Host
- Jag Dhaliwal
Guests
- Ashley Boroda, Talent Advisor and Trainer
- Amy Gottler, eLearning Developer and Consultant
Transcript
Jag Dhaliwal: Hello and welcome to ICAEW Student Insights. My name is Jag Dhaliwal and today we're exploring strategies around learning and communication. It doesn't matter whether you've just started your studies or if you're close to qualification. Taking some time for self-reflection can boost your performance as a financial professional. We’re going to discuss some strategies that will not only help you qualify as an ACA, but also set you up for success in your career as a chartered accountant. I'm joined by Ashley Boroda, Talent Advisor and Trainer, and Amy Gottler, eLearning Developer and Consultant. Thank you both for coming in today.
Ashley Boroda and Amy Gottler: Thank you.
JD: Amy, you've got a doctorate in education and learning. Can you tell us about your interests and specialisms?
AG: Yeah. So my doctorate is in technology enhanced learning and educational research, and my specialism is in instructional design, and I specialise in looking at how technology can be used to support learning. So what that means in practice is that I look at how digital courses and resources can be created to be not only informative, but also engaging and effective.
JD: So you must have seen that really ramp up in recent years as well with the shift in technology.
AG: Definitely. And also Covid didn't help as well, so. It's been good for me because obviously lots more business and lots more people looking to move, sort of, in-person training to online. But yeah, there's been a huge shift.
JD: And Ashley, you focus on communication skill training.
AB: I do.
JD: And have you got a framework here to share with us today?
AB: Yeah. So I use a non psychometric system called IMA, spelt IMA. Stands for Identify, Modify, Adapt. But don't worry about that at this point. And it divides the world accurately into four styles of people. So you are one of them and everybody else is the other three. So therefore you need to know how to communicate with the people who are not like you. And I say it tongue in cheek, but I do mean it. It's really there to stop you annoying other people.
JD: And can you share what those four are?
AB: I can indeed. So, they are colour coded. There's a red, yellow, green and blue, but in IMA we very intentionally call them high red, high yellow, high green and high blue. And the reason they're high colours is we're not profiling. So everybody's a mixture of all four. We know that individually we're as unique as our thumbprint. However, we're not interested in that. We're interested in your most dominant colour because it's easy to identify and you'll see that people's communication and the way they behave is patterned, programmed, predictable because of it. So we have two assertive colours, high reds and high yellows, and two non-assertive colours, high greens and high blues. And then we divide again to what we would call left brain thinking people. So they're logical people. They're self-contained. They are about thoughts. And they're much less so about people, although they are as good with people, but they're not naturally people people. And then the other two, which are high yellows and high blues, are then relationship led people, right brain thinking people. So there’s four elements; assertive, non assertive, left and right brain thinking. And which two of those four things decides if you're a high red, high yellow, high green or high blue? So high reds are very goal driven people. High yellows are very ideas driven. High greens, very thoughts driven, and high blues, very feelings driven.
JD: And so someone's IMA colour.
AB: Yeah.
JD: Is that something that can evolve over time as they get more training and experience?
AB: No, I think you're born with it. And I was still interested if it's nature or nurture, but I think it actually is nature. Years ago I watched by mistake, because I was looking for something to watch on the telly, a documentary series on Channel 4 called The Secret Life of a Three Year Old. And I was watching it and I was going to turn over and I thought, oh hello, I know the IMA colours of all the kids who are featured. And I thought, well, if you know when you're a three year old, you probably know when it's a two year old and so on and so forth. So I think you're born with it. And if people look back on their lives and see who their friends are and the things they're good at and the things they like and the things they dislike, they will see that that is consistent.
JD: That's a really good show as well.
AB: Is it? Yeah. Well I’ve only seen it the one time.
JD: Yeah. I enjoyed that one. So that's really interesting. So from a very young age it won't change.
AB: It won't change. No.
JD: Okay. Well thank you. So Amy, people often talk about learning styles. So growing up I'd heard a lot about visual learners, auditory, those types of things. But I know you maybe have a different approach?
