How to determine if you have learned
I will give my top ways to see if learning has occurred. Use this article to evaluate whether you have learned something properly. If you are a teacher you can use the contents to evaluate students.
As a teacher with more ~12 years of experience I realized there are some key things to look out for when evaluating your learning. I will show you what are the signs of learning, so you can evaluate if you have learned. With reflections on these signs you can also improve on your learning process.
Learning does not have to lead to big changes in how you behave. Small changes in how you do things is enough. As long as you get value from what you have acquired intellectually you are winning in the game of learning. Being able to evaluate what happened will help you fine-tune your own learning process.
You have learned something (new skill, knowledge etc.) when you:
Can do something you couldn’t do before
Learning has happened when you acquired some information that enables you to do something that you couldn’t do before. let’s say you did not know how to program a computer program. By learning about variables, if-statements, loops and functions, you can now write your own computer programs.
When attentive and reflect upon if the acquired information has led to any changes in how you do things, how you act and if you can do new stuff. This is a sign of learning.
Can retrieve useful information to accomplish your goals
When you have learned something and applied the knowledge for real, your short-term memory of what you learned, starts to enter the long-term memory. By being able to retrieve what you need for the moment from the long-term memory, you can use it to create something that engage and provide value for you.
By being aware and evaluating on how efficiently you can retrieve useful information from your long-term memory you can see how well you know something.
Can apply the knowledge in various contexts
The litmus-test of whether you have learned something is if you can apply your knowledge and create something (of value). By recalling what you have learned and by transforming this knowledge in different context, you demonstrate an ability to synthesize acquired knowledge that helps you in your goals/solve problems/express yourself.
Can identify the building blocks of knowledge
When you know something well, you can clearly see what core knowledge within a subject is important for creating more complex stuff. Identify these and you will have an easier time creating more valuable and sophisticated knowledge derived things.
You can summarize what you have learned and can use it in combination with other concepts from your long-term memory in order to create something of value.
See that what you learned can empower you in various ways
Seeing this will help you learn in the long run. You can see why certain knowledge is important to you. Meaning, you see the potential for change by applying what you have learned and can use it to create something of value for yourself and others. You can change yourself and others for the better.
If you are interested in how to learn something efficiently, or want to know how to live a more purposeful life, I can recommend my digital book:
Finding your life purpose:
https://mindoflin.com/resources
Just sign in and you will get access to my transformation process that will help you identify what you value in life and improve your learning process.