Learning to learn
September 7, 2024
If your school and academic experience is a typical one like mine, you may recognise this: by the time I got to university I had 12 years of school, then 3 more for a Bachelors, 2 more for a Master’s, and 4 more years for a PhD. That’s 21 years dedicated to learning - and yet, I never had a single class on “how to learn”! Did you?
My career has been one of learning and it’s so important to do it well. I've been exploring the practical side of learning science, and I'm excited to share my key takeaways with fellow lifelong learners
Set the stage
Your goals and your “why”
Set goals of what you want to learn or improve on. That creates a structure, and makes it easier to track progress and see you’re improving. It’s also a way of doing some initial research.
Understand your 'why.' Connect your learning goals to your broader ambitions. This will fuel your motivation and keep you going when things get tough
Schedule time and focus
Schedule dedicated time for learning. This reinforces your commitment and increases the likelihood of follow-through. It also signals to others that you're serious about your growth.
Focus is key during learning. Minimise distractions. If your mind wanders (which is perfectly normal), gently guide it back to the task at hand and reconnect with your 'why.
Sleep well
Sleep is crucial for two reasons: First, it's when your brain consolidates memories and processes information for long-term learning. Second, quality sleep ensures you're alert and focused for your next learning session.
Getting started
Formulate goals as a “project” you can do.
Let's say your goal is to learn programming. Frame it as a project, like 'building my own cooking app.' This provides a practical framework to apply and practise your broader learning objective.
Observing foundations and frameworks
Practice is key, but having the right foundation matters. Learn from the experts. Observe how they approach similar projects. Don't reinvent the wheel; leverage their knowledge. Refer back to expert examples as you progress
Doing it
Do the actual thing
Learning by doing is essential. Once you have a grasp of expert approaches, dive in and start practising. Avoid 'proxy' activities. If you want to be a great cook, spend less time reading recipes and more time in the kitchen.
Chunks of knowledge
As you progress, you'll encounter specific knowledge areas that require deeper understanding. Take the time to explore these 'chunks' and then apply them back to your project. For instance, if you're building your cooking app and encounter Object-Oriented Programming, master it before moving on."
Testing and Recall
Active recall is powerful. Test yourself after learning something new. Take notes, answer questions, and reflect on what you've retained. Then, check your understanding. This process solidifies learning.
Quantity and Variability
Practice makes perfect, but variety is key. If it's a physical skill, change your environment, tools, and collaborators. Learning to play an instrument? Practise different songs with different musicians. If it's theoretical, explore diverse sources and problem-solving approaches
Set the right level
If it feels too easy, you're likely not growing. Embrace the challenge. Learning should stretch your abilities. If you're already proficient, try adding constraints to push your boundaries. Paint without colour or cook without your go-to ingredients.
Feedback
Feedback is essential. Seek it actively. Ask for input, compare your work to others, or have someone review your progress. Test what you’re building and test yourself.
Teach
Teaching is a great way to consolidate and validate your knowledge. To teach something (well) if you have to know it well. Teaching also helps you organise your knowledge and will confront you with the perspectives and questions of others. These will teach you new things and test your own knowledge.
Other points
Offset forgetting: spaced repetition and interleaving
If something is important then practise it frequently with some time in between. Focus on something you want to learn, but then change, and come back to it (interleave it). If you change to a different but related topic, you make connections that are less obvious if you don’t mix your learning.
The illusion of competence:
Beware: recognising something is not the same as actually knowing it. When you want to be good at something you’ll need to be able to do it or recall it to mind or practice without help.
Stories, metaphors, and emotions
The human brain organises knowledge in stories in the physical world. Learn by association with a powerful emotion or story. At the same time, be in control of what you want to learn - don’t let other people’s stories decide what you know
Connect and reflect
Reflect on what you know - test your knowledge in your mind. Think about how you integrate your knowledge in your day to day activities. For example, if you’re thinking about communication, connect it to conversations you have or will have.
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These ideas are my summary of having read or listened to: Barbara Oakley PhD, Scott Young, Andrew Huberman PhD, Terrence Sejnowski PhD , Mark McDaniel PhD, Henry Roediger PhD.