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learning stuff
Hello folks,
Some of you may know that my job involves coaching, predominantly golf, but I have also coached archers, footballers and businesses.
I am intrigued by the different approaches employed and indeed the similarities that are present in all forms of learning.
I really enjoy finding out new things and the process in becoming better at any task, so here are some questions if folks wouldn't mind posting.
What activities do you take part in? (this could be anything from reading to training at the gym)
What, if any form of further education/learning do you take part in?
Why do you do it?
What do you feel it achieves?
Do you do it yourself or with the help of coaches/trainers/friends?
And finally do you do the same with poker?
Comments
Interesting topic! Here's my two penneth worth for starters, sorry but it's a mixture of sport and business.
As you know I play a little tennis now and again. I think it's similar to golf in that you can always strive to get better, no matter what age you are. Decent coaching can help tremendously in that. Nothing infuriates me more than players with fundamental flaws in their game who 'don't see the point of coaching'. I think they are simply scared of maybe taking a couple of steps backwards in order to improve in the long term. They would also lose the excuse of 'I've never had any lessons', which some seem to wear as a badge of pride. Worse still are those that do have lessons but don't listen! Can't be anything worse for a coach than spending time trying to improve someone's game and they simply won't put any of it into practice, or even try to. You must have had numerous clients where they don't even attempt to practice what you are telling them in between lessons.
My other half has tennis lessons on a regular basis and I will often join in, just to get the expert's view of how I am playing and to maybe 'tweak' things. Over the years I have had quite a few injuries and have occasionally played left handed (I'm right handed), now that is a real challenge and a real case of going back to basics! One of my best tennis moments was playing and winning for our club men's third team left handed!
Have you ever read the Inner Game of Tennis, by W Timothy Gallwey? Very interesting book about the conflict between the left and right hand side of the brain when playing competitively, first published over 40 years ago, it is still relevant today.
Further education? Well I did college and university many years ago and, to be honest, got bored of the subject in the end and haven't used it since. Then 5 years ago I had to get better qualified to continue to do my job (which I had been doing successfully for 20+ years). That essentially meant studying and exams again. Hated it and certainly wouldn't have done it by choice. The practice of learning details that change on a daily basis seems a complete waste of time to me, I need to know where to find the details obviously but passing exams with a pass marks of 60% in some cases seemed a waste of time when, if you're advising clients, you need to be 100% correct. 60% right just gets you sued!
Now, that's my tea break over, back to work!
Cheers
Paul
There are a couple of general approaches to learning such as the 'banking' system which sees some people as devoid of certain knowledge and suggests that these people need to be sat down and filled with knowledge which is dispelled from the all knowing teacher.
Then there are more fluid theories from the likes of Paulo Freire who think we are always learning in life, via whatever we happen to be doing. Freire also suggests that if the goal is to 'teach' someone then the best way is to come off any heirarchical pedestal and communicate with the 'student' on the same level.
Personally I feel that everyone is very different and therefore there isn't a single most effective approach. Some will learn better via a regimented regime and others will benefit from a more informal approach.
One really novel approach to educational learning was taken as A.S. Neil who founded the Summerhill School. In this school pupils chose what they wanted to do, instead of being told that they had to attend certain lessons. For example, if kids wanted to build a skateboard ramp then this was used as an opportunity to learn them maths, when they wanted to read books this was taken as an opportunity to learn then English, etc etc.
It is all possibly a bit contentious but, the school has stood the test of time.
Documentary here if anyone is interested... Summerhill School
As to your specific questions...
Apart from keeping myself on a more even keel and generally being more introspective, not a whole lot I guess. It will hopefully mean a more productive path in my longer term future and if I ever get into teaching may have a knock on effect on anyone I interact with as a result. In the grand scheme of things it doesn't mean much though.
Depends on what I am learning.
I try to apply the general things I know about my own learning style to learning poker. For example I learn more in a practical setting. I therefore try to 'learn on the job'. I also learn better via videos than books, therefore I watch a load of stuff on Youtube etc.