The L3 Roadway to Success

“R’s” to Remember

Whether you are studying for exams, wanting to get your driver’s license or just keen to expand your skills and knowledge in an area of interest, the L3 Map of SuccessTM shows the crucial steps along the journey to success. You are in the driver’s seat and following these 6R’s can ensure the journey is as smooth as possible.

To read the full article, members please log in here. To subscribe please click here.

R #1: Have a REASON to learn.

The why is the most important part of your learning success. What will you gain, or avoid, by learning? It is well known that the two biggest human motivators are to either avoid pain or gain pleasure. Why are you learning the information? To pass your exams in order to get ahead in life? To avoid looking stupid in front of your family and friends? To have your driver’s license to gain independence or avoid the embarrassment of your parents? Your why must be yours. Goal setting is important here. The more specific you can be with your goals and the why behind wanting to achieve them, the easier it is to focus and actually achieve.

R #2: Know the RULES of learning to learn.

Along your journey to success, it is useful to pack a bag of learning strategies. Here, it is beneficial to understand your best learning styles, or how your memory
works. As exams are firstly memory tests, know how best to take effective notes, read and comprehend quickly. Set up a study environment to maximise your learning.

R #3: Ensure you have the correct RESOURCES that you require.

Once you know why you want to learn something and how to learn it, you now require the resources to take on the learning. These may be provided by a teacher, something you search on the Internet, books you purchase, such as the road code, or old exam papers to help orientate yourself in the subject. Resources also include the people who can  assist you on your journey. Just like all top athletes have
a coach, successful students see the support of their teacher, parents, peers or a tutor as essential for success. Who might be a member on your support team, who will
help you achieve your goals?

R #4: The REPETITION of practice.

This is where the real work starts. It requires effort and focus to actually learn the information. Study tips such as, “Learn the information you DON’T know,” are critical
here. Practicing and rehearsing what you  already know is a total waste of time: You already know it! Yes, it makes you feel good to go over what you know, however it is not learning. Learning what you don’t know is hard and here the study tip, “Everything is hard before it is easy,” comes into play. To get to easy, you have to go through hard. At this stage of the learning journey, it is important to understand it will take repetition, effort
and practice. You might get someone to test you to see if you know the information. Remember that exams are testing your memory, and you will not have the information in front of you to trigger your memory. Cover your work and check what you are able to recall. Then continue those checks to see if you can recall it a day later, a week later and a month later? Throughout your practice, you may have to develop strategies such as persistence, or sticking
to the task; managing your impulsivity, such as avoiding distractions; thinking  flexibly, or learning it another way; and resilience, the bounce back factor when
learning gets hard and challenging. An important part to understand with repetition is that learning takes time, but little by little, you will be making progress.



R #5: REFLECTION and feedback.

At all stages of your learning journey, take time to stop and reflect on where you are at and your next steps. Ask yourself some questions about your progress: Are you heading towards your goal or away? Where do you need to place more time and effort?If you are not sure, your midterm exams can help with this. Your marks will be an indication if you are on track or not, highlighting which subjects you need to spend more time on,where you need to ask more questions, and where you might request further resources or tutoring. They will also show you
which subjects you may relax a little in. Give extra attention to the feedback teachers are giving you on your work. Ask yourself which study tips are working and what is distracting you from your learning? Be mindful of your own actions and  how they are helping or hindering you. You may need to go back to learn more of the rules of learning, gain more support from teachers and tutors, or simply keep putting in the effort, practice and rehearsal so that you might move yourself forward.

R #6: Celebrate your RESULTS. 

At this sixth step, it is meaningful to celebrate your results of success. Share your success with people who understand and have perhaps helped throughout the process. Take time to acknowledge the journey and the effort, and even the sacrifice and challenges you overcame to get to this point. Naturally, what follows
great results is a new goal to strive after. As Life Long Learners, there will be always more to learn, new heights to scale and new challenges to take on.
Remember, you are in the driver’s seat and in control of your learning and success.

Related Posts

Making Learning Real

Making Learning Real

Handling the Tough Stuff

Handling the Tough Stuff

Understanding Success

Understanding Success

Are You Willing to Pay it Forward?

Are You Willing to Pay it Forward?

Karen