TO: NameFROM: Name
SUBJECT: Assignment# 9
DATE: December 30, 2015.
Purpose
Students and learners represent two different characteristics. These characteristics are also divided by waiting for opportunities to happen or looking for ways to make opportunities happen. Those who are learners are also planners and usually have detailed or at the very minimum loosely planned ideas about where they want to go professionally, and the life they would like to live.
Summary
It is very important to internalize whether one is satisfied with being a student or being a learner and to understand what each category means. More importantly, one must grasp how choosing one over the other will help determine if they will be followers and if they are positioning themselves to be leaders.
Discussion
When someone chooses to follow the path of a student he or she will only perform or work as requested. This is an attitude, which unconsciously can transfer later to the work environment resulting in small rewards that are in line with efforts made. Learners are great students and they look for opportunities to expand their knowledge and usually go beyond what is expected or requested. When this is transferred to the work environment, the rewards are larger.
Being a good listener is a critical skill and being an excellent listener is even better. When listening skills are developed, learners tend to hear more than students do. What learners hear are opportunities to expand, explore, and create; what students will hear are instructions to follow. One of the important attributes of learners is that they look at challenging situations as obstacles to overcome, whereas students tend to run away from or avoid them. When this happens, students often miss things that ultimately would have made a significant impact on their future.
Recommendation
The obvious choice is to choose to be a learner over a student. One has obvious advantages over the other. While it is an obvious choice for some, it is a difficult one as well. Traditional education tends to point people towards being students, not necessarily learners, and this is because school is directed more so as a formula. Educators submit instructions for students to follow and communicate, if you do as I request you will achieve the desired grade. Therefore, becoming a learner is a process, and articles such as the one written by Barbara Jackson, identifying the characteristics of both are excellent information. The goal is to implement going forward the steps to take and changes to make to adapt to the characteristics of being a learner.
Learners are open to challenges and tend to seek creative solutions. Therefore, learners are willing to take risks to succeed and go above and beyond. They also get try to get in touch their own personal goals to align them with their present situation.
- Jackson, Barbara J. “What Is Construction Management?” Construction Management Jump Start. 2nd edition. Wiley. 47-52.
