Life Long Learning Plan

'The only way to get smarter is by playing a smarter opponent' and in this game of life knowledge is power.

I've always enjoyed taking on new challenges even before I knew that I was actually challenging myself. What I'm referring to is taking on a paper round at 6am while your friends lie in bed, working at a restaurant before your legally old enough to work (UK 16) and that hard work ethic that comes from I don't know where. I believe learning is more than a  hard work ethic, it requires a curiosity to want to learn more and the hard work to achieve it.

I believe there are three types of life long learning that are academic, work based and knowledge based. Academic is the obvious one and this mainly covers learning to study, developing critical thinking skills and developing and in depth understanding on a specified topic. Work based learning is mainly NVQ's, vocational on-the-job training for the purpose of career advancement and personal gain in developing ones skills. Knowledge based learning is similar to academic in that the purpose is to learn about a topic, but the method is different because the end goal might be to learn something new rather than critique something already studied. For example, last year I graduated in Criminology which required me to study hundreds of journal articles and develop an in depth understanding to that I could critique the work of other criminologists. At the same time, I enjoy reading non-fiction books simply because other topics are interesting to learn about without going into too much detail on what is being learnt. Such as compare learning about Roman History with learning in depth about the accomplishments and failures of Julius Caesar. Learning about Roman History one would develop an understanding of their culture, ethics, heritage etc. Whilst learning about Caesar one would aims to get to the most factual conclusion and in doing so doesn't have much time to study the historical period in which Julius reigned supreme. Therefore, I will be focussing on learning for the sake of the acquisition of knowledge and academic learning for the ability to critique that knowledge. I will not be writing about work based learning because this already takes up enough of my time, at work.

I'll begin by identifying the resources available:

·         Future Learn (and other e-learning sources)

·         Academic Library books

·         Evening courses

·         Study Groups

·         Private Eye

·         Websites with news and reports:

o   The Independent

o   Witness

o   Amnesty International

o   UpWorthy

·         Strategy PC games Civilisation and Crusader Kings for learning history.

My plan is to dedicate my Saturdays to learning something new. I’ll choose a study to pursue from Future Learn, an academic book or a non-fiction book and be clear about what it is I’m trying to achieve. Only focusing on one study at a time from those sources. I’ll spend the morning studying, follow up with further reading, then reflect on what I’ve learnt. I’ll then spend the afternoon reading the news stories and aim to read a story/ report from each website. Then I’ll reflect on this and what I’ve learnt and write a blog post either weekly or monthly, depending on learning progress.