Using Your Trainings And Courses Effectively

Courses, trainings and other educational tools such as university programs help us strengthen our knowledge, career, and self-confidence. Our world offers us so many courses, and it's easy to get lost. So, we may need help to choose wisely what do we need and how are we going to use the new skills.

The next ideas can help you to choose the course, work on it, and graduate successfully.

• Learning should NOT assume just for learning. Yes, learning drains your money, time and life energy, and if you're just learning from one course to another without any specific application for your knowledge, you get nothing as the result! Learning should open your opportunities for doing: that's what you learn for! Does your training assume any doing as your result? :)
• Think about the purpose of your learning. WHY are you taking this course? Will it really make you smarter or self-confident? Will it help to reach your aims on your career or promotion? Could it be that you're just seeking your hobby, and you actually don't know what else you're interested in? Do you have clear objectives for this course?
• The good question is why are you taking THIS course? Will it complete your objectives? If you had a freedom to choose, which courses/educational programs would help you to get the best results for the least money? Are they better or worse than courses you've chosen before you considered it? Is your chosen course is credible enough? Also, there are options and terms of use which we can review and decide about the accordance between them and our learning objectives.

I'm saying that because you may take many trainings because you just have to. Or... you're just assured you have to. If you have a career goal and believe that only THAT training can satisfy your boss' demands on you, you may lose opportunities that actually are more valuable for you. On the other hand, you can just feel bored and take some courses just for fun, even when they're just don't satisfy your purpose and your goals, but drains your money and energy. Anyway, that's the reason to reconsider it, if you are not sure about your objectives.

• Taking an active role in your learning may help you to get the best results from the course.
  Usually, you have a teacher/trainer, your classmates and yourself as resources for your learning. But no one except you knows what you really need to learn! And no one can help you with that until you tell them your wishes! :) Well... that's where communications have value to the quality of learning!
• Feedback is the common way to get knowledge from your classmates and teacher. It improves your learning experience by exchanging ideas and points of view, and by giving suggestions as well!
• Using right learning tools for your needs is very important. There's no value in using the tool which isn't do what you want it to do. As an example, if you need to practice your skill, you could choose practice-oriented classes instead of theoretical-ones :) However, if you're learning skills which needs strong theoretical basis and practical experience, you must choose wisely between theory and practice, and do not ignore either of them!
  Also, you can use here tons of methodologies, like system thinking, critical thinking, Mind Maps (TM), etc. Each of them can help you to get better results from your learning.
• For the application of your new skills, you need to have a plan for after a course. What are you supposed to do after it ends? Will it make any changes to your career or your entire life? Are there any specific things you need to have/know after ending of the course? Are there any follow-up training programs of this course? Are there any opportunities to teach your new skills to others?
  If there's no actual proposition for your new skills, it would be forgotten pretty fast.

The effective learning is a part of your proactive way of life. That's the way you change your life! There are many ways to choose what do you need to learn and how will you learn it. So you need to consider it, meet your exact needs and choose wisely.

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Vocabulary (you may add your explanations and other words of this post!)

• A follow-up training program - the training program you can take after you've completed your current course.
• To retain, ~to preserve, ~to maintain - to hold someone from mistake.
• A credibility, ~ trust, ~persuasiveness - a trait that makes the people trustworthy and look competently in business.