Slow learning and delayed gratification - by Naomi Norman

We seem to live in an era where ‘quicker’ and ‘more convenient’ is considered better – you see an advertisement that persuades you of the merits of a particular product, and as soon as you are next in front of a computer, you are looking it up, finding it cheaper, then putting in your credit card number to buy it. Now, with the rise of Smartphones, you don’t even need to wait to be in front of a computer; and with the advent of mobile money you don’t even need a credit card or a bank account to make the payment transfer.

What’s any of this got to do with learning? Well, I believe that this growth in ‘quicker’ and ‘more convenient’ has led to a demand for instant gratification and has infiltrated every part of our lives, including learning.

Increasingly, people want smaller learning nuggets that make up shorter courses, with greater speed to competency, to fit in with their fast-paced, busy working lives. Even in academia (typically thought to be insulated from the ‘real’ world), I hear that you can now achieve a PhD by producing three publishable papers of about 10,000 words each, as opposed to the single 100,000 word thesis that used to be the requirement.

But wait! Slow down, delay the gratification...

Of course, there are occasions when learning concepts or messages are simple and concise, and can be delivered quickly, in a pithy and/or granular way. And of course there are occasions when a small amount of ‘just in time’ learning is essential to getting on with the job in hand. But let’s not fall foul of thinking all learning can be done this way.

There are many instances when it takes time to assimilate understanding; it takes effort to undertake the necessary thinking; and it takes tenacity to reach the best possible solution. This is not fast. It requires an acceptance of ‘slow’ learning and delayed gratification. And this acceptance has been proved to be a good thing in the long run – it can be a measure of success, as demonstrated in the video clip available from the link below.

So take some time, watch this video, give yourself a few moments to think about it, and then why not submit a considered response?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0yhHKWUa0g