Just In Time Learning (Atomic Essay Day 16)

My college professor you used to talk about the difference between learning just in-time and learning just incase.

Just in-time learning is when you learn something exactly when you need to. Imagine you’re living alone for the first time and you’re craving dal khichdi. You call up your mom, ask her for the recipe and make it for dinner that night.

Just incase learning is when you learn something incase you might need in the future. Now imagine all the time that you were living at home and your mom asked you to learn how to cook. Or if you were forced how to learn how to make pulao that one day.

It’s safe to say that in the first case, the chances of you remembering the recipe is much higher. Plus the fact that you would have enjoyed the process of learning how to make that meal, and ended up feeling proud of yourself too. Because you know where you’re going to use what you learn, learning just in time is more relevant and increases your motivation to learn something.

Unfortunately, for most of our traditional education system we learn just incase and not just in-time. However, this can be a really powerful tool when you're learning as an adult. So the next time that you are struggling to learn something do ask yourself if you’re learning in-time or incase!