Emptying Your Cup: Unlearning to Learn

We are constantly learning. We should also be constantly unlearning. Unlearning is as important to learning (if not more) than the process of learning itself. According to the dictionary, unlearning is a transitive verb that means to put out of one's knowledge or memory OR to undo the effect of or discard the habit of.

In the cognitive scheme of things, to me, learning and unlearning are two sides of the same coin. We can never learn without first unlearning what we know (or believe). Let's take a simple example of riding a bike. When learning to bike, we first need to learn about the handle bar, the pedals, the speed, the balance and how to review the road conditions. But if we focus on only one of these elements and continue to learn and pay attention and energy to only one, we cannot learn how to ride the bike. We need to defocus from the individual elements, learn and then unlearn to master how to ride a bike. Here's an interesting story by Prasad Kaipa that explains this learning and unlearning process.

One may ask, what is the importance of unlearning. I have found, experienced and learnt that what we already know or believe to be true often acts as a barrier to learn new things.

A Cup of Tea

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen. Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring. The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!" 
"Like this cup," Nan-in said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?" 
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/101_Zen_Stories

Unlearning is this emptying of our cup. It is more difficult and uncomfortable than learning because we have to let go of knowledge that has served us well. In today's rapidly changing environment, our success depends not on how quickly we learn but on how quickly we unlearn. 

This beautiful paragraph from Trevor Pateman's paper titled 'Lifelong Unlearning' says it all: "In our cognitive lives our memories - what we know - is often an obstacle to engaging with the world around us. It is a commonplace that what we see is often influenced by what we think there is to see, and if that is true, then that might be taken as an argument for thinking less and with less conviction. We should carry our knowledge lightly, and always be ready to let go of it."

As instructional designers and learning consultants, there is so much to unlearn. As a first step, we need to unlearn:

• the way we think about learning 
• our approach to design learning
• the methodologies and theories of learning
• the knowledge that we have collected about the limitations of our audience, content, technology and learning process

Every thing unlearned brings about more learning. Just like continuous and lifelong learning, our process to unlearn should also be for life. We have to let go of the rules and boundaries in our mind and free ourselves from all mental limitations before we can begin to admire the many possibilities of life.

Watch this powerful and inspiring TEDx video by Jack Uldrich on Unlearning Possibilities:

Follow Jack's website http://www.schoolofunlearning.com/

Follow Jack on twitter @ChiefUnlearner

To attain knowledge, add things everyday. 
To attain wisdom, subtract things everyday. ~ Lao Tsu

Games We Should Play - The Gamification of Learning

Recently, I participated in a #TrainChat on twitter on the topic: "What Angry Birds Can Teach Us About Instructional Design." The chat was interesting and insightful and some very good points were made about the impact of design elements such as simplicity, focus on skills and competencies, engagement, motivation and challenge. The chat came at a time when I was reading about 'gamification' and its impact on education and learning. Karl Kapp's book on “The Gamification of Training: Game-based Methods and Strategies for Learning and Instruction.” is out and I recently read the reviews by Clark Quinn and Jane Bozarth. I have also been visiting http://gamification.org/wiki/Gamification to study how gamification is impacting various industries and how it is quickly changing the trends in education and learning. So, it was the perfect time to reflect and blog about gamification and its role in learning.

So what is gamification?

As per Wikipedia: Gamification is the use of game design techniques^[1], game thinking and game mechanics to enhance non-game contexts. But I found a better definition on Dr. Camille's blog "the gamification of education is a relatively new approach to education that employs game play mechanics to creating a more engaging and playful learning experience. It works by using ideas from game design to encourage people to learn and complete tasks with more enthusiasm. Gamification can also provide the necessary external motivators for the important learning that must occur outside the classroom (Pearce, 2011)."

Gamification is different from game-based learning. Gamification focuses on the design, techniques and the process of thinking and applying gaming principles in the design of training whereas game-based learning utilizes games to teach concepts and apply games in specific learning contexts with pre-defined outcomes.

And why does gamification of learning matter?

Games are powerful, addictive, immersive, engaging, challenging, social, competitive and fun - all the things we want learning to be. Therefore, there are many lessons to learn from games.

The truth is that we have always learnt better using games. As toddlers and young children, we participated in role-play games at home and with our friends and played games with our teachers to identify shapes, numbers and colors. However, somewhere along the line, games stopped being a part of the classroom and other training methods. Perhaps one of the reasons could be that games and having fun is considered the opposite of learning and serious work. But when work and training becomes fun, it becomes closer to how we naturally learn – using stories, play and role-play.

Gamification of learning matters and is critical to how training and education evolves in the coming years because games are:

•  Skill and level-based
• Social and competitive
•  Experiential and immersive
• Non judgemental and fearless (do not generate fear of failure)
•  Focussed on problem-solving and application

When we play games, we are able to apply existing skills, learn new skills, get feedback, learn from our mistakes, reflect and apply new skills – all in a matter of a few minutes! All desirable factors of a perfect learning environment are therefore engrained in the design of games. 

Game environments are active, real-time, hands-on, short-bursts of learning and that’s why people must play games. The questions that remain to be answered is what kind of game designs work best and how should gamification be integrated into learning, education and training and eventually the work environment.

References and further reading

• You can find a recap of the chat with @LnDDave on lessons for training pros from #AngryBirds here.
• Read more about the Kapp’s book and gamification here.
• Read more about the distinction between gamification and game-based learning in the following posts:

-  http://gamification.co/2012/01/13/gamification-vs-game-based-learning-in-education/

-  http://www.openequalfree.org/gamification-versus-game-based-learning-in-the-classroom/10082

-  http://spongelab.tumblr.com/post/18029475115/game-based-learning-vs-gamification

-  View a short interview with Brenda Enders who answers this question during the Learning Solutions Conference and Expo 2012 in Orlando, Florida. 

• Karl Kapp views about why games matter http://learningcircuits.blogspot.ca/2012/01/what-is-gamification-and-why-it-matters.html. 
• Dr. Camille Rutherford post that shares practical tips about how to gamify your classroom and discusses gamification of learning.
• Read how gamification is changing the face of the 21st century education and if you have time to spare, check out the speeches that were delivered at Penny Conference 2012 .
• For case studies and examples of how gamification is being used in corporate world, check http://gamification.co/
• Here’a another useful post by Kapp that lists examples of how gamification has been implemented.
•  For further reading, here is an interesting list of gaming and gamification-related books http://gamification.org/wiki/Gamification_Books

Questions I Ask Myself

As I understand, like many others, life is not about knowing the answers - it is all about asking the right questions. I wrote a post on Asking the right questions in 2009. I am still learning how to ask the 'right' questions. And everyday, my questions get better. Here are some of the questions I am asking myself these days:

• What do I need less of?
• What keeps me motivated?
• What do I want to be known for?
• What does this world need from me?
• What is the most valuable thing I own?
• What will my life be 10 years from now?
• What is something I have that others want?
• What type of people inspire and energize me?
• What is the best advice I can give to someone about life?
• What can I do every single day that makes life better for others?

Questions are such a powerful tool. As I pen these questions, I feel positive and my brain is filled with many possibilities. 

My 3 tips for asking the right questions from your *self*:

1. When asking questions, begin with a feeling of abundance and draw on your positive energy. 

2. To ask the right questions, be conscious of the questions you ask. Filter the questions as they come to your mind. Select the questions that compound positive feelings.

3. Ask clear and constructive questions to get insightful and valuable answers. 

What are some of the questions you ask yourself?