A FULL CLASS IN THE SKILL-BASED LEARNING CONCENTRATION

“Our knowledge can only be finite while our ignorance must necessarily be infinite.” -- Karl Popper, Austrian philosopher

Course Overview

In the 21st Century, each of us must continually upgrade knowledge and skills. To not do so means we risk unemployment, under employment and a life of stagnant wages. While we live in an Information Age, few schools and universities bother to teach us how to convert theory into skills. Few understand the steps–the processundefinedof how to build skills. The goal of this class is to accelerate someone going from the novice stage to the mastery stage.

This course presents many insights useful in:

Defining Skill-based Theory. Not all theory is can be turned into a skill. Discover how to tell what works and what does not.

Module 1. Must Know Theories For Learning New Behaviors

Image by: Luxmart Art

Knowing how to get the most out of learning a new behavior means we have to step back and know what understand motivates it. There are three of behavioral theories: classical conditioning, operant conditioning and vicarious learning. You will discover the role each plays, the importance of knowing how to use this ourselves., and ways to apply it.

Module 2. The Major Cognitive Learning Models

“You tend to become what you think about.” -- Earl Nightengale: The Greatest Secret

Roden: The Thinker: Image by: Yair Haklai

Module Description

The second major school of learning in psychology relates to cognition. Here the focus is on the black box of the mind, not on observable behavior. Inside the black box, there are many processesundefinedprocesses that run outside of conscious awareness. For example, listening is an extremely important mental process that has few observable elements.

To learn how to listen, we must go in inside the black box and make changes. This module first looks at general theories of learning then it focuses on Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory as one of the more important models affecting our ability to learn.

3. Discovering Skill-Based Theory 

“It AIN’T so much the things we don’t know that get us into trouble. It’s the things we know that just ain’t so.” undefined Mark Twain

Page from book illustration fungi (or mycology) of different species. Woodcut and text. Done in 1581.

Sound theory one can turn into a skill is surprisingly hard to find. Chefs know that no matter how one cooks the food, bad ingredients still produce tasteless food. It’s a variation of garbage in and garbage out —bad theory produces crummy results. Discover guidelines on how to evaluate the content, determine appropriate context and judge the “experts” to reduce the possibility of trying to build a flawed skill based on bad theory.

One should take a look at theory from a couple of different aspects. The first is validity; i.e. do you think the method will actually work. There are many theories and models invented by professors which really aren’t valid, despite what the statistical models say.

The second framework of analysis on how detailed the method is. Does it give you enough information to be able to mentally or physically practice.

Module 4. The Legacee Skill Model

“Fire! Ready! Aim!” undefined American saying

Before on goes on a journey, it’s good to have a map. Before one builds a skill, it’s important to have a Content Learning Guide. The guide helps to flesh out the thinking process. to clearly define theory, process, outcomes and a methodology for learning.

This is just like taking a regular on-line class at a university. The focus in on expertise, knowing and understanding. 

Sign-up and then wait for more information. If a particular class doesn’t have enough members to be run, you can ask for your money back or choose another type of delivery option on this page. Start with others in the class.

Goal setting is an important part of the process. Many of us have been exposed to goal setting at work. However, the process that we use in this class is different that what is done in business or government. The first part of goal setting is to use language to draft on a piece of paper what types of results one is looking for. The second phase of the process is to change the words in to images. Many would argue the the images are more important than the words. This is our view as well.