Meet Carolina Gracia Moreno, Learning & Solutions Expert

Our series of portraits continues... Today, we are happy to give you the opportunity to meet Carolina Gracia Moreno, Learning & Solutions Project Manager Consultant.

The aim of this series of portraits is to present the team behind the scene who day after day ensure that the Cegos solutions available on the market remain innovative and reflect the high quality level our partners and customers can expect. You previously had the opportunity to meet Hanelise Wagner,Liliana Louro, Zairo Samssudin, Mario Stofenmacher, Christelle Delavaud, Nuno Moreira and Elise Racinais. Today, we invite you to read about Carolina's perspective on the evolution of learnability and how AI will impact it.

Let's find out what Carolina has to say about it.

Could you share an overview of your background and expertise in Learning?

After completing my triple master's degree in media engineering for education in 2013 (specialising in education, information and communication sciences), I did a PhD on the subject of "Innovating in digital technology for collaboration and learning". My intention was to investigate the level of learning and collaboration of secondary school students around individual and collective digital devices. To achieve this, I explored 'learnability' through educational mind map activities in groups of 4 secondary school pupils. I worked on 3 concrete steps in learning: socio-cognitive conflict, scaffolding and vicariousness. I observed :

• how the pupils learned individually and collectively, by observation and imitation,
• what their individual mental representations were, and
• how the group could influence changes in representation and even behaviour.

Analysing the results, I came to understand the importance of the affective aspect of the group, and the impact of emotions and relationships on the group's output.

What is learnability and why is it becoming increasingly essential in today's rapidly changing landscape?

Learnability is the skill that helps us to break out of our automatisms and rigid mental patterns and to accept new mental models in order to remain relevant on a daily basis. It's about having a constantly inquisitive mind, staying alert and putting what you learn into practice. It also involves unlearning, in other words, abandoning old habits, adapting to change and accepting mistakes.

For example, in the module we have developed, the fictional character Joanna has certain habits when it comes to using the tools associated with her job. After a while she feels overwhelmed because the tools are evolving. She's curious and motivated to learn, but that's not enough. She soon finds herself overloaded by too much information.

Today, it's essential to keep an alert and critical mind when faced with information (true or false) in the multitude of media. It's essential to know how to analyse, sort and select information based on its relevance to our day-to-day needs. The ability to learn brings together different stages such as paying attention to information, understanding it in the light of our existing knowledge, and memorising it through repetition. Learning opportunities depend on each person's experiences in different environments. This will influence our perception through our cognitive biases, our emotions and our motivation, among other factors.

You have developed the new "Develop your ability to learn" module in Discover format. Could you tell us more about it?

By the time they have completed this module, learners will have succeeded in identifying the keys to developing their ability to learn. Thus, they will be more at ease in their day-to-day lives and better able to cope with the changes in their professional lives.

• (Re)question the way of learning and memorising
• Dealing with cognitive obstacles and biases
• Develop new habits

This module raises awareness of certain knowledge and habits that can quickly become obsolete and block our progress. We look at the importance of abandoning past successes and innovating with new methods to achieve our goals.

What are the crucial skills or strategies that learners can expect to acquire through this module?

Being open to new information, being constantly on the lookout, developing curiosity, adapting to change, managing attention and concentration better, being humble about what you already know, being empathetic, etc.

What advice would you give someone who is 'closed' to learning new things to help them open up and question themselves?

To quote Montesquieu, the Romans became masters of the world because they always gave up their own practices as soon as they found better ones. Choosing to remain "closed to learning new things" is like giving up on human progress. In the same way we learn to walk, then run, then drive, it's essential to challenge ourselves to embrace new knowledge and new practices that can make our daily lives more enjoyable.

As AI progresses, how do you see the evolution of the learning ability and what implications might this have for individuals and organisations?

As humans, we have a responsibility to learn, unlearn and relearn in order to constantly adapt. AI is progressing and we are progressing with AI. Our ability to learn today is based on how we take advantage of this technology to improve our day-to-day work together. It's not a question of opposing human beings to technology, but of working with it, in line with changes in society and the environment. We have been able to do this with the arrival of each new information and communication technology, such as printers, computers, smartphones…

Professions change according to the technologies of each era. I believe in human intelligence and the ability to adapt, and that requires preparation, open-mindedness and motivation. Faced with the risks of security and the accuracy of information linked to generative artificial intelligence, it is essential to establish a framework for regulating the use of AI in different environments. This also means taking individual responsibility for developing a critical mind and ongoing training.

Finally, in the same way that we are questioning the impact of AI on our ability to learn, it is essential to ask ourselves how we can unlearn our ways of doing things that have a negative impact on the environment, in other words, learn to do what we are already doing, but better and with less consumption. We all face a major challenge in developing new habits to reduce our carbon footprint, on an individual, corporate and global scale.

Related information

To benefit from a demo of the "Develop your ability to learn" module, we invite you to contact us. Should you wish to find out how can Cegos help your team better learn, visit our catalogue on soft skills page.