Relevance of Studying Skills to Training

“Kak cheshta, bako dhyanam, shwan nidra tathaiv cha, alpahari, grihatyagi, vidyarthi 

panch lakshanam”.

One who continues making efforts like a crow , one who is vigilant and attentive like a
swan, one who is a very light sleeper like a dog, one who eats less and one who stays
away from home, are the five basic traits a learner must possess to achieve his learning
goals.
Vedic Samskaras

There are many theories presented by theoreticians for explaining the fundamentals of  success  in  life.  From  the  traditional  explanation  of  IQ, which  primarily  solves  logical  problems;  we  have  now learnt  that

Emotional Quotient (EQ)  is a key factor for success as  it convinces one  to judge  the  situation  and  guides  to  behave  appropriately.  A  new  theory professes  that  the  key  to  human success  is Spiritual Quotient  (SQ) which allows one to ask if he wanted to be in that situation in the first place.   The modern emphasis on SQ has also brought to fore the fact that a person with low  IQ  would  highly  unlikely  have  the  wherewithal  to  use  EQ  or  SQ effectively. Thus the importance of IQ or the basic intelligence in any shape, form,  or  fashion  has  not  diminished  but  has  rather  helped  augment  other forms of mental  robustness  to deal with different situations.  In  the absence of  a  scientific  IQ  test,  in  the  government/corporate  system  the  basic intelligence wrt  to  the  service  is measured  through  the performance of  the person in the training courses.

The  performances  in  mandatory  training  courses  therefore  have acquired  a  central  place  in  the  intellectual  environment  of  any  entity. Apprehensions  about  not  being  able  to  do  well  in  a  particular  test  or examination  despite  the  best  preparations  by  trainees  are  not  uncommon. Though  a  majority  of  the  trainees  have  more  or  less  similar  entry-level intelligence, there still remain unexplained areas as to why some qualify for early geniuses whereas some others take time to consolidate. In the training system  the  learners  have  been made mostly  responsible  for  their  learning,  this  is  because  of  understanding  of  the  concepts  of  ‘Andragogy’.    As  an instructor one is exposed to the myriad problems that plague the early stages of  learning  of  the  trainee,  the  adult  trainees  do  not  change  their  behavior merely because someone  tells  them  to do so,  rather  they change when  they feel the need for it and they imbibe learning in their own style.

The  training systems  in corporate or government provide stimulating atmosphere  and mostly  cater  for  adult  learners. A  lot  is  therefore  desired from  the  trainee  in  form  of  structured  self-learning.  The  trainers  do  not spend  time  in developing  this  self  learning  skills because  they assume  that their  trainees  have  already  acquired  the  skills  of  ‘how  to  learn’  from  their earlier  learning  days. Many  such  trainees who  come  from  remote  areas  or poor  institutions  never  get  chance  to  get  exposed  to  the  basic  tenet  of organized learning and at no stage get any help to acquire study skills.  This affects  their  studies  adversely  when  they  come  to  sophisticated  training systems. This  in many ways  also  affects  their  future  career because of  the early  poor  performance  baggage  that  they  carry  further  in  their  career (seniority, appointment and courses etc.). Only a few of them grow through experience and transform themselves to achievers that too when there is a
self-awakening on these skills.

Yet,  there  have  been  many  cases  of ineffective  learning,  which  may  be  attributed  to  the  fact  that  little  or  no systemic effort  is made  in  improving study skills  required  for success.  It  is thus  mandatory  that  trainees  should  be  helped  to  acquire  good  studying strategies  as  early  as  possible,  certainly  before  they  develop  poor  study habits.  Teaching study skills would  help  the  learners  learn  more  while spending less time studying. There are many such skills devised in the Vedic Samskaras  to  the  21  century  theories. One such set of studying skills put across by  Dr.  Bob  Kizlik  which  is  most  appropriate  for  our  training conditions are:-

-The  Schedule.      Each  learner  should  have  his  own  schedule  of learning  (other  than  your  training  programme),  which  if  managed properly  should  provide  time where  it  is  needed.  It  should  take  into account  every  demonstration,  laboratory,  simulator  work,  lecture, social  event,  sports  and  other  activities  in  which  the  trainee  is engaged.

-The Process.     How & where  to use  the  time  is  important.   One can study anywhere. However, some places  are  better  than  others.   The place chosen for self -study should not be distracting.

-The Strategies.   Effective thinking skills cannot be studied, but must be built over a period of time. Good thinkers see possibilities where others see only dead-end. Ask them what it is they do when they think critically or creatively, and often one can pick up valuable insights to help you become a better thinker.

-The Method.   The SQ3R method is probably the most useful aid to building up and refining one’s study skills. It helps one to organise the structure of a subject  in mind, set study goals and  focus on essential information.  SQ3R  stands  for  Survey,  Question,  Read,  Recall  and Review.