AG: Yeah. So learning styles was really popularised in the late 70s and 80s and it's still floating around today as well. But what people would do is classify themselves as either being a visual learner, an auditory learner, kinaesthetic, or they prefer reading. And the idea was, is that, you would learn something best by whatever method is associated to those learning styles. But there's not a lot of science to back this up and it's become a bit of a learning myth these days. It has evolved over the years, though, so students are now recognising that they can learn in different methods and not just through, for example, watching videos. And they've turned more from learning styles into learning preferences. But the problem with this is that learners are inherently very bad at judging what is best for them and the best way for them to learn. So I recommend learning strategies rather than learning styles because it changes the question from what type of learner am I to how can I learn this more effectively?
JD: So what are the learning strategies that you would recommend?
AG: Yeah, so there are lots of learning strategies, but there are five that I recommend. The first one is spaced practice. The second one is interleaving. The third one is retrieval practice. Then we have elaboration and then good sleep.
JD: So the space practice. Could you tell us a bit more about that?
AB: Yeah. So space practice is essentially spacing your learning out over a period of time. So research has shown that it is much better to learn something over a period of time. So for example, one hour a day over five days, rather than sitting there for five hours and going through material in a single day.
JD: Yeah. Cramming.
AG: Yeah.
JD: And interleaving then. More about that?
AG: Interleaving is simply mixing up different topics or concepts. So rather than sitting and focusing on the same thing the whole time, just swapping things out, mixing things up.
JD: Yeah, that definitely works for me I think. And then retrieval practice?
AG: Retrieval practice I think is one of the most important. And that's testing yourself. So that could be using past exam papers, test questions or simply looking at your notes, covering them up and then trying to recall what you'd written.
JD: And elaboration?
AG: Elaboration is taking something that you've written and then putting it into your own words, or taking notes, putting something into your own words. So rather than rereading something and trying to remember it, which is a really common study habit, it's best to try to add your own kind of thoughts to that. Elaborate on that, or even rewrite it into something that's more understandable to you.
JD: Yeah, I've found that is something that definitely helps. And then finally, good sleep, which might sound self-explanatory, but perhaps you have something to add?
AG: Yeah. So, good sleep. So obviously that's something that I know has been covered in the past in the podcast, but it really is important. And it basically helps you to consolidate what you've learnt. So moving your learning from short term memory into long term memory. So there are lots of benefits around getting good sleep and getting into good sleep habits.
JD: And a lot of our students who are listening to the podcast are currently studying and going through the exams. So what are the ways that then they can really implement this into their studies?
AG: What I would suggest is that everything starts with a goal and a time frame. So before you implement the strategies, I would suggest setting yourself a goal and a time frame. And then the strategies will simply fall into place with that in mind. So, spaced practice. So if you've got a goal and a time frame, spaced practice can be really important because then you can work out what points during the day, what points during the week, that you are going to learn and put time by to really focus on your learning. That then mixes in quite nicely with interleaving. So again, you can then work out what topics you're going to study over the period of time. Again, trying to mix things up and not just sit and do the same topic over and over again. So retrieval, that's testing yourself. So that could be after you've done your study session, you would then do some test questions or test yourself on the content. Then you've got elaboration, which is again putting things into your own words. So if you're watching materials or something similar on a video and you've made loads of notes, looking at those notes but rewording them. And then we've got the good sleep. So I think that everyone can relate to that. So that really, kind of, pulls everything together and will help. Like I said before, consolidate what you've learned.
JD: No, thanks, Amy. Some real practical tips that our students can definitely take away. How can someone find out the IMA colour of a job?
AB: So, with the people, it's about if they're assertive, not assertive, left or right brain thinking. For a job, it's assertive people if you need a self-starter, non assertive people if you need a completer-finisher. If it's a relationship led job, then you need a right brain thinking person, so a high yellow or a high blue. If it's a task led job then you need a left brain thinking person, a high red or a high green. So it's, again, two or four elements will decide.
JD: Thanks, Ashley. I think our listeners can definitely take that away and really apply it to both their studies and to the workplace as well. Amy, once our students qualify and become members, their learning then shifts towards CPD. How can they apply the learning strategies that we mentioned earlier to this?
