.  The reading has a bigger impact when we internalize the ideas in it.  They become a part of our reference system.  We talk about them, we develop and fine-tune them to suit our needs.
• Act.  At the highest level of impact, the reading causes us to change.  We act on the ideas, we use them to make our decisions, we live by them. 

Which category does most of your reading fall into?  How would you measure the impact of what you read?

Orientation Series:  21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner:
Step 1:  Setting your learning objectives
Step 2:  Taking an inventory of your skills
Step 3:  Taking an Inventory of Your Learning Tools
Step 4:  Finding opportunities for cognitive apprenticeship

 

Orientation Series: 21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner

Step 4:  Finding opportunities for cognitive   apprenticeship.

Learning is social in nature.  Even if you were able to read all the books you wanted, you would still have to test your knowledge in the real world.  That’s where you get the feedback on your ideas and skills that allows you to improve and make a better use of your abilities.  In fact, even reading a book is a social activity because you, as a reader, interact with the text:  you filter the author’s ideas through the prism of your own background, experiences, and values, creating a unique blend of meaning.  The most difficult part of studying law is not the volume of reading and research you have to do, it is the ability to see nuances and make judgment calls based on the specifics of a situation.  In other words, it is something that you gain from experience.  That’s why newly-minted lawyers often feel so inadequate in real practice even after years of schooling.  How can you benefit from the experiences of other lawyers who have been there and done that before you? 

Consider cognitive apprenticeship.  Cognitive apprenticeship is a method of learning that allows the apprentice to observe, model, and perfect the processes used by the expert to perform a complex task.  It’s like a guided tour into the expert’s head.  It begins with the expert explaining what he or she does and how he or she thinks on the job.  This is not an easy task because people are not always aware of how they do things.  Based on the expert’s explanations, the apprentice creates a mental model of the desired behavior.  The apprentice then attempts to copy that behavior while the expert observes it.  A crucial part of the process is coaching during which the expert corrects the apprentice, provides constructive feedback, additional observations and reminders.  As the apprentice becomes more proficient in the skill, there is less need for the expert’s involvement. 

While the Socratic method used in law classes attempts to model the legal analysis and critical thinking, it falls short of the benefits of cognitive apprenticeship, which is context-specific and targets real-world activities.  You have to be proactive to find opportunities for cognitive apprenticeship.  Here are a few things you can do:

• Find a mentor.  This can be one of the best things you can do for your career and professional development.  Good mentors are golden.  It may take time to find them, so begin your search early. 
• Volunteer and shadow experienced attorneys in their daily routines.  Take notes and ask questions whenever you get a chance.  Read more about “getting in the trenches” at Build A Solo Practice, LLC.
• Look into clinical programs at your school.  They help you develop practical skills.  Also, seminars may be a good option because the number of students is usually small and there is more time for questions and discussions.
• Become a fan of “why” and “how” questions.  Remember, people often have trouble explaining how they do things.  You may have to develop good questioning skills to guide them in the discovery of their own mental processes.  It takes practice, but you will get better at it with time. 
• Whenever you read legal opinions, articles or books by respected lawyers and judges, pay attention at how they think and develop their arguments.  Notice not just what they say, but how they say it and why. 

Do you have any other tips on how to become a cognitive apprentice or maybe, a personal story of cognitive apprenticeship?  Share your learning with us!

Related Post:
What can you learn from people?

Orientation Series:  21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner:
Step 1:  Setting your learning objectives
Step 2:  Taking an inventory of your skills
Step 3:  Taking an Inventory of Your Learning Tools

Orientation Series: 21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner

Step 3:  Taking an Inventory of Your Learning Tools

What tools do you need to learn better?  Clearly, you need traditional books, notebooks, pens and pencils, but what about all those new applications and gadgets that seem to appear by dozens each day.  How do you decide which ones deserve a permanent place in your toolbox?  How do you keep up with the ever increasing number of productivity tools and manage to stay productive?  I don’t have the answer to that.  I like gadgets myself and I like trying out new things, so I want a framework to think about my tools.  This is my rudimentary attempt to create such framework. 

Start by emptying your toolbox first.  I believe it’s better to begin your search from a place of need rather than a place of abundance.  We are all different with different learning needs.  The latest best thing on the market may not be the best thing for you.  Your task is to find your absolute must-haves.  No tool gets grandfathered in the process. 

So how do you know what you really need?  I am going to use the Wh-questions thinking strategy.

What?  What is the typical content of your learning?  You can learn concepts, you can learn processes, or you can learn how to do specific tasks.  For example, if you want to learn how to commence a law suit, on a conceptual level, you may study service of process, complaints, pre-answer motions, answers, claims, defenses, etc.  You also need to learn about the process with its sequence of pleadings and relevant deadlines.  But even if you know the theory, you still may not know how to do it in real practice:  what forms to use, where to get information, who to call, where to go, etc.  When you study concepts, you may need a tool that helps you take notes.  When you learn about the process, you want something that allows you to create a flowchart.  When you actually learn how to do things, your eyes, ears and tongue may be your best tools to observe, listen and ask questions.  The point is that different content requires different tools.

Where?  Where do you like to study?  If you want to study on a train, in a coffee shop, or while walking your dog, your learning tools should be able to accommodate your preferences. 

When?  When you find your learning rhythm, you may discover that some tools fit certain routines better than others.  For example, you may choose to write your notes by hand in class and type them up at home later as a review. 

How?  How do you like to study?  Are you a visual learner who likes to draw pictures, diagrams and tables?  If so, you need a tool that strengthens your spatial intelligence.  If you have strong musical intelligence, your iPod may be your best friend.  If you rely on kinesthetic intelligence, look for something that allows you to incorporate movement into your learning.   

