Corporate Learning with Jardine

Your reflection for today is all about Finding Your North Star.This reflection draws from well-established concepts in self-help and psychology. Its core ideas are most associated with Martha Beck, a sociologist, life coach, and bestselling author - particularly her book, Finding Your Own North Star.

• Finding Your Own North Star": This is the title of one of Martha Beck's most well-known books. She uses the "North Star" metaphor extensively to represent an individual's authentic purpose or true self. The book is all about helping people "claim the life you were meant to live," which aligns perfectly with the speech's message.

• The "Compass" of Self-Discovery: This reflection's method of using curiosity, anger, and joy to "form a map" for one's life is a central theme in Beck's coaching and writing. She teaches that by paying attention to your inner signals—what she calls the "essential self"—you can find your way.

• "Curiosity" as a Guide: The idea of following what makes you curious is a cornerstone of many personal development theories, but it is a key part of Beck's approach to self-discovery.

• "Anger" as a Motivator: The reflection's framing of anger as a "powerful motivator" for change is a specific and nuanced point that is commonly discussed in coaching and therapeutic contexts, including Beck's work. It's about channeling righteous anger at injustice into productive action.

• "Joy" as a Litmus Test: The idea of using joy as a way to find where you are "so engrossed in an activity that you lose all track of time" is a direct parallel to the psychological concept of "flow," and a central part of Beck's philosophy for finding your purpose.

Welcome to Part 5 of the Podcast Series on Learning Theories.

Today we'll talk about Self-directed Learning, Blended Learning and Connectivism.

Here are the key points of this episode :

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Self-directed learning suggests that learners learn independently in and outside of the learning environment.

The theory emphasises on the importance of learning with autonomy and believes that adults can set our their own learning goals and teach themselves especially with today’s open online environment where we can pursue knowledge through massive open online courses.

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Blended learning is also called hybrid learning, as it integrates online resources and virtual engagement with the in-person learning experience.

Blended learning works well for covering a large amount of course material with learners who are independent and already engaged.

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Connectivism suggests that knowledge exists outside the learner, and the learner makes connections between information to build knowledge.

The connections that learners create help them build their own learning network. Through this connected web, learners will be able to stay up-to-date with content as it changes. It is important for the learner to be able to identify credible resources, to source and update accurate information frequently.

Welcome to Part 4 of the Podcast Series on Learning Theories.

Today we'll talk about Experiential Learning, Action Learning and Inquiry-based Learning.

Here are the key points of this episode :

1.

Experiential Learning or Kolb's Learning Theory focuses on learning by doing where learners are encouraged to learn through experiences to help them retain information.

Experiential Learning also suggests there is a cycle of learning that should take place to make it effective.

The first two stages, concrete learning and reflective observation, focus on grasping an experience.

The latter two, abstract conceptualization and active experimentation are about transforming an experience.

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Action Learning encourages a learning experience where a team of learners work together to address a real issue.

The process has 3 steps:

1st step : Recognizing the problem and making all necessary clarifications;

2nd step : Reflecting on what can be done to solve the problem;

3rd step : Taking action.

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Inquiry-based learning is a learner-centred approach which starts with a question.

Learners investigate the topic to find answers to the question.

An inquiry usually follows the inquiry cycle, a set of stages that take place in a specific order.

These stages are :

1st Stage : Question & Plan

2nd Stage : Research & Discover

3rd Stage : Organise & Present

4th Stage : Reflect

Welcome to Part 3 of the Podcast Series on Learning Theories.

Today we'll talk about Adult Learning Theory, Constructivism and Self-Determination Theory

Here are the key points of this episode :

1.

Adult Learning Theory highlights ways that adult learners differ from younger learners.

The theory is based on five key assumptions : Self-Concept, Experience, Readiness, Orientation, Motovation

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Constructivism suggests that we build our understanding and interpretation of information based on our experience and existing knowledge.

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Self-Determination Theory suggests that we have three basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence & relatedness) that contribute towards our intrinsic motivation. And if we can satisfy these needs, we can help to motivate ourselves to take action.

Welcome to Part 2 of the Podcast Series on Learning Theories.

Today we'll talk about Social Learning Theory, Collaborative Learning and Peer Learning.

Here are the key points of this episode :

1.

Social Learning Theory or Social Cogntive Theory suggests that we learn through direct social interactions with others or indirectly through observation of the behaviors of “models,” such as our friends, family members, other fictional characters from movies or tv series and other credible figures according to our own perspective.

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Collaborative learning is a method where a group of learners learn something together using group projects and assignments. In this type of learning, learners get the opportunity to learn from others’ skills and expertise, understand new concepts together, create something better, participate in discussions to solve issues, complete tasks and projects, or even create new products together.

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Peer learning draws on the expertise of the people around learner to accelerate their growth in the organisation. The whole idea of peer learning is coming together to teach each other.

Welcome everyone to this podcast series on Learning Theories.

Here are the key points of this episode :

1.

The forgetting curve is a graph and it shows the rate at which information is forgotten over time when we don’t do anything to retain it.

