We read a lot. We watch movies. We hear words. We attend seminars. We participate in discussions. We attend different exhibits. These were just some of the ways we learn things.

In continuation of my financial literacy education, I watched a video called “The Cone of Learning” discussing the different ways of how we learn things discussed by Kiyosaki. In this video, he discussed the different ways of learning things from the least effective to the most effective way.

 

In his discussion, Kiyosaki identified a study conducted by a professor from Arizona State University way back in 1969 called The Cone of Learning. Just like with income, there’s an active and passive way of learning things.

Let’s start from the least effective to the most effective, which is from passive to active learning.

Let’s Tackle Passive Learning:

Reading. The least effective way of learning things is by reading. A lot of times, we forget what we have read especially if it does not picked our interest. According to the study, after 2 weeks, we tend to learn 10% of what we read.

Hearing Words or Lecture. The second worst way of learning things is by hearing words or lecture. This is I think true sometimes as we easily memorize the lyrics of song that we usually hear than we learn from the books that we read. Again, if it did not pick our interest, we usually get bored or fell asleep during classes when our teacher gives a boring talk or lecture. According to the study, after 2 weeks, we tend to learn 20% of what we hear.

Looking at Pictures. The third worst way of learning things is by looking at pictures. They say that pictures speak louder than words. According to the study, after 2 weeks, we tend to learn 30% of what we see in a picture.

Watching a Demonstration. The next level of learning things is by watching a demonstration, seeing it done on location or watching a movie. We now use two senses here as we both see and hear it. According to the study, after 2 weeks, we tend to learn 50% of what we see and hear.

From Passive Learning, we now go to Active Learning:

Participating in a Discussion. The next level of learning things is by giving a talk or participation in a discussion. Participating in a discussion allows us to think deeper of the things that we have read and the things that we heard. It stimulates our mind. According to the study, after 2 weeks, we tend to learn 70% of the things we say.

Doing a dramatic presentation. The next level of learning is by doing a dramatic presentation or by simulating the real experience. This is where the cashflow game of Kiyosaki comes in, as it is one of the most effective tools in financial education simulating the real world of finance, investments, and business. According to the study, after 2 weeks, we tend to learn 90% of what we say and do.

Doing the Real Thing. As they say, “experience is the best teacher”; the best way of learning things is by doing the real thing. If we want to learn things, the best way to do is to get our feet wet, experience it on real life, and surpass the challenges along the way. According to the study, after 2 weeks, we tend to learn 90+% of what we say and do.

The Cone of Learning is like steps that we need to walk into in order to learn things to prepare us for doing the real thing. We must not go directly into doing the real thing unless we are confident enough with our knowledge since the risks are very high. And oftentimes, we cannot edit what we have done.

We must not also just entrust our money to the services of brokers such as stockbrokers or real estate brokers as Kiyosaki said that they were called “brokers” because they were broker than us.

It is therefore advised that we must not stick ourselves by just reading books or hearing seminars but most importantly, we must ACT. If you want to learn business, then engage yourself in a business. If you want to learn the stock market, then do stock market trading with your own money. If you want to learn mutual funds, then invest your money in mutual funds. If you want to learn real estate investments, then invest in it and buy some properties.

If we want to achieve great things in life, we must not be contented with attending seminars or learning from our mentors but we must do the real thing. Experience is still the one and only best teacher!

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