• -Survey:  Survey  the  document/learning  material;  scan  the contents,  introduction,  chapter  introductions  and  chapter summaries  to pick up a shallow overview of  the  text. Form an opinion of whether it will be of any help.
• -Question. Make  a  note  of  any  questions  on  the  subject  that come  to  mind,  or  particularly  interest  you  following  your survey. Perhaps scan the document again to see if any stand out. These  questions  can  be  considered  almost  as  study  goals  – understanding  the  answers  can  help  you  to  structure  the information in your own mind.
• -Read.  Read learning material through useful sections in detail, taking  care  to  understand  all  the  points  that  are  relevant. This will  particularly  be  the  slow  if  there  is  a  lot  of  complicated information.  Taking  notes  in Concept Map  format  is  a  very helpful tool.
• -Recall. Once  reading  is over,  run  the content  through  in your mind  several  times.  Isolate  the  core  facts  or  the  essential processes  behind  the  subject,  and  then  see  how  other information fits around them.
• -Review. Once  the content  is recalled, you can move on  to  the stage  of  reviewing  it.  This can be  done  by  rereading  the document, by expanding the notes, or by discussing the material with  colleagues. A  particularly  effective method  of  reviewing information is to discuss or explain the same to some one.

There  is  no  theory  in  place  to  prove  that  all  strategists  and  leaders sparkled  from  the day of  their  incarnation  (some of  them probably did not have the wherewithal of learning skills in the early adult stages).  A study of the  great military  heroes  like Yi  Sun  Shin,  Horatio  Nelson, Frank  Jack Fletcher, Gaius  Duilius, Don  Juan,  Rajendra  Chola  I, François  Joseph Paul,  Isoroku Yamamoto, John Fieldhouse etc. would  reveal  that  they all had varied  training backgrounds. But with  their  ingenuity  they became  the greatest  war  strategists  and  took  an  inferior  military  to  defeat  a  superior adversary.  Francis Galton and Immanuel Kant through their elaborate works have therefore classified geniuses into the likes of the born, made, or achieve varieties.  The modern theoreticians even place geniuses as those who “have the  intelligence, enthusiasm, and endurance  to acquire  the needed expertise in  a  broadly  valued  domain  of  achievement”  and  who  then  make contributions to the field that is considered by peers to be both “original and highly exemplary”

As a trainer one would  love  to believe  that genius  is achievable and thus invest in selected trainees, believing that a few could change the course of history.  If one knew as  to what  theories govern  this apotheosis, one  can probably  create  and nurture  a  few more of  these beautiful minds. Trainees are smart in different ways; some can resolve critical issues at the drop of a hat, others can memorize everything in a book on complex systems, a good yachtsman,  a  good  salesman,  or  be  the  center  of  attention.  Though they realize what they are good at, but at times they are not able to figure out the best way  to  study  in  a  training  scenario.  Thus, in  the  modern  system  of filtering, one often finds  that a few beautiful minds are  lost  to oblivion at a very  early  stage due  to  lack of  certain basic  skills of  learning,  resulting  in poor performance and  its consequent effects.  It  is  in  this context one needs to  take  a  serious  look  at  the  issue  of  studying  skills  so  as  to  help  these trainees.

 by

Captain PK Padhy retd.

Bibliography

1. Chris lundwell, 2003; The Millennial Mentor: The 8-Gate Principles That Create Distinguished Careers & Companies, 1st Books Library; ISBN 1410722201, 978-1410722201.
2. Dean Keith Simonton, 2009; Genius 101: Creators, Leaders, and Prodigies; Springer Publishing Co. ISBN 0826106277, 9780826106278.

1Daniel Goleman, 1990 revealed findings in neuroscience and psychology that stressed the importance of Emotional Quotient (EQ).
2 Dana Zohar and Ian Marshall, Spiritual Intelligence—The Ultimate Intelligence.
3 The art and science of helping adults to learn, Malcolm Knowles (1973).
4 This information adapted from: Robinson, Francis Pleasant (1970) ; Effective study. New York: Harper & Row.
5 A concept map is a diagram showing the relationships among concepts. They are graphical tools for
organizing and representing knowledge.
6 Of the at least 23 major battles during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592-1598), Admiral Yi gained
victories in all of them; he never lost a single engagement. .
7 Operational commander at the pivotal Battles of Coral Sea and of Midway.
8 Won a major victory over the Carthaginians during the battle of Mylae thus setting the stage for the
decline of Carthage as per-eminent naval power of antiquity.
9 The Victor of the Battle of Lepanto, the last major naval engagement between galley fleets; this battle set the stage for the decline of the Turkish Empire.
10 Fought the British fleet to a standstill at the Battle of the Capes, and forced the British to retire without supplying Yorktown, thus forcing George III to give up his American colonies
11 Commander of the British Task Force, given responsibility for “Operation Corporate”, the mission to
recover the Falkland Islands.

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