It's one of the most amazing periods in a person’s life: in just a year and a half babies transform from helpless creatures who can’t do anything independently into toddlers who talk as they walk around the house. But the urge to learn new things is strange: “For example, a child who can crawl perfectly but who nevertheless learns to walk,” said Sabine Hunnius, Professor of Cognitive Psychology. “Why would you do something that you’re not at all good at? Evidently, something in us pushes us to keep learning new things. This could be because people experience learning something new as rewarding,” Hunnius said.
The role of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards is something that also interests the postdoc researcher Lieke van Lieshout. “In the case of intrinsic motivation, you want to learn something because you’re curious about it, but you’re extrinsically motivated by the world around you, for example the prospect of a good mark.” Van Lieshout is studying how these two forms of motivation relate to each other in students. That could also be important for our university system. Van Lieshout: “I hope that in the future more attention will be paid to curiosity and creativity instead of just getting good marks and as many study credits as possible.”
Learning doesn’t stop after your education
Perhaps it’s obvious: you don’t learn only in the classroom or during an educational programme. Lia Fluit, Professor of Intuitive and Person-Oriented Learning and Working in Healthcare, knows this better than anyone else. Fluit offers the example of a new job where, in just a few days, you know whose office you can just walk into and whose office door remains closed until you knock. “In no time at all, you learn the characteristics of the work floor, even the unwritten rules, even though no one has taught them to you and you won’t be examined about this.”
You can brush up on your knowledge via continual education, workshops and courses, but you also learn simply by working. “The skills that you acquire in this manner are part of the social domain: cooperating, taking responsibility, being critical, etc.” People are always learning something everywhere, and it’s important to be aware of this so that you can continue to learn throughout your life.”
Learning as you age
It is true that, as you age, the damage to your cells increases. “Your fluid knowledge, the ability to solve new problems quickly and accurately, decreases,” said Marcel Olde Rikkert, Professor of Clinical Geriatrics. But there’s also good news for older people: “Your crystalised intelligence is growing at the same time. Thanks to acquired knowledge and experience, older people can recognise and solve many problems. “Take advantage of this crystalised intelligence,” advised Olde Rikkert. “Choose a few things that you want to be able to do all your life, optimise those things and compensate for other things. An example is the pianist Arthur Rubinstein, renowned for his tempo accelerations, who continued to play brilliantly until late into his eighties. Because he wasn’t as fast as he used to be, he reduced his general tempo. Consequently, his accelerations remained impressive.” So even if you’re older, learning changes but it never stops.
Radboud Academy
To keep pace with progress, you have to update your knowledge and continue to develop yourself. Also after your education has ended. Stay up to date in this changing society and contribute meaningfully to yourself, your organisation and society. Radboud Academy is happy to supervise you in your professional and personal development.
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