Learn, Unlearn and Relearn

© www.qualitymadesimple.com
Learn Unlearn Relearn
Perception, Errors and Agreement:
an Insight into how humans think
1

Alvin Toffler
The illiterate of the 21st century will not be
those who cannot read and write, but those
who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn
2

Agenda
• Life Skills
• Some Facts
• Perception & Errors
• Learn
• Unlearn
• Relearn
• Change
• Summary
• Agreement
• How to use this?
• References – Reading List
3

Life Skills
4

Some Facts
Roger's categories are:
• Innovators (2.5 %)
• Early Adopters (13.5 %)
• Early Majority (34 %)
• Late Majority (34 %)
• Laggards (16 %)
Successful innovation goes through a period of
slow adoption before experiencing a sudden
period of rapid adoption and then a gradual
leveling off (forms an S-shaped curve).
5

Learning Process - 1
6

Learning Process - 2
7

Perception & Errors - 1
We dance round in a ring and suppose, but
the secret sits in the middle and knows.
Read
more:http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/robert_frost_5.html#i
xzz18iJbrBaW
8

9

Idea 1
An odd number
cannot be divided
by two
Idea 2
I can divide $7
into two, giving
$3.50 each
Tension
1
2
3
1. Concept
2. Conflict
3. Construct
Clarity
Confusion
10

Learn
• It means acquisition of new knowledge or
skills
• Then you implement the learned values into
your behaviour
• Then you pass on what you have learned to
other people
11

Unlearn - 1
• It means forgetting
• The process to forget some existing knowledge.
• It can be planned or unplanned
• Unlearn may not be totally voluntary;
and its outcome may be positive or negative. But it is
essential part of learning
• Why?
– “Insanity is doing the same old thing over and over again
and expecting a different result” (Albert Einstein)
– "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then give up.
There's no sense being a damn fool about it." (Mark Twain)
12

Unlearn - 2
• 90 % of Knowledge is Automated &
Unconscious
– Includes acting and thinking (“Blink”)
– Automates only when accurate in context
– Context changes but knowledge does not
– The more it is used, the stronger it becomes and
the more difficult it is to change
– Intention not enough (Perception Errors)
– We know very little about how to replace
automated knowledge with new knowledge
13

Unlearn - 3
So, how do we help people unlearn – so that they
can learn?
• Start by thinking about how someone would do
something without being trained
– If they succeed, they don’t need training
– If not, what they tried to do is what needs to be
unlearned
– Intention is not enough – How many people thought
of perceptions? - Ironic processes dominate.
• Helping someone unlearn begins with
understanding the stages of change
– Each stage requires different kinds of support
14

Relearn
Relearn is…Fostering the culture, that people
ingrained consciously to acquire new skills
and knowledge
15

Change - 1
• James O Prochaska – Transtheoretical Model
(It is based on an analysis of different theories of psychotherapy)
• 6 Stages of Change
– Pre-contemplation: No need to change
– Contemplation: Maybe I need to change?
– Preparation: Ok, I’m going to change
– Action: I’m in the process of changing
– Maintenance: I’m holding on to change
– Relapse: I’ve fallen off the wagon
16

Change - 2
• Pre-contemplation: No need to change
– Individual or team denies need to learn anything
new or to change
• Must experience conflict about beliefs
– Test their way to accomplish goal and show that
it does not work (handles overconfidence)
– Show them similar change by respected others
17

Change - 3
• Contemplation: Maybe I need to change?
– Sitting on the fence – ambivalent
• Evaluate team and individual benefits of
change plus risks of not changing
• Handle emotional issues with positivity
– Active listening, enjoyable settings
• Handle under confidence
– Focus on strategy that needs changing & not the
person who must change
– Promise help and structure
18

Change - 4
• Preparation: Ok, I’m going to change
– Testing the water – planning to act soon
• Solve obstacle problems
• Establish necessary prior knowledge
• Small steps and practice, practice, practice
• Give them day by day or hour by hour goals
and expectations
19

Change - 5
• Action: I’m in the process of changing
People are in training and/or practicing new learning
to “overlearn”
• Teach concrete procedure that specifies
exactly how to act and decide
• Practice, practice, practice
• Ask them to pause and choose new learning
• Provide job aid’s, coaches and Q&A
• Insist on persistence –
20

Change - 5
• Maintenance: I’m holding on to change
Transferring new learning to field – trying to avoid
defaulting to old patterns
• Prepare commanders to understand and
demand new behavior
• Provide job aids and coaching
• Prepare them for relapse – explain it and how
to overcome it
• Mindfulness meditation (see references)
21

Change - 6
• Relapse: I’ve fallen off the wagon
Old behaviors have dominated
• Treat as normal –Remember perceptions?
Expect it. Have a plan.
• Evaluate and neutralize the trigger for
relapse (stress, fear, emotionality)
• Reassess barriers and motivation (value, self
confidence, mindfulness) and fix
22

Change - 7
• Pre-contemplation: No need to change
• Contemplation: Maybe I need to change?
• Preparation: Ok, I’m going to change
• Action: I’m in the process of changing
• Maintenance: I’m holding on to change
• Relapse: I’ve fallen off the wagon
23

Summary
• We must Unlearn to Learn
• Automated thinking and acting difficult to
learn and to change
• Stress and fear causes old knowledge to
reassert itself
• Help people first by deciding which of the six
stages best represents their position
• Treat them depending on their stage
24

Agreement
Alignment is the process of synthesizing varied opinions and
viewpoints on a subject.
A flock of geese does both -- can a modern organization
work in the same way without stifling creativity?
Getting alignment on "why we're doing this is not about
getting everyone to see "the right answer" so much as
incorporating everyone's viewpoint into a "shared vision" of
what that means.
Cultural alignment can mean "same thing" as in, "we are all
driving toward the same goals" (true north) or it can mean
"same way" as in, "we do things consistently."
25

How to use this?
• Keep your mind empty to new things.
Remember – a full cup cannot be filled with fresh tea (old Chinese
saying)
• Accept any possibility
• Keep your mind open to perceptions
• Understand that there is nothing good or bad, it
is only the truth that matters
• Understand how humans work
Remember : Learning + Unlearning + Relearning =
Change = Experience
26

References – Reading List
Gladwell, M. (2005) Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. NY: Little, Brown
and Co.
Prochaska, J.O., Norcross, J.C., & DiClemente, C.C. (1994). Changing for Good. NY:
William Morrow.
Segal, Z.V., Williams, J.M.G., & Teasdale, J.D. (2002) Mindfulness-based Cognitive
Therapy for Depression: a new approach to preventing relapse. NY: Guilford
Publications
Check the BIG PICTURE: http://matt.might.net/articles/phd-school-in-pictures/
27

Welcome!
28

Learn, Unlearn and Relearn

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