What is lifelong learning?
I’ve always tried to be a lifelong learner.
Early in my career, I considered lifelong learning as being connected to formal ways of learning – reading books, taking courses, obtaining additional degrees. I have since realized lifelong learning involves obtaining knowledge and understanding in a myriad of formal and informal ways.
A few years ago, I was leading a project that required the collection of hundreds of documents. The documents had to be collected digitally in pdf format. I ran into some issues as I tried to convert some atypical document types, which was compounded by a limited knowledge of Adobe Acrobat. I asked a college student (who was a student employee in my department) for help, and she did not hesitate to accept the task. Internally, I patted myself on the back, as my guess that this person who was two decades younger would automatically have a higher level of comfort with technology appeared to be accurate.
A while later, the student was making significant progress on the task. I expressed my gratitude for her work and appreciation for her technological skills. She immediately responded, “Oh I had no idea how to do the task, but I Googled it, read a little, and then watched a YouTube video showing me how. Then it was easy.” This college student helped me expand my understanding of lifelong learning.
Since then, I have used search engines and databases to research all types of questions, and I have watched my share of videos demonstrating tasks ranging from technology to crocheting to cooking. But lifelong learning does not stop there either.
If you search online for “definition of lifelong learning,” you will find terms such as self-motivated, voluntary, and continuous, along with descriptions that include both formal and informal education. I have three formal degrees including an Ed.D. in higher education, and I love reading. However, the willingness to learn in everyday life, in informal yet challenging ways, has been essential in my continued development both personally and professionally.
What has this aspect of lifelong learning looked like? Here are some examples:
Being willing to listen to and learn from criticism.
Discussing or reading about ideas that make me uncomfortable or challenge my thinking.
Using the help or chat feature within a technology as many times as it takes to successfully navigate it.
Admitting when I do not know something and seeking assistance from someone who does.
Embracing failure. (Still working on this one!)
Accepting my own limitations and prioritizing rest and restoration.
Realizing people of all ages can teach me something.
Today I am embarking on another new experience – being a vendor at a professional conference. I have attended dozens of conferences, and I have interacted with vendors at most of them. However, I had never thought about what a vendor does to prepare for a conference – their plan before, during, and after a conference. I have never considered the confidence and stamina it requires, or the high level of planning and coordination. I have a much greater appreciation now, and I suspect that will grow over the next few days as I experience the complete process.
Expertise gained through formal education and on-the-job experience is valuable, of course. But when our job changes, or a new technology is introduced, or a pandemic hits, or a restructuring occurs, or we need to solve a problem in the moment…we have to be ready to be flexible, to transfer prior knowledge to a new context, and be willing to continue to gain knowledge in whatever ways are available.
In other words, we have to be willing to be a lifetime learner. Join me on this journey today.
pc: Brett Jordan via Unsplash
