The majority of us spend most of the first 20 years of our lives “learning” how to survive in todays modern society. First with kindergarten, then school, before moving onto college/university, or on the job training. If you look back on it though, most of the things that we have actually learned, come from practical, hands on experience.
Just Do It
How do we Learn?
Even though school and university may have had loads of “theoretical” elements, there were still plenty of hands on activities involved (demonstrations, projects, assignments, and yes, even homework), and it was these practical applications that helped us to understand the theory, and reinforce the learning experience.
It shocks me therefore that many of the “training” courses, seminars and even some of the workshops we tend to go to as adults seem to be largely theory based, with the “speaker” telling us what to do and how to do it. But can we really expect to learn stuff just by listening?
I myself have been to many seminars over the years, and have often been inspired by what was said, taken copious notes, made “To Do” lists, and left feeling motivated to do something. However, within days (and often hours), the inspiration and motivation fades, and within weeks its all a distant memory.
The problem with many training courses and most seminars, is that they are “lecture” as opposed to activity based. Whilst, there are plenty of seminars and courses offering loads of useful and interesting information, unless they also provide you with hands on experience, the long term benefits to you are likley to be very limited.
It is next to impossible for you to learn how to do pretty much anything just by listening to someone. The average person is unlikely to retain knowledge unless they actually “get their hands dirty” by doing and experienceing it.
Learning by Doing
This concept of “Learning by Doing” has been the main inspiration for In a Day Hands on Workshops. All our In a Day training workshops are focused around “hands on”, practical activities, which are designed to support and reinforce the learning experience, by allowing you to get involved and learn by doing. Our goal is that at the completion of any In a Day workshop, you won’t just have learned something, you will have achievd something as well.
Andy Henderson, the Director and Head Trainer at In a Day, manages the day to day operations of our Brisbane (Carina) Training facility. Andy has more than 20 years experience in Search Engine Optimisation, Web Design, and in excess of 10 years WordPress website development.