Gerry Reid's Professional Development Tip
"E. - Express." Step Two to L.E.A.R.N.
(This series, L.E.A.R.N., is an excerpt from A.S.K. for Success!)
2. Express.
I am using the word "express" to mean "stating our understanding of the information that has been taken in while in the Listen step". Expressing is the second step in adult learning. It is the process of rephrasing, reiterating what the presenter has said, or restating what we have heard, seen and felt. Expression can also be a statement of our initial reactions to the information.
To help the adult learning process it is important for an adult to express out loud, at least three things. First, an expression of what was seen, heard and felt. Second, an expression of how the new information relates to previous experience. Third, an expression of initial speculation as to what will happen as the new information is applied in the future.
When an adult expresses what has been learned, the quality of the learning is assured.
By verifying the accuracy of what is now inside the mind, the adult learner can adjust their understanding before permanent, long-term learning takes place. If a learning experience is one with a live "instructor," this expression gives the instructor the chance to correct any misconceptions. If the learning environment is passive, as in reading, listening to a tape or watching a video, the expressing of what has been taken in will allow the learner to back up and review anything not clearly understood.
Relating past experiences and possible future uses is helpful in setting the new information into a permanent place in the mind. This process helps the learner remember new information by having something more familiar connected to it. The familiar, being easy to recall, brings the associated information with it.
Our initial reaction to new information is sometimes very revealing. The expression step is where those initial reactions occur. However, it is only in the next step where we come to grasp what was taken in as we "absorb" the information.