What are the Four Drivers to Progress?

The secret combination to making great progress in learning is here!

Learning is a complicated business. There are too many variables to have a complete picture, and everyone’s own personal situation is unique. All of a person’s past knowledge and experiences influence their beliefs and attitudes, which further complicates the situation.

However, a general framework can be observed for making good progress. Here is a simple matrix that covers some of the most important factors for making good progress in learning. This is naturally an oversimplification but provides a useful overview.

The four main drivers for progress in learning are: motivation, frequency of practice, quality of instruction and quality of resources. These four drivers may all be present in varying amounts, but the combination of them can paint a picture of how progress is affected by them.

Motivation – although there are a few types of motivation, having an authentic need for the learning and being intrinsically motivated are what is needed to score highly on this variable. Low motivation leads to low engagement and can result in wasting time – a lot of time!

Frequency of practice – the more often something is done, the more automatic it becomes. The more automatic it becomes, the freer more parts of the brain become for mastering other aspects to reach higher levels. Learning and forgetting through retrieval are still helpful in making memories more permanent.

Quality of instruction – how content is presented, the sequence of tasks, the steps something is broken down into – these are all differences that can affect how engaging something is (feeding into motivation) and also what parts of the brain are being activated.  An expert educator will know which types of tasks require what type of thinking, thus developing certain skills.

Quality of resources – these are the tools used for learning. Having good quality materials, whether its textbooks or running shoes, can greatly aid the outcomes achieved. Sometimes a quality instructor might be required to give advice on what resources are best suited for the unique needs at hand – a coach, tutor etc.