The Five-Step Method for Learning How Information Is Obtained

Introduction

From a developer-centric standpoint, John Sonmez’s “The Software Developer’s Life Manual” addresses a variety of “soft” themes, such as relationships, personal finance, investing, career, productivity, fitness, and fitness. In the book, he shares a 5-step learning process essential for technical career professionals.

The Idea Behind the System

Initially, I learned by reading a book on a subject, then implementing what I learned. This method led to slow learning, often requiring me to revisit the book to fill gaps in my knowledge. With this strategy, I was able to advance slowly.

The author initially used a simple approach to learning, reading a book cover to cover without a clear goal. However, as they had more demanding learning objectives and had to learn quickly, they found that this approach was not effective. They found that much of the material in a book was better suited for reference rather than learning.

In a time of need, the author sought effective methods to teach themselves a subject within a week or less. They defined their learning objectives and sought the best resources to obtain the necessary information, ignoring unnecessary information. This approach allowed them to effectively teach the subject to others within a limited timeframe.

The 5-Step System

The 5-step process involves understanding the goal and defining the scope of the learning. This knowledge helps in finding resources and creating a learning plan. The goal is to identify what you don’t know, identify what success looks like, and filter the materials down to the best ones to achieve your goal. This process helps in achieving your learning objectives.

Step 1: Analyze the big picture

Learning can be challenging, as initial knowledge may not be sufficient to fully comprehend the subject. Donald Rumsfeld’s concept of “unknown unknowns” suggests that developers often read books without understanding the subject, leaving these unknowns for later discovery. This approach can lead to incorrect learning or overthinking. It’s crucial to understand a subject before diving into it, enabling the determination of what needs to be learned and the best learning method.

This step aims to gain a comprehensive understanding of a topic by conducting basic research. This can be done through internet searches or reading an introductory chapter from a book. The goal is not to learn the topic but to understand its scope and size. It is essential not to spend too much time on this step, as the main goal is to gain a broad understanding of the topic.

Step 2: Establish the scope

To effectively learn, it’s crucial to determine the scope of your topic and the specific skills you want to acquire. Overwhelmed by tackling a large topic, such as physics, can lead to failure. Instead, focus on a smaller, more manageable area, utilizing the knowledge gained from previous steps to ensure a more effective learning experience.

The first step involves gathering information to determine a scope for learning a topic. Use the reason for learning to determine the scope. Avoid oversimplification and focus on one thing at a time, as you can revisit subtopics later. Choose a narrowly focused topic for now.

Utilize your timeline to establish the parameters of your learning project, making sure it aligns with your overall goals and the time allotted, and that it is both reasonable and appropriate for your educational requirements.

Step 3: Establish success

Define success before starting any endeavor to aim and determine when you’ve hit the target. Having a clear vision of success helps in working backwards to determine the necessary steps to achieve it.

This step involves creating a clear statement defining success for your learning endeavor. Depending on your learning objectives, you should have specific success criteria to assess if you have met your goals. These criteria should be measurable at the end of the process and provide a target to aim at.

Step 4: Look for sources

Gather multiple resources for learning a subject, including books and content from the internet. Start by finding as many resources as possible, without worrying about quality. This is similar to brainstorming, and later filter and select the best ones.

To find relevant content, start by searching on Amazon for books, then Google for videos, blog articles, podcasts, or other relevant content. You can also visit the library. It’s crucial to find a variety of resources to avoid bias and ensure access to as much information as possible, avoiding reliance on a single source.

Step 5: Make a plan for your education

Good technical books follow a progression through content, with each chapter building upon the previous one. Utilize resources to determine what to learn and in what order and identify subtopics for digital photography. Break down the topic into smaller sections for better understanding.

Learning in most subjects follows a natural progression, starting at A and progressing to B and finally reaching Z. To learn effectively, create a personalized learning path, similar to a book’s table of contents. Focus on a series of modules until reaching your final goal, ensuring a comprehensive understanding.

Conclusion

Learning to educate yourself requires dedication and hard work, but the rewards are innumerable. A 10-step process can help organize studies and absorb knowledge using curiosity. Don’t worry if the instructions don’t work for you. The main focus is on developing a consistent teaching system that yields results.