Learning How To Learn

I have been procrastinating in posting on this topic, and I have been directed back to it on several occasions. For starters my friend just started Law school and he has been making a concerted effort to put measures in place so that he can steer his own learning based on his preferred learning style and the nature of the subject matter. The big term in education /psychology for this is metacognition. The prefix meta means about self… person’s in technology may be familiar with the term meta data, which is data about data. I think this definition captures it well: Meta: A prefix meaning one level of description higher. If X is some concept then meta-X is data about, or processes operating on, X.

So what is metacognition?
Metacognition emerges from the school of cognitive psychology. It consists of two basic processes occurring simultaneously: monitoring your progress as you learn, and making changes and adapting your strategies if you perceive you are not doing so well.

Experiences
My first formal exposure to the term metacognition was at The University of the West Indies in Jamaica, where for my Managing Learning Difficulties class we were told that when learners are encouraged to reflect on the learning process it makes learning easier and they take control. So we used strategies like modeling and think aloud, thus making learners aware of the thinking/cognitive process. A lot of processes that seem natural to us are very difficult for learners in difficulty and they have to explicitly learn them. I used metacognitive strategies during teaching practice and they worked great.
Personally I don't soak up information very well unless I can relate to it. So whenever I am learning something new I try to find some area where it can be applied so it can be relevant to me. Because I am conscious of the way I learn and think I have been able to manipulate my formal learning experiences to work in my favour.

Strategies
Metacognition is for everyone even though the strategies have proved helpful to learners in difficulty. Eric Digest outlines 3 basic metacognition steps in their article Developing Metacognition:
1. Connecting new information to former knowledge.
2. Selecting thinking strategies deliberately.
3. Planning, monitoring, and evaluating thinking processes.


Metacognition is very important and is best cultivated from early. Once students realize that they can control and determine their own learning they are no longer solely dependent on the teacher. For example: If a teacher mostly talks in class and a student realizes that listening is not effective but when they make notes or do diagrams it helps them; even though the teacher doesn’t give diagrams that student will still learn as he/she has discovered what works and can regulate their own learning.

Parents and teachers should make a concerted effort to develop these skills in children/students this will create a thinking and adaptable workforce which is what the 21st century demands. As adults it’s not to late to start practicing some of these strategies you will find learning becomes easier and in some cases fun.

For more metacognition strategies see Julie Halter's article: “KNOWING HOW TO LEARN, and knowing which strategies work best, are valuable skills that differentiate expert learners from novice learner”

Aside: Last week I did a strengths assessment from Gallup through the book Strengths Finder 2.0. And one of my top five themes was Learner; I guess I got this metacognition thing going.

Learner Theme Description: People who are especially talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.

• What strategies have you used to help you learn?
• Do you find that some strategies are good in some learning situations and not in others?
• Share some of your strategies and learning experiences!