What it means is that learners will quickly forget what they've learned in a matter of days or weeks, unless the information is consciously reviewed.

To tackle this challenge, knowing some learning theories and applying some of their practices can help increase the chances of us remembering what we’ve learned.

All the learning theories came from various research work and experiments of psychologists and they offer frameworks and explanations on how people absorb, process and retain information.

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Behaviorsim suggests that we learn and form our habits through our interactions with the environment and our behaviors are the result of our experience from positive and negative conditioning

In a learning environment, you may have seen educators implement this. When learners behave and perform well they get rewarded and when learners misbehave or don’t do well they get some kind of punishment.

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Cognitivism or Cognitive Learning Theory asks us to look at our cognitive or mental processes and how they can be impacted by external and internal factors.

If these processes are working normally, it’s easier to learn. But if something is off with them, you can have difficulties.

By understanding the role of these processes, we can navigate the internal and external factors that impact these.

Cognitive processes involve the range of activities happening in our brains and they shape our interactions with the world, influence our actions including how we learn.

Mental processes such as sensation, attention, memory, comprehension, reflection, rumination, associative thinking, reasoning and logic, problem solving, creativity, decision making, planning, emotions and motivation

All of these cognitive processes can enable us to learn more quickly especially when multiple processes are combined together.

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Humanism or Humanistic Learning Theory suggests that we are inherently good and that don't really need rewards and punishments to do the right thing as what Behaviorism suggested, instead we are driven by feelings.

It also emphasizes on our freedom and autonomy as learners and it is our perceived utility of the knowledge that will impact our motivation and ability to learn.

Another point of Humanism is the idea that there's a link between Self-actualization and Learning, that the more fulfilled you are, the more you can learn or want to learn.

This gives us the idea that if we are upset, sad, distressed, tired, hungry or feeling the slightest discomfort, we are less likely to be able to focus on our learning or won’t even have as much attention to give to it. So all of the learners' needs should be met first in order for them to learn well.

We informally assess and describe personalities every day. When we talk about ourselves and others, we frequently refer to different characteristics of an individual's personality. For example, we might refer to someone as adventurous, kind, or moody.

Psychologists do much the same thing when they assess personality but on a more systematic and scientific level. They use different types of personality tests to make these assessments.

Personality testing and assessment refer to techniques designed to measure the characteristic patterns of traits that people exhibit across various situations.

The personality tests commonly being used at the workplace typically identify our distinct qualities, habits, values, motivations, emotions and behaviors that make up our personality. This is done to see what strengths we have to bring into the organization and see if the environment can give what we require to leverage on our strengths and add value. So it gives an idea whether we could be a fit in a given environment.

So how do personality tests work? Personality testing is designed to get responses from test takers about their behaviors, preferences, emotional responses, interactions, and motivations in order to evaluate personality characteristics and patterns.

There are two basic types of personality tests: self-report inventories and projective tests:

Self Report Inventories or otherwise known as Objective Personality Tests involve having test-takers read questions and then rate how well the question or statement applies to them. Their answers are then scored against an objective classification system. These have a wider range of applications and are particularly suited to workplace settings.

Projective Tests or Subjective Personality Tests involve presenting the test-taker with a vague scene, object, or scenario and then asking them to give their interpretation of the test item. These are used in clinical and court settings. They require the test taker to offer subjective responses to stimuli, which are then analyzed by a psychologist.

Self-inventories are relatively easy to administer by anyone certified to use a particular tool.

Projective tests, on the other hand, are most often used in psychotherapy settings and require a psychologist.

Most personality tests follow conceptual frameworks.

The conceptual framework that is widely used is the trait theory. It divides personality into recurring behavioral tendencies and tries to measure these traits based on the five-factor model. Participants listen to or read a question, compare the question with their self-view, and then self-report based on that comparison. While the five-factor model is useful, newer lower-order variables have been shown to predict outcomes more accurately. Another issue is that this model assumes that self-reports are a trustworthy measurement of what participants actually feel, think, or do. This assumption is shaky because self-reports are likely skewed to serve the interests of the participant, especially when they are aware that their answers will be used for a hiring decision. Moreover, this approach assumes the disposition to introspect about one’s actions is universal rather than distributed throughout the population.

Another conceptual framework is socioanalytic theory. The theory states that all people live and work within groups and that those groups are structured in status hierarchies. This suggests three primary motives in life: getting along with other people, achieving status, and finding meaning. People solve these problems during their careers and individual differences in personality drives their career success or failure. This framework is rooted in pragmatism and does not view participant data as self-reporting but rather as self-presentation. Instead of trying to predict why participants say the things they do or whether they are true, this framework simply focuses on how responses will predict behavior and performance.

Welcome everyone to corporate learning excerpts my name is Jardine.

In the last episode, we already talked about Cognitive Ability Tests. Today, we'll cover Aptitude Tests.

So let's begin.

