With the Coronavirus pandemic “lockdown” has become “word of the year”. This is attributed to the Coronavirus and its threat that has completely changed the way most of the world has experienced and lived the year 2020.
While Coronavirus did not make it as “word of the year”, has gave the word “lockdown” this place.
It has been on everyone’s mind. This is not the first coronavirus, neither is it the first virus to cause harm to humans. It is not the only germ that we all must be worried about. It is one of the many microbes that we live with in this world.
Somehow while thinking about this, I got this idea of comparing the microbes with the Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes (KSA) that are critical to human development, behavior and action.
They are certainly not the same but have some common characteristics. The article is an attempt to use the comparison to help teachers, trainers and learning development professionals remember and understand some key concepts associated with effective learning. For the focus of the discussion we will mostly keep limited to the comparison with bacteria.
We live with microbes and they play a very important role in our lives. The quantity, quality and nature of these microbes determine the impact they have on our lives. They cannot be seen but they live with or within our bodies. The same is true for knowledge, skills and attitudes. They cannot be seen but they are within us and play a major role in our lives.
We are not born with bacteria but we acquire them as we are born and as we grow up. The microbes that live in the human body change during our growth and mostly stabilize by a certain age. Each individual has his or her own microbiota which depends in part, but not only, on several factors. These include the type of food consumed, the environment around the person, and other people and living beings that the persons lives with and interacts with. This is quite similar to human beings. Each individual learns and acquires knowledge, skills and attitudes and is unique in his or her own competencies and abilities. This is even as we may go to the schools that teach the same subjects, study the same curriculum within a large group. Yet what we acquire is affected significantly by the source, the environment, and the people around us.
Certain microorganisms colonize themselves on our body. In the same way, depending on our interest and efforts we gain aptitude in certain knowledge and skills. The quality of these knowledge and skills helps us accomplish certain tasks and protect ourselves from risks or failures.
More than a thousand types of bacteria are found in the gut that help maintain our health, produce products beneficial to the body, and protect it. However there are some bad microbes also known as pathogens that cause diseases. Human beings mostly use the knowledge and skills to perform tasks and live a good life. However incorrect knowledge, skills and especially bad attitudes can lead to faulty and bad actions that can get us into trouble.
Often pre-biotics and probiotics are required to be taken to improve or fix the deficit in the good bacteria. This is comparable to undertaking courses and training programs as we continue with lifelong learning.
To summarise, in order to have a good set of knowledge, skills and attitudes and succeed in life, we must:
- Consume good and correct information. Teachers and experts act as the source.
- Focus on certain areas to develop expertise (colonization)
- Teachers to provide the right environment to allow knowledge and skills to flourish
- To be surrounded by good people. You may already know that you’re the average of all the people who surround you. Therefore ensure that you’re in the right surroundings. A derivative of this concept is “show me your friends and I’ll show you your future”.
- Use the knowledge, skills and attitudes
Finally given that microbes spread from one person to another, remember this final note. Such spread does not take away the microbes from the person transferring them. Become a super-spreader of your good knowledge, skills and attitudes. It is the greatest gift you can give others.