Today, I am aware of my learning patterns and how they shape my academic experiences. I will use this new knowledge to establish goals for the upcoming semester . . . This will require that I stop making excuses when I fall short and start taking responsibility for my actions. It also requires that I consistently evaluate my behaviors and reward myself when I do well. l will approach these matters incrementally to reap long-term benefits.
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Learning is more than getting one right answer. Learning is being able to take in a situation and figure out what is expected, how to respond and succeed. To understand learning, one needs to understand that our individual human essence is made up of how our brain and mind interact with each other. The brain is the hard drive of our existence while our minds are the software package that decode the electrochemically stored bits of information into symbolic representations and communication, or how we learn.
The Learning Connections Inventory is the tool we use to recognize each individual’s brain-mind connection and to create an individual learning profile to connect with our experiences. The importance of completing the LCI lies in the fact that the LCI provides an inward look at learning processes, an outward analysis of an individual’s actions, and a vocabulary for explaining the specific actions the person takes that result in productive or unproductive outcomes.
Many times our internal system of processing data (brain/mind connection) does not fit with the format of how information is presented. Like an email format that our computer does not support the data becomes clutter. To better understand how and why we succeed or fail we will have to analyze our personal Espoused Theory vs Theory in Use. That is, who we think we are and act vs. who we actually are and how we act. The vocabulary provided by the LCI helps us to articulate the nature of those competing forces.
In just about every case, each person thinks their personal learning patterns are the “correct” learning patterns because those are the patterns that are natural to that person. Reflection on personal success and failure is a daunting task as it requires deep introspection not natural to our ego. Understanding of learning patterns helps to answer the critical questions of how and why there was success or failure in completing a task or maintaining a relationship.
Teambuilding
Once the group LCI scores are available, the next step to understanding the needs of the community is to generate a group profile. A group profile includes a chart and graph of members and leadership LCI scores. (see a sample here: https://www.lcrinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/Sample_Group_Profile_Report.pdf)
Key components of the group profile include the mean, median, and mode of the LCI scores. Also important is the number of group members who use each pattern at the “use first” and “avoid” levels. Placed in table and graph format, the profile can easily be used for learning pattern analysis and as a quick reference guide.
The group profile can be a valuable tool for any organization as it provides clues as to the direction the operational dynamic may evolve both at the group level and the individual level. As important as it is for leadership to employ the group profile, it is especially important that each individual has access to the group profile as this will be the foundation of connecting with the leadership, the operational processes, and other team members.
As you have noticed by now, the foundation of learning, and acting upon what you have learned, is decoding the challenge that confronts you with a common vocabulary and an awareness of how you process information. Steps to decoding assignments and relationships include:
• Knowing the learning patterns.
• Knowing your own learning patterns.
• Seeing how your patterns can be found in your own actions.
• Understanding how your patterns work when given a specific task and looking at any clues to the patterns required to complete the work.
Directions, whether spoken or written always have certain words that reveal the nature of the patterns necessary to successfully complete the task at hand. Try to assess the clue words being used. Examples include:
Sequence: Organize, Outline, Plan or Arrange
Precise: Write, Measure, Identify, Document
Technical: Build, Construct, Assemble, Figure-out
Confluence: Create, Imagine, Invent, Unique
Decoding with knowledge of personal learning patterns is the first step in managing the expectations of the task that confronts us.
In order to be successful in any endeavor we need to understand and have the capacity to interpret the pieces of the achievement puzzle. Those puzzle pieces include the systems we are working in, the task at hand, the learning patterns of the people we work with, and ourselves.
Understanding the System
• What is Rewarded
• What is Punished
• The Culture
• The Dominant Paradigm
• Degrees of Freedom
Understanding the Situation
• The Task Description
• The Task Requirements
• The Organizations Policies
• How your Teammates Jobs are Related
Understand your Teammates
• Their Learning Patterns
• Their Background
• Their Role and Responsibilities
Understanding Yourself
• How you Learn and Interpret Information
• Why you Become Frustrated or Anxious
• How did I get here!
• How to Use the System, Situation, and Others
It is vitally important that we can articulate and describe how each one of us learns. Once we know where we are starting from, the task at hand, and the expectations (ground rules) we can facilitate a learning game plan to overcome any challenge.
Working in groups or teams is an everyday occurrence whether in the workplace, classroom, or at home. Effective and efficient teams understand how the learning processes of each of its members work and agree to respect and allow each individual to participate fully in the team building including regular, meaningful, and intentional contributions to the team’s efforts.
One place to begin to understand how the team members interact is to graph the individual member’s LCI scores. In doing so the team can observe how each individual’s patterns contribute to the team’s make-up. Team members who understand each other’s learning processes also help provide insights and strategies to other team members as they seek to use their patterns to achieve the team’s goal.
In order to be successful, we need to be able to make temporary adaptations to the way we naturally process information to meet the needs of the challenge that confronts us. It is not easy to reflect upon failure, but reflection is required to learn from that failure. After any academic, business, or personal relationship success or failure it is important to create an internal after-action report to reassess what were the critical aspects of success or failure. Questions to answer in your after-action report include:
• What is the system you are working in and what actions are rewarded?
• What learning patterns are required to complete the task at hand?
• Who am I working with and what are their learning patterns?
• How did I use my personal learning patterns to achieve the goal?
• How will I approach similar tasks differently in the future?
Ultimately, we are accountable for our own success in any endeavor. Those who can leverage knowledge of themselves and how they process, and act on, information stands a greater chance of achievement in any situation.
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.”
-Colin Powell