Learning Terminologies

Lifelong learning means learning is not limited to “school”, and that there are learning opportunities, both informal and formal, inside and outside of what we might traditionally think of as “education”, and that we can embrace these at any time in our lives.

It turns out that what motivates us best is not external carrots and sticks, but actually what is inside us. A sense of purpose and the autonomy to build our lives around it; these are the true levers of learning. But in practice, how can this be possible? How can education be fluid enough to support learners to pursue their unique direction in life?

To us at Learnlife, blended learning is a central part of personal learning, and that means that our learners can build their own passions, skills and knowledge anywhere, at any time, and from any place they choose.

The world ahead is uncertain and we need future generations to understand how to learn when they are outside the traditional boundaries of a learning environment. Self-directed learning is when a person knows how to organise their own learning, set their own goals and find out important things about themselves as they work towards them.

21st century learning is where we embrace the fact that learning happens anywhere, at any time in any place. Online, offline, with friends, alone at the laptop, with a learning guide, in the forest… anywhere. We do not all have to be in the same place when a bell rings, and we don’t need a bell at all for that matter.

Learning methodologies are the different approaches we can take to learning something. There are many of them, some of them overlap with each other, and it can all be a little confusing at times. That is, if we think of them as distinct items on a menu of options”. If you have children, you have most certainly used several of these approaches!

In a world of incredible advances in neuroscience, cognitive behaviour, learning design, psychology, well-being and so much more, the evidence and experience is there to co-create with learners the most effective environment for purposeful, engaging learning. 

The world is too complex for us to be static of mind. Staying set in one way of thinking is dangerous, because when the world moves on, we will be left behind. Can we be the best versions of ourselves if we cannot always upgrade and regenerate through a growth mindset and an openness to new ways of doing things?