Finally we come to the last of the LSP styles for channelling the basic learning drive (also called sensation seeking). This is the deep learning style. Deep learning is pure learning for its own sake – learning because you love learning for the intellectual interest, rather than as a means to an end. In some ways, deep learning is the opposite of goal orientation.
The positive of deep learning is that the learner will gain greater insight and understanding of a subject. They will read around the subject, chase up odd facts and ask questions about what they have already learnt. The deep learner is thus able to grow a rich and complex picture of their subject, or in the jargon of educational psychology, a rich semantic network. The great advantage of this is two fold. Firstly the personal satisfaction of learning a subject well can be profound, but secondly it can have great practical benefits when applying the material, as the learner has a reserve of knowledge and understanding which they can bring to bear on unexpected problems, which might flummox the purely goal-orientated learner.
So it’s all good, no? Well no. Deep learning involves making a deep investment in a subject. Deep investments can provide great returns, but like any investment they also involve an element of risk. While you are spending hours pouring over all those fascinating details and chasing up those wonderful intricate tangents, what’s happening to the goal? And what’s happening to the rest of your team members? A deep intellectual investment has to be judged like a financial investment – are you likely to get a return on the investment, and are you likely to get it quickly enough to be worthwhile? Answer that, and you know how much personal time and energy it’s worth for you and your desired outcome.
