Amp Up Learning with a Study Buddy

Article Title: Amp Up Learning with a Study Buddy

Publication: InternetCE (insurance continuing education)

Summary: Peer pressure and peer support can be powerful tools for helping people achieve their goals. This is why so many fitness experts recommend starting an exercise program with a friend. Teachers and professors often encourage
students to form study groups, in part because of the potentially positive influence of peers, and also because discussing newly learned knowledge with others can help deepen and broaden one’s understanding of a subject. These principles also apply to seasoned practitioners seeking professional development opportunities through continuing education courses. This articles explains why partnering with a study buddy can help insurance professionals get the most out of continuing education courses and studying for licensing exams.

Coordinating learning activities with a study buddy also holds you accountable for following through. While it might be easy to delay an online course until “next week” for several weeks in a row if no one else is depending on you to get it done, you might feel a bit guilty if this also requires pushing back a meeting with your study buddy every time.

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4 Time-Wasting Study Habits to Avoid

Article Title: 4 Time-Wasting Study Habits to Avoid

Publication: InternetCE (insurance continuing education)

Summary: Between obligations at work and the desire to lead a rich personal life, many find it challenging to make time for professional development. Since several industries have continuing ed requirements, practitioners must find the time to complete continuing education courses and study for licensing exams. This article offers advice for learning efficiently by identifying time-wasting study habits to avoid and suggesting effective alternatives.

Your brain learns best in short bursts. Start studying well in advance of that insurance licensing exam, and plan to review exam content a couple times a day for 15 minutes at a time. How about once at breakfast and again over lunch? Limiting the amount of information you study in a single sitting helps ensure that most of what you’re reviewing will anchor into your long-term memory. Shorter study times also helps you avoid mental fatigue.

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10 Factors that Affect Learning

Article Title: 10 Factors that Affect Learning

Publication: InternetCE blog (insurance continuing education)

Summary: From lifestyle to momentary circumstance, many types of factors affect our ability to learn new information. Not all are easy to control; however, knowing what what those factors are can help you get the most out of a course or other learning experience. This article explains ten factors that affect learning and offers advice on how to positively influence each.

Take frequent breaks. With a busy schedule, it can be tempting to plow through an online course as quickly as possible. But if you’re skimming the content and clicking ahead quickly, how much can you really expect to remember later? If you genuinely want to learn, slow down your pace and take frequent breaks. The breaks allow time to process segments of new information and help keep you attentive.

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Learning Motivation and Doing What Your Kids Do

Wanted to post a blurb about my two latest pieces for the InternetCE blog.

–1– Motivate Yourself to Learn through Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction

We’ve all had to complete training courses we weren’t particularly interested in. The purpose of this article is to offer learners ideas for making those courses more bearable. Keller’s ARCS model of motivation is widely recognized among instructional designers, so perhaps learners can also apply these principles to motivate themselves. Click here to access the article directly.

–2– The Study Tips We Tell Our Kids Apply to Us Too

Many parents encourage their kids to adopt productive study skills. But I suspect many parents are guilty of the “do as I say, not as I do” pitfall when it comes to their own learning. This post sheds light on how the study habits imposed on kids can be productive for professional development as well. Click here to access this post directly.

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