What is Observational Learning, and How do We Apply it Successfully?
Observation learning is learning something new by seeing another person's actions, ideas, and feelings. You don't always realise you've learned something until you encounter a situation where knowledge becomes apparent.
The Bobo doll experiment is the most well-known illustration of observational learning. Some children mimicked the actions of adults they observed striking a swollen doll, demonstrating the significance of observation in human development.
The four phases of observational learning, which involve active engagement, guarantee thorough and long-term learning that supports the creation, retention, and reinforcement of knowledge as needed. As a result, observational learning works quite well.
The four stages of observational learning
1. Attention
You might learn more than you realise if you observe the situations around you, as you will constantly be learning from them once you develop the ability to be attentive.
2. Knowledge Retention
At this point, your brain stores the information in memory and uses new neural pathways to connect between it and stored information from earlier instances.
3. Applying the Knowledge
In observational learning, this is the crucial phase. As a learner, you are expected to generate the knowledge committed to memory either through spoken words or by acting out scenarios.
4. Boost or Stimulate
The final learning phase by observation is reinforcement, also known as motivation. This phase is crucial because, as a learner, you won't have a reason to produce or apply knowledge unless you are driven to do so and unless you expand your knowledge to gain a deeper understanding of it. As a result, motivation is the desire to remember knowledge or apply a skill effectively.
Since observational learning offers you countless opportunities on the ground, it is your responsibility to cultivate an open mind and learn from the situations around you. Doing so will increase your learning opportunities.
How do you benefit from observational learning?
1. Find a suitable person to learn from
Numerous studies have demonstrated that people pick up knowledge from those who interest them. Thus, it's critical to find someone who satisfies the following requirements:
1.1. Respectful person
A person learns more from the people they respect, even if these people do not seek to teach them. That is because you frequently pay attention to how they talk, observe what they do, and learn from everything they say or do without realising it.
1.2. Someone who resembles you
The person who resembles you will make an excellent teacher. They might be superior to you in terms of authority or a coworker. Since they seem to have gone through similar things and have been able to overcome or understand them, you can learn a lot from them. Speaking with them will also improve your relationship and allow you to watch how they behave. Athletes, celebrities, and successful professionals who have overcome adversity can be excellent role models to observe and learn from.
1.3. Someone to be attracted to
Whether they are a well-known individual or a coworker, it is preferable if the person you are learning from is someone you find attractive. They must possess something that draws you to them, be it their looks, skill, ease, way of life, or anything else that piques your curiosity and compulsion to observe their actions. That facilitates observational learning.
1.4. A higher-level person than you
This person could be your boss at work, your professor at the university, your older brother, or anybody else in a position of authority who accepts accountability and has knowledge that can help you, making them an excellent choice.
2. Accompany your teacher
Even if you don't learn anything directly from your teacher, you can still benefit significantly from observational learning if you are an athlete and find yourself practising in the same manner as them or if you support a basketball player and spend hours practising the same technique.
One of the best ways to learn is to work alongside someone you want to learn from and observe them at work. Consider the case of a medical student working under the supervision of a fellow physician. This student will accompany the doctor wherever he goes, walking in his shadow to observe their behaviour with patients and keep an eye on how other staff members and students handle patients.
If you want to learn how to sell, go with someone with a solid reputation and skill set. You will understand more from watching someone else sell a good or service than studying a textbook.
3. Seek to introduce rewarded learning
Applying knowledge or behaviour you have previously learned will not benefit you, so there will be no incentive for you to understand in the first place. However, even though applying something could have unfavourable effects (trying to fix a vase, for example, could cut your hand if you are not careful), you should still make an effort to perform the actions that will result in rewards because this is a core factor in keeping you motivated.
This reward could be anything you believe is appropriate to create the desired behaviour, such as a specific work style that helps you perform better in the team or good behaviour when interacting with patients. That indicates that you value the chance to learn from it and that you work to commit information to memory.
4. Take good notes
That may seem counter to observation-based learning, but it isn't. Blogging aids in the retention of knowledge gained from observation, so when you learn something by observation and try to write it down, it helps you do so. Therefore, summarise what you have understood and write notes in your own style unless you are writing a direct quote or there is a phrase that you think is perfect.
Because the brain retains information in the form of images, it utilises mind maps, mnemonics, or any other technique that will assist you in reviewing the information you have committed to memory if writing down phrases is inappropriate.
5. Teach someone else what you have learned
One of the best ways to retain the knowledge you have acquired from learning by observation is to impart what you have learned to another person. Try this and concentrate on recalling the specifics. For them to evaluate you, you can also ask your teacher to share what you have learned. That will be a fantastic chance to check if you have accurately retained the information. Additionally, you can repeat the information until you fully understand it.
6. Relax your mind
Your mind must be alert to everything around you to learn by observation. Research indicates that a rested and uncluttered mind is more capable of understanding and forming new connections than one confused. Thus, establish a schedule and follow it. Try to sleep for seven hours to ensure your mind is rested and you are always prepared to learn. You allow some downtime during the day to detach from unimportant things and be prepared to interact with people and situations in your environment. Meditation advantages must be mentioned here since it's a fantastic tool for achieving psychological and mental well-being.
Due to information overload or pure boredom, your mind may stop functioning in an atmosphere where emotional or dull situations arise. Therefore, you will feel better to re-learn with more significant passion and vitality if you take a break and move away from what you learned by taking a short walk outside, sipping coffee in a coffee shop, or spending some time in the sun's warmth.
7. Play mind games
You can keep your mind active by playing mind games like crosswords, Sudoku, and memory games and finding the difference between pictures. You can also save an image and attempt to retrieve it by writing about it or drawing it yourself.
In conclusion
Try any of the above strategies to get the most out of observational learning, which is an excellent way to pick up many skills and concepts. Whether learning from your father, friend, teacher, or mentor, you will acquire knowledge that will benefit you in the long run.