Learning to Generate Knowledge is easy!

I decided to dig my files and read again some of the essays I wrote back when I was studying at the University of Melbourne. I pick a short draft from my first semester for a subject called Trans-disciplinary Thinking and Learning to be the first to share here. The draft was dated 24 July 2007 and was quite messy. However, it was quite interesting to see my thinking and my writing skills back in 2007. So, I decided to do quite a rewrite and give it a touch-up.

I attended a lecture where the lecturer said that we have to be able to generate knowledge from the information we receive. However, what would be the not-so-obvious way of producing knowledge then? What about dealing with problems, or to make it sound positive, “dealing with challenges”, that people tend to avoid and be unhappy about.

I think dealing with challenges in some ways allows us to generate knowledge. When we face a challenging situation, we receive a lot of information about what makes the situation challenging. Then, to improve the situation or make it less challenging, we need to find the solution. The process of discerning information to find a solution is the process of generating knowledge – the knowledge we need to find and choose the best solution.

I define a challenging situation as a change process in which we can reflect on. We live our lives with some life-changing events as a result of our interaction with the environment and the people around us.

We live our lives with some life-changing events as a result of our interaction with the environment and the people around us.

For example, a challenging situation we face at work. With every job I do, I always fill myself with confidence, goodwill and positive thinking. I learn from my colleagues. I also pay attention to what they do and listen to what they say. If I don’t understand I will ask questions.

No matter how prepared I am, sooner or later I will face a challenging situation that makes me feel confused and sad. Although I always come with good intention, some people disagree with me.

Being in a challenging situation is not a pleasant experience. However, it is inevitable that we experience it. Therefore, the best way to make the best out of it is to consider that challenging situation gives us an opportunity to learn.

No matter how prepared I am, sooner or later I will face a challenging situation that makes me feel confused and sad.

We gather information about what happens, why it happens or how it happens. Then, we talk to our colleagues, read some books or articles about it, consult with people who can help and do so many other things in which we receive information. Then, we use this information to find the options we can take to improve the situation and choose the best solution to help us get out of the challenging situation.

Dealing with a challenging situation is a learning process where we use the information to generate knowledge to find the solutions. With the knowledge we produce, we can also learn a better way to deal with challenging situations in the future.