As someone who went from the private sector to being an instructor, I am a firm believer in the importance of lifelong learning. Of course we are all engaged in some form of learning, whether it be at home, at work, or in a formal setting in a school. During my journey in becoming an instructor, I have taken many courses. The first was the Instructional Skills Workshop. This was followed by various short courses to learn the software and hardware used at my college on the Learning Management System, SharePoint, and other applications used for instructional support. Some non-formal courses were put on by equipment vendors as equipment upgrades were introduced at my school. I have also taken less formal courses on various Web 2.0 tools that can help me in the classroom.
Improving my skills in the classroom is very important to me, which is why I am enrolled in the PID program. Formal courses are not the only way to improve though. I can take apart a pump or a valve to see what it looks like inside and improve my knowledge that way through experiential learning as described by Kolb in his Learning Styles Inventory. I have subscriptions to various journals, both technical and some dealing with vocational education. Although Learning is something I plan and schedule for, it can also happen spontaneously or even inadvertently.
The final piece in the learning puzzle is reflection on my learning to help synthesize it with my existing knowledge.
I found this TED talk on lifelong learning by President Bill Clinton very insightful on the power of reflection and lifelong learning.
References
Kolb, A. Y. (2005). The Kolb learning style inventory—version 3.1 2005 technical specifications. Boston, MA: Hay Resource Direct, 200.
Clinton, W. (03/21/2014) On Lifelong Learning retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_nUOfaWEC4