Learning Success and Critical Thinking
HANDOUT: Assessing Your Learning Skills and Planning for Improvement
In order to get better at anything, you need to know where you stand now. This is true for your learning and
critical thinking skills just as it is for your technical skills. The goal of this activity is for you to take a close look
at what you need to learn for your next career and how equipped you are to learn it quickly and efficiently. By
spending some time thinking about your personal process, you may save yourself a huge amount of time as
you move through your program
Here is the recommendation: Acquire a journal or create a journal document on your computer. Spend some
quality time thinking about the following questions and write down your responses. Make this a private activity
so you can be honest.
Task:
Assess your learning tasks.
Start with taking a good look at your current learning tasks. It is best if you spend some time thinking
about the questions and write the answers down.
• What kind of information are you learning? It is probably a combination of knowledge and hands-
on skills.
• What kinds of attitudes do you think you will need to develop to be successful?
• What other information do you need to learn that may not be presented in your current learning
task?
• This is just the beginning. What will you need to learn more about? What skills will you need to
practice in order to master? What information will you need to really study over time to truly
understand enough that you can apply it in your workplace to make good decisions?
• What are your optimal learning styles, preferences, and habits?
• What learning skills do you need/want to develop further?
Develop a plan for moving forward.
The next step is to make a detailed plan of action for being successful at your learning task. Again, it is
best if you spend some time thinking about the questions and write the answers down.
• What exactly are you to be learning in terms of knowledge and skills? Consider mapping out the
big picture on paper. Draw a concept map.
• How does what you are learning relate to your career goals and job success? Put this into your big
picture map.
• How specifically are you going to tackle your learning? What study strategies are you going to
implement? Outline these and acquire the tools to be successful. Think about things like engaging
with online content, studying your textbook, taking notes, collaborating with others, completing
labs and assignment, practicing skills, conducting additional research online or with experts, etc.
• How will you organize your studying/learning? Make an organizational plan. Write it down in a step-
by-step plan.
Develop a plan for moving forward, continued
The next step is to make a detailed plan of action for being successful at your learning task. Again, it is
best if you spend some time thinking about the questions and write the answers down.
• How will you organize your time? Make a studying/learning schedule. Write it down on a calendar
in detail. Include each element of the strategies you plan on implementing.
• How will you know if what you are doing is working? Establish a plan for monitoring your success.
Are your study/learning strategies effective? How do you know? Is your organization working? Is
your schedule working?
• Change what isn’t working. You may have to try several things to get it right. Remember that
change is part of the process. Use your critical thinking skills and problem-solving steps.
Perform a self-assessment.
As you go through the thinking required for the previous steps, think carefully about your own strengths,
weaknesses, skill sets, attitudes, and areas for improvement. Remember that what you do now to self-
assess (and then self-correct) is important for your current learning task as well for future learning in
your job and career. How do you become a master learner? Just like anything else, you first learn what it
means and then see what you need to do to get there. Write down your thoughts on the following
questions.
• What learning skills do you want to master? Think about your specific industry and workplace. You
might want to focus on how you will be required to learn in that environment.
• What do you do well?
• What areas need improvement
• How are you going to know what your strengths and weaknesses?
• How are you going to optimize what you do well? Are you a master yet?
• How are you going to improve in your weak areas?
• What specific steps will you take?
• What specific habits will you develop or eliminate?
• Do you need to change attitudes about certain issues?
• Do you need to expand your wisdom related to specific industry areas?
Make a self-correction plan.
Finally, look at the results of Step 3 and make a plan for self-correction. Again, write it down.
• What specifically will you do to improve?
• Who can you bring in to help you improve?
• What is your action plan?
• What is your time frame?
• How will you know you have succeeded?