Why?  Why do you learn?  Think about the learning outcomes you want to achieve.  What tools are going to get your closer to your goals?  If you are learning for your personal development, a pen and paper may be all you need.  But if you are learning something to share it with others, you may choose different tools for collaboration.

Once you've identified your personal learning needs and preferences, you can start looking for the tools that get the job done and that you enjoy.  Don’t try to get complicated applications with lots of features that you don’t need.  They may be more difficult to learn, and you will end up wasting time rather than saving it.  Commit to what works for you. 

Check out Jane Hart’s Directory of Learning Tools with over 1,600 tools to choose from.

How do you choose your learning tools?

Orientation Series:  21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner:
Step 1:  Setting your learning objectives
Step 2:  Taking an inventory of your skills

Orientation Series: 21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner

Step 2:  Taking an inventory of your skills.

Whenever we face a novel situation, such as a new job or a new academic program, it is a good idea to take an inventory of the skills we bring with us.  The uncertainty can make us fearful that we are not good enough or smart enough to do what we are supposed to do.  Reflecting on our skills and past experiences can help overcome our doubts and charter a plan to make the best of our abilities.

As Step 2 of our Orientaion Series, you are going to create an inventory of your skills.  If you don’t know how to begin, this checklist can help you look at different types of experiences you may have had in life and the accompanying skills.  It is presented as a job-related exercise, but it can help you prepare for law school as well.  In addition, there are various assessments available online to determine your strengths.  Idealawg recommends two objective aptitude tests (and a good discussion of why self-report tests can be problematic).  If you want to learn more about multiple intelligences, check out this Multiple Intelligence Inventory. 

Once you have your list of skills, consider how you can easily enhance the ones that you need most in law school.  Is there an easy way to make a decent skill superb?  For example, I was a decent reader and did OK with the reading skills I had for quite a while.  But when I discovered a few really simple reading techniques, such as previews and multiple passes, my comprehension and retention got much better, and reading took less time.  Or let’s say you are a decent writer.  How can you enhance your writing skills in law school?  One way is to pay attention to how effective legal writers do their job.   When you read legal opinions or articles written by lawyers who are recognized as good writers, notice how they structure their paragraphs, what words they use, how they make the information flow.  Now you are reading not just to understand the text, but also to analyze the writing itself and use it as a model for your own writing.    

Finally, put down the skills that you think you need but lack right now.  If any of them are crucial to the success of your legal career, you may need to plan how to work on those skills.  For example, if you dislike networking, you may have to find good strategies to make the task more tolerable and perhaps, gradually, build up an interest in it.

Once you’ve done this exercise, you may be surprised at how much you already know.  This is a good foundation for your future success. 

Orientation Series:  21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner:
Step 1:  Setting your learning objectives

Orientation Series: 21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner

This is the time of the year when many law schools conduct their orientation programs for incoming students.  I’ve decided to begin my own orientation series “21 Steps to Becoming a Better Learner” here at Lawsagna.  Experienced students can also benefit from this program because there is always room for improvement.  I plan to address 2 or 3 steps each week giving you enough time to start working on them in between.  Are you up to the challenge?

Without further delay, let’s take the first step.

Step 1:  Setting your learning objectives

You’ve probably all heard about the importance of goal setting if you want to achieve good results.  There is something very tangible about written goals that you can keep close to your desk and re-read regularly.  They remind you why you do what you do.  They help you measure your progress.  And you can get a great sense of satisfaction when you check off a goal because you have accomplished it.      

As the first step on your path to become a better learner, you will have to write out your learning objectives for the upcoming semester.  Your objectives must meet the following criteria:

1. Your goals must be put in terms that you can control.  For example, “I will get an “A” in Torts” is not a good goal because grades are assigned by your professors.  But the steps you can take to bring yourself closer to getting an “A” is something you can control, so they can be your objectives. 
2. Your objectives must be measurable.  Including specific numbers, deadlines, time periods into your goals will help you track your progress.  For example, “I will read books on networking” is not specific enough.  Decide how many books you want to read a month and make that your goal: “I will read one book on networking each month.” 

What should your goals cover?  In my earlier post “Is Your Learning Significant?” I described Dee Fink’s “Taxonomy of Significant Learning,” which in my opinion, offers a good basis for your personal goal setting.  You want your learning to influence various areas of your life so take a broad perspective on how learning can help you professionally, socially and personally.

Is it better to have big goals or small goals?  My answer is both.  Consider having two levels of goals.  Since I like cooking analogies, I will call them the “appetizer goals” and the “main course goals.”  The “appetizer goals” give you the big picture of where you are heading, they are like themes that work up your appetite for more definitive goals.  They are motivating and inspirational in nature.  The “main course goals” are the fuel for your activities.  Concrete and well-defined, they are the focus of your efforts.  They really give you something to work on.

For dessert, write out why you want to accomplish these objectives.  Picture the rewards you gain from achieving your goals.  Visualize the outcomes.  How will it feel?  Capture your best reasons on paper and return to them when you need extra motivation. 

You also need to know the cost of your goals.  Each goal comes with a price tag.  Your objectives may require you to change some of your habits or behaviors.  Maybe, you like to watch TV each night, or sleep in on weekends, or spend hours on the internet.  What do you have to give up for the opportunity to achieve your goals?  Identify those costs and decide if you are truly willing to pay the price.

Finally, schedule regular intervals to revisit your goals and track your progress. 

Here are a few tools that can help you with your objectives.  Joe’s Goals is a free online tool that allows you to enter your own goals and track your progress each day.  HassleMe is a program that will periodically send you emails with the reminders of things you should be doing after you decide what you want to be hassled about (Hat Tip to Idealawg). 

OK, it’s time to pick up a pen and a piece of paper and get to work.