Learning How to Learn

Learning How to Learn

Planning to pursue an informal liberal arts education wasn’t easy and straightforward, not like a degree program. When you are working on a degree or a diploma, there are core courses and electives that you have to take, but when your study is more self-directed, the possibilities are endless, which makes the process for deciding what courses to take more difficult. I decided to go the informal route because I already have two business degrees, and I didn’t think that I needed to take on the expense of taking formal courses when there are so many excellent free courses if you know where to look. I completed my Master’s degree in 1999, so I felt like I had to learn how to learn again. Learning how to learn is about personal and professional development and change.

Learning how to learn may sound very odd at first because the expectation is that if you want to learn a topic, you get started and get on with it. But it isn’t that easy, as I can attest to since I have spent nearly a year working on an informal liberal arts education. To learn effectively, many things come into play. You have to know if you are a visual, auditory or tactile learner, and no one is completely one – you are a combination of all but strongest in one. And what I figured out for myself is that you also want to know what your attention span is.

Related: Learning to Learn

At the start of my informal education, I searched for a course on learning to learn, and I found one offered by the Open University.  When I reviewed the course, it wasn’t what I considered to be a true course. It’s not audio or video, but content on a website. I printed the information and placed it in the expensive binder that I purchased to house my notes for my informal liberal arts education. I scanned the information, but that was all I did. Now that I am reviewing notes and course materials in preparation to write my book, I took the time to read through all the material on Learning How to Learn.

4 Phases of Learning How to Learn

1. Prepare: Think ahead and plan how to tackle studying.
   1. Analyze tasks
      1. Work through the text
      2. Work through reading materials.
      3. Look at all the requirements of the course.
   2. Make a plan
      1. Making a plan for learning a topic allows you to focus, gives direction and purpose, and forces you to pay attention to your learning style. A plan could be as simple as a chart with deadlines
2. Explore: By this stage, you are working through the course and preparing for assignments. Perhaps you have completed most of your studying for a section of the course.
   1. Study materials
      1. Work on course material.
      2. Access other materials to help with learning the topic.
   2. Monitor progress
      1. Know when help is needed and where to get it.
      2. Review your progress.
3. Implement: Complete the assignment.
   1. Monitor performance
      1. Check work while working on tasks.
      2. Check and recheck guidelines and criteria.
   2. Make self-assessment
      1. Self-assess work.
      2. Identify gaps between what’s required for the assignment and what you produced.
4. Review: Marked assignment provides feedback.
   1. Learn from feedback
      1. Revisit returned assignment.
      2. Act on feedback – feedback is critical for success.
   2. Review the entire process of learning how to learn
      1. Review the entire learning process.

If you are a lifelong learner, and are going the informal education route, you immediately see that there is a problem with the Learning How to Learn Model. Today, because of advances in technology and disruption in education, a lot of education is now open. This means that you have a lot of choice when it comes to which courses to take to keep your skills sharp. For most of the courses, there is no one to mark an assignment and return it to you with feedback. And for other courses, there is peer feedback. As someone who is close to completing one year of an informal liberal arts education, I recognize that self-assessment is a skill for lifelong learning and is critical for success. How do you evaluate the quality of your learning, and how it is progressing when there is no professor to determine whether you pass or fail? You have sole responsibility for your learning.

Since I have spent nearly a year working independently on an informal education, I have ideas on how to adapt the model for people who are self-directed learners.

Updated Learning How to Learn

1. Prepare: Think ahead and plan how to tackle studying. What is your rationale for taking the course(s)? What is the purpose of engaging in this activity? What is the desired outcome?
   1. Analyze tasks
      1. Scan the text
      2. Scan the reading materials.
      3. Look at all the requirements of the course.
   2. Make a plan
      1. Making a plan for learning a topic allows you to focus, gives direction and purpose, and forces you to pay attention to your learning style.
         1. Establish criteria for success – how will you know that you have mastered the information in the course?
         2. Determine the length and frequency of study sessions.
         3. You are taking the course for a reason, have a list of questions that you want answered.
         4. Create a plan that could be as simple as a chart of course activities with deadlines.
2. Explore: By this stage, you are working through the course and preparing for assignments. Perhaps you have completed most of your studying for a section of the course.
   1. Study materials
      1. Work on course material. As you work your way through the course, ask yourself the list of questions. Monitor your thoughts and actions.
      2. Take detailed notes.
      3. What are you learning?
      4. Access other materials to help with learning the topic.
   2. Monitor progress
      1. Know when help is needed and where to get it.
      2. Review your progress. What have you learned?
      3. Test your knowledge by discussing what you are learning with others.
      4. Use the information in the way that you intended to use it to see if you are getting desired results.
3. Implement: Teach your newfound knowledge to another person – apply the new learning.
   1. Monitor performance
      1. Check work while working on tasks.
      2. Check and recheck guidelines and criteria.
   2. Make self-assessment
      1. Self-assess work.
      2. Identify gaps between what’s required for the course and what you actually learned. When you taught your newfound knowledge to others, what important course concepts did you miss based on what you studied?
      3. How are you studying and learning?
4. Review: How effectively or ineffectively you apply your new learning provides feedback that you can act on.
   1. Learn from feedback
      1. Review your course notes and focus on the sections that you have not learned very well.
      2. Applying what you have learned is critical for success.
   2. Review the entire process of learning how to learn
      1. Review the entire learning process. How effective is it for you?

For me, the best way to ensure that I really learn important information is to start applying the knowledge, and I also discuss the course content with people whom I trust and like. So for instance, if you are learning a new language, find native speakers to speak the language with. And if you are taking a course to acquire a skill to enable to perform your role at work more effectively, start applying what you have learned before you complete the course. The next time you plan to take a course, or engage in any form of lifelong learning, review the phases of learning how to learn. If your learning is self-directed or independent, make sure that you self-assess your progress throughout the course.

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Author Bio: Avil Beckford, an expert interviewer, entrepreneur and published author is passionate about books and professional development, and that's why she founded The Invisible Mentor and the Virtual Literary World Tour to give you your ideal mentors virtually in the palm of your hands by offering book reviews and book summaries, biographies of wise people and interviews of successful people. Connect with me on Facebook and Twitter.

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The original image came from Pixabay via Geralt.