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Aptitude tests are designed to find out about our potential to learn and our inborn ability to do the job even without experience. Depending on your inherent inclinations and preferences, you may find it simple or difficult to acquire a skill or do something. Your aptitude for certain skills allow you to do things naturally and effortlessly.

There are different types of aptitude, each is good for a particular profession and each has a specific test to measure it. We will talk about 14 of them in this shortcast.

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Let’s start with Fluid Intelligence. This is the aptitude that relies on our ability to think abstractly to solve a problem with little to no prior knowledge of the topic.

As opposed to Fluid Intelligence, there's Crystallised Intelligence. And this is our ability to learn from experience and apply that information to solve problems.

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The next pair we have is Logical vs Abstract Reasoning.

Logical Reasoning is our capacity to reason using strict validity principles. Those who have high logic follow a step-by-step process in which one fact leads to the discovery of more truths, which leads to a sound conclusion.

Abstract reasoning, on the other hand, is our ability to understand patterns, figures, diagrams, or designs and the ability to deduce meaning from them.

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The next pair is Numerical and Verbal Reasoning.

Numerical reasoning allows us to understand and work with numbers quickly and accurately, do basic operations, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, and mathematical operations such as ratio, square root, and percentage. It is our ability to have both speed and accuracy when working with numbers.

Verbal reasoning on the other hand, is our ability to speak with another person, to vocally convey issues and solutions, which is a crucial communication skill. This is our capacity to use good grammar, spell words correctly, and follow written directions accurately.

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The next pair is Inductive and Deductive Reasoning.

Inductive reasoning is the act of using specific scenarios and making generalized conclusions from them. This is referred to as “cause-and-effect reasoning,” and can be thought of as a “bottom up” approach.

Deductive reasoning on another hand, is the act of making a generalized statement and backing it up with specific scenarios or information. It can be thought of as a “top down” approach to drawing conclusions.

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The next pair is about Critical and Creative Reasoning.

Critical Reasoning determines our ability to reason through an argument logically and make an objective decision, it’s being to assess a situation, recognize assumptions being made, create hypotheses, and evaluate arguments.

Creative Reasoning on the other hand, is our ability to solve problems by coming up with new ways and solutions.

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And the last pair we have is Spatial and Mechanical Reasoning.

Spatial Reasoning is our ability to comprehend and manipulate two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes, patterns, and designs. It is our ability to imagine an object in space and visualize how it may appear in different stages of rotation.

Mechanical Reasoning on the other hand is a combination of logical and spatial skills that allow you to deconstruct a system into its constituent elements. This is the ability to use the principles of mechanics to apply reasoning in a practical environment.

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And that’s it for the second type of psychometric test. We’ll cover the Personality tests in the next episode.

Welcome everyone to corporate learning excerpts my name is Jardine.

Today's episode is all about the main types of Psychometric Tests.

A topic of Psychometric Profiling Tools.

There are 3 main types of psychometric tests : first is the one that measures Cognitive Ability, second is the one that measures Aptitude, and the third is the one that gives an insight on Personality.

And in this episode, we will talk about the first - Cognitive Ability Tests.

so let's begin.

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Cognitive ability tests are designed to measure your capacity to think and reason, process information, recognize patterns and analyze problems through mental abilities and skills.

There are four main types of cognitive abilities which these tests measure :

The first cognitive ability is Attention.

Attention is our ability to stay focused on a task and not get easily distracted or being able to perform multiple tasks at once. Having this ability allows us to focus, and this also relates to our memory function, helping us strengthen both short-term and long-term memory recall.

You might have an Attention deficit if you have trouble staying focused, get easily distracted, make frequent mistakes or not finish projects on time. Any of these could be a sign of a cognitive skill weakness.

The second cognitive ability is Memory.

This is your ability to recall information, whether it is recent (which is the short-term memory) or from the past (long-term memory). Weak memory can alter perceptions about facts, tasks, dates and times. If you find you need to reread material or ask for directions midway through a task, your short-term memory may be lacking. Trouble recalling names or struggling to remember important facts may be indicators that your long-term memory needs improvement.

The third cognitive ability is Logic and Reasoning.

This refers to our ability to assess a problem and find a solution. Strong problem solving skills are a direct result of your ability to use logic and reasoning. Do you frequently ask what to do next, feel overwhelmed or have trouble understanding instructions? Improving your logic and reasoning skills can help increase cognitive capacity and expand your capability to find solutions to basic and complex issues.

Fourth cognitive ability is all about Auditory and Visual processing.

This involves interpreting the information we receive through sight and sound. Auditory and Visual processing work in conjunction with other types of cognitive tasks such as understanding symbols (like letters and numbers) and visualizing solutions. With this cognitive ability, the speed at which information is processed is also a factor. Cognitive tasks like understanding written text, deciphering a map or following directions are supported by the ability to comprehend. If it is difficult to find your way using a map or if you struggle to solve math word problems in a timely manner, this could indicate that your processing speed may benefit from improvement. In general, strong auditory and visual processing skills mean less time spent trying to understand new information.

And that’s it for the first type of psychometric test. We’ll cover the Aptitude tests in the next episode.