AG: Yeah. So I think the biggest difference is that CPD happens across a period of time. And I think the biggest thing is to get into a mindset of becoming a lifelong learner. And again, spacing your learning out over a period of time. So that's one of the strategies. CPD is more about learning things little and often more than sitting and studying for one big exam. So by getting into that mindset of a lifelong learner, you're already setting yourself up to have expectations that you are going to be learning little and often throughout your career. And the strategies really work in the same way as what they would if you were studying for an exam. So, like I say, spaced practice, spacing things out. Then we've got the interleaving. So CPD is often quite short. So interleaving is quite natural with CPD because you'll often be learning shorter topics, different topics at the same time over a period of either a short time or a longer time. Then retrieval practice. So again, testing yourself. So CPD, testing yourself on your material. How can you take what you've learnt from your CPD course and apply that to work? And then really similarly with elaboration. So looking at what you've learnt, putting things into your own words. So when you're studying for CPD, there's often not exams for CPD. But again, just taking what you've learned, putting it into your own words, and really elaborating, asking more questions about the content that can really help to make it stick. And then, again, getting good sleep. So it's the same concept as if you're studying for an exam. So it really helps to cement that learning.
JD: And why is it important for professionals to stay curious and proactive with that lifelong learning?
AG: Curiosity is a really, really powerful driver for learning because it lights up the reward system in the brain. So if you stay curious, you're going to naturally be more motivated and you're going to be more interested in the material. So, the more that you can stay curious about the topics that you're learning, you're setting yourself up to be able to really take that material and commit it to long term memory.
JD: Yeah. I've found that myself that when I naturally am just interested in something, I definitely find that it just sticks better.
AG: Yeah, sure.
JD: We've touched on so much today, so thank you both so much. Just in terms of IMA colours and how you can apply that in your studies and in the workplace as well. And then also those learning strategies in your studies and then both as you continue forward to CPD. So thank you both. I'd just love to get a key takeaway that you would have our listeners go away with today. So Ashley?
AB: I would say firstly it's important. So find out your IMA colour. You can look me up and answer the questionnaire. It takes ten questions. It's a really, really short questionnaire. Two options per question. So very, very simple. And then also, once you know you're IMA colour, don't feel that you need to apologise for it. So high greens, for instance, are going to need more time to think about what it is they're learning. High blues, the same. They might need to go for somebody for some reassurance. High reds are going to work at a pace, but they're going to give themselves time to do that, whereas high yellows are likely to do most of what they need to do at the very last moment. And that's fine for them to do because that's when they're at their best. So don't apologise for your IMA colour. Follow your natural ability.
AG: So I think a key takeaway would be to focus more on strategies than styles. So often with online learning material, a designer has chosen the appropriate method to deliver that material to you. So rather than focusing on, oh, I must watch all these videos, think about the strategies. So again, going back to that question of how best can I learn this effectively. And the five strategies that I've mentioned, I think are my key takeaways. If you can introduce any of those into your study strategy, I think you'd be preparing yourself for a really successful exam. Especially on things like retrieval practice. So test papers, testing yourself. And I just wanted to make one quick note on cramming, as well. So, as we know, we've all been there in an exam. Night before, cramming. And two of the most popular methods for studying is rereading and highlighting material. But again, they've been proven that they are also very ineffective. So again, going back to those strategies. So retrieval and elaboration, spaced practice, interleaving. If you can implement those into your study workflow and then get good sleep, then you're setting yourself up for success.
JD: I'm definitely going to try that one out. We're also going to link all of the available ACA resources in the show notes for this episode. So if you want to try out some of Amy's strategies, follow those links to find the past papers, question banks, and more. Before we finish up, I want to say thank you both for coming in today. Thanks for your time, Amy, Ashley.
AB: Pleasure.
AG: Thank you.
JD: Make sure you visit ICAEW Student Insights for ongoing support during your studies. On the Student Insights Hub, you'll find resources for completing the ACA qualification and ICAEW CFAB, as well as inspiring stories of students and recently qualified members.
That's all available at icaew.com/studentinsights. If you found this podcast useful, then make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode, and let us know what you think by writing a review on your podcast app. Thanks for joining us today. Bye for now.