Project Oriented Learning: Acquiring New Skills

tldr:

Avoid following tutorials
Start building projects that interest you
Use the MVP approach and POL to aid in your development
Work at a pace that suits you best

Ever tried learning a new skill? Never seem to get far? The problem could be with your approach to learning. As with most things in life - practice makes perfect. This continuation of practising, eventually, will lead to the acquisition of new skills. However, unfortunately, a part of the process that often gets overlooked is the practical implementation.

From my recent experience with learning to code, it seems as though the biggest issue blocking those from progressing is the lack of practical implementation of their learnings. A reason for this seems to be the overreliance on tutorials and learning platforms such as Udemy, in which an individual is given a false impression of learning. In most cases, it seems to me that after completing a mini-project within the course, individuals are left struggling to comprehend the logic behind what they have just built.

What is POL?

Here is a definition from edutechwiki:

Project-oriented learning engages learners in some kinds of projects that usually will lead to products. However, the main goal of the process is the learning effect and not the product in itself.

In my opinion, project-oriented learning helps accelerate your ability to grasp and understand new concepts. The reason for this is that it takes you away from your comfort zone and into the real world where problems and obstacles exist. Having to be able to solve problems, which are inevitable, is integral to the development of acquiring new skills.

In addition, structuring your learning with projects allows you to create goals and by doing so allows you to stay motivated. One major reason for people giving up on upskilling is losing motivation, this could be for any reason, however, creating projects around topics that interest you should allow you to maintain focus.

Using the MVP Framework

I've always been a fan of creating an MVP, as it allows you to test ideas out with minimal effort. The main purpose of creating an MVP is to gather feedback and to help you make improvements.

This is similar to the idea of POL, in that you take what you have been able to learn and start testing it out by creating projects. For example, if you have been learning web development your project could be 'Build a portfolio site accessible via a domain'. With this, you have a clear goal in mind which offers you the opportunity to test your knowledge. Once completed, you will have the ability to reflect on what you have built with a good understanding of the logic behind your creation.

Walk before you can run

Another important part of POL is the idea of continual learning. By this, I'm referring to building projects based on the level you are currently operating at. This way you are able to complete the project and gain experience in the subject you are learning. Going the other way and setting a goal beyond your ability could lead to disgruntlement and eventually abandonment.

A good tip would be to try to add a layer of complexity after each project that follows the path that you have set out.

For example, if you looking to learn to code, you could break it down to this:

Build a portfolio website made accessible by a domain
Create a JavaScript Calculator
Build a React weather app with OpenWeather API
Develop a Portfolio site with a blog using Next.JS and Contentful

(this is similar to the steps I have taken)

Conclusion

My idea for this commentary was to showcase the benefits of project-oriented learning. Hopefully, I have been able to help bring forth and highlight the importance of building projects to aid in the learning process.

If you are hoping to learn more about project-oriented learning, here are some additional resources: