The Transformative Power of Shared Learning
Tags: sharedlearning
Published: 2021-04-30 18:23:12

Have you ever worked on a project or tried to learn something on your own and found that it took you a while to come up with ideas, feel inspired, or even get started? And on the other hand, have you ever been a part of a group project where ideas immediately started flowing and team members were eager to begin and there was a lot of motivation and encouragement? That’s the power of a shared learning experience. When people within learning groups are able to exchange and demonstrate their education and display their passion, the learning process is much more impactful and even enjoyable in comparison to learning completely alone. So why is this the case? We need to remember that thousands of years ago (possibly millions), humans by nature would do things in groups, this included hunting, eating, raising their young, and building their habitats. Even at that stage of our human evolution, we recognized that working together and sharing our information was crucial to our survival and an asset to the collective experience. Paleoanthropologists have come to understand that when the process of cultural transmission would not occur between our ancestors, meaning when knowledge was not shared amongst each other, this would lead to the delay of human evolution. So, the evidence gathered over the course of hundreds of thousands of years proves it is not only incredibly helpful to pass along and exchange our knowledge, but it is critical to the survival and well-being of humans. 

What Does Knowledge Sharing Look Like? Various organizations and platforms are beginning to recognize the importance of team alignment, employee engagement, and creative collaboration and the value it brings. We are currently seeing more and more companies be brought to life with the purpose of creating shared experiences such as CodeCast, where the vision behind the brand is to be a completely interactive and engaging resource for those wanting to teach or learn code. Another brand that took off in 2020 was ClubHouse, an audio-based chatroom where individuals can join a chat/group and speak on an assortment of topics they’re passionate about while hearing from others, especially professionals in that field. Even WeWork at one time was an excellent workspace as it was noticed that members were somewhat acting like colleagues and assisting each other, whether it have been brainstorming or finding work. Members of WeWork had stated that the person-to-person interactions and connections improved their time spent throughout the workday, therefore, raising their overall job performance. How else is 'shared knowledge' displayed? Another example might be the universal experience of having to study or learn new skills or information but it’s just not making sense, that is until someone else is able to explain it to us in a new way. They break it down into digestible chunks and shed new light on the topic, and then all of the sudden we get it. Things are clicking! This is the result of finding an effective learning style that works for you whilst learning from someone who recognizes your disconnect with the material. That’s the power of collaborative thinking and learning. We hope to see more company’s and businesses continue to use this model and capitalize on the advantages of shared knowledge and use it in their daily practices. 

As we get older, it becomes more challenging for adults to learn things compared to when we were young, and a lot of people tend to give up before they’ve really begun. Discouragement and impatience are a huge part of isolated learning, and we’ve said it once and you’ll probably hear it again, sharing what we know and what we’re passionate about helps others and allows them to get a hold of information/data in an obtainable way. Whether you’re learning together, being taught, or teaching, you’re making someone or the group feel valued and empowered and you’re lighting up their sensation to continue to learn and pursue their passions.