How to learn how to learn
June 24, 2010 11:45 PM Subscribe
What does the statement "I learned how to learn" mean? How can I learn how to learn?
I read a statement on the green a few weeks ago that said in essence "I don't know that I learned much when I was there, but I learned how to learn". It stuck with me because, even though I have an advanced degree, I suspect that maybe I have never learned how to truly learn things.
The reason I say this is because when I was in school, and even now when I take certification classes, I basically memorize what I need to know for the test, but days later, even though I understand the basic concepts, I no longer retain the details of what I "learned". I end up feeling like I only have a surface understanding of the topic, rather than an in-depth understanding.
Please tell me, first, what it means to learn how to learn, and second, what techniques I might use to more effectively learn things and retain that knowledge (without feeling like I am just memorizing facts).
I read a statement on the green a few weeks ago that said in essence "I don't know that I learned much when I was there, but I learned how to learn". It stuck with me because, even though I have an advanced degree, I suspect that maybe I have never learned how to truly learn things.
The reason I say this is because when I was in school, and even now when I take certification classes, I basically memorize what I need to know for the test, but days later, even though I understand the basic concepts, I no longer retain the details of what I "learned". I end up feeling like I only have a surface understanding of the topic, rather than an in-depth understanding.
Please tell me, first, what it means to learn how to learn, and second, what techniques I might use to more effectively learn things and retain that knowledge (without feeling like I am just memorizing facts).
I don't know if this is what you mean, but I found out how I retain information best and that helped me learn.
For example, I'm a visual learner. If I see a diagram or a graphic I am very likely to remember it. If somebody tells me something or I have to sit through a lecture I am sure to lose the information very quickly. I did horribly in Algebra but really well in Geometry because the shapes made sense to me and the equations didn't. I also did well in English classes because I have a good imagination and I could 'picture' what I was reading.
Once I realized that's how I learn I could focus on learning in a way that meant I would get the most out of a lesson. If a lesson didn't have any kind of visual aid I would try to draw one of my own or picture the lesson in my mind. That's how I got through history, I'd remember the events vividly but I'd get confused about the date until I pictured William the Conqueror with a big 1066 across his chest (or something like that.)
I think there are tests you can take that will tell you what kind of a "learner" you are, maybe you can look into those.
posted by TooFewShoes at 12:02 AM on June 25, 2010
For example, I'm a visual learner. If I see a diagram or a graphic I am very likely to remember it. If somebody tells me something or I have to sit through a lecture I am sure to lose the information very quickly. I did horribly in Algebra but really well in Geometry because the shapes made sense to me and the equations didn't. I also did well in English classes because I have a good imagination and I could 'picture' what I was reading.
Once I realized that's how I learn I could focus on learning in a way that meant I would get the most out of a lesson. If a lesson didn't have any kind of visual aid I would try to draw one of my own or picture the lesson in my mind. That's how I got through history, I'd remember the events vividly but I'd get confused about the date until I pictured William the Conqueror with a big 1066 across his chest (or something like that.)
I think there are tests you can take that will tell you what kind of a "learner" you are, maybe you can look into those.
posted by TooFewShoes at 12:02 AM on June 25, 2010
You can't teach how to learn to learn, you learn by doing. It's such an individual thing. You have try to do something, using your intuition and gusto and just go for broke.
Everything else *is* simply memorization.
You already know how teach yourself. Think about how well you are at speaking your native language. There's a lot of that you just picked up, because you tried it and used it.
Much the same for everything else.
Another example: the way computers work? Running problems? That's the opposite of what you want to do.
Sorry it's such a, je ne sais quoi conundrum, but, put your lips together and blow, think of a happy thought, find your spirit animal and let go of what you're afraid of.
And fail. A lot. A lot more than you think would be possible. Thus is the secret to most people who seem to be naturals, at everything.
posted by alex_skazat at 12:07 AM on June 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
Everything else *is* simply memorization.
You already know how teach yourself. Think about how well you are at speaking your native language. There's a lot of that you just picked up, because you tried it and used it.
Much the same for everything else.
Another example: the way computers work? Running problems? That's the opposite of what you want to do.
Sorry it's such a, je ne sais quoi conundrum, but, put your lips together and blow, think of a happy thought, find your spirit animal and let go of what you're afraid of.
And fail. A lot. A lot more than you think would be possible. Thus is the secret to most people who seem to be naturals, at everything.
posted by alex_skazat at 12:07 AM on June 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
Learning how to learn could mean any number of things. In the context of a college/university course it could mean knowing to go to office hours for help when something doesn't make sense instead of just trying to push through it, or knowing that it's very beneficial to form study groups as trying to explain something to another person is the best test of whether you understand it yourself. It could also mean that you have established how to strike a balance between listening to what the lecturer is actually saying (and maybe not writing every single word down) and participating by asking questions versus remaining silent the whole time, frantically transcribing everything and then assuming it will make sense later as you re-copy your notes.
Or maybe it means something along the lines of what dirtynumbangelboy said, where you get far enough along into a particular field that you start seeing how the separate courses you've been taking all come together and inter-relate, and that after realizing this you start to see the 'whys' behind things that you had previously just been told were so.
posted by Rhomboid at 12:10 AM on June 25, 2010
Or maybe it means something along the lines of what dirtynumbangelboy said, where you get far enough along into a particular field that you start seeing how the separate courses you've been taking all come together and inter-relate, and that after realizing this you start to see the 'whys' behind things that you had previously just been told were so.
posted by Rhomboid at 12:10 AM on June 25, 2010
If you have a fact that you are memorising, you could research
- Who discovered this fact and what it meant at the time. Was there some other technological breakthrough that allowed them to discover it?
- What people have done with the information since and how they have built on it.
- What practical experiment you could make to demonstrate it.
- What the implications are of the fact: for example, why you don't fry a creme caramel!
You could make yourself a small project to help you understand further. For example: Someone tells you that egg yolks set at 70°. So you could decide to work out how to use a temperature controlled water bath to make the perfect boiled egg, or the perfect custard.
Then, when someone asks you about egg proteins, you will just think back to your custard project, rather than sitting wondering whether some lecturer said 30° or 70° or 110°.
posted by emilyw at 12:31 AM on June 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
- Who discovered this fact and what it meant at the time. Was there some other technological breakthrough that allowed them to discover it?
- What people have done with the information since and how they have built on it.
- What practical experiment you could make to demonstrate it.
- What the implications are of the fact: for example, why you don't fry a creme caramel!
You could make yourself a small project to help you understand further. For example: Someone tells you that egg yolks set at 70°. So you could decide to work out how to use a temperature controlled water bath to make the perfect boiled egg, or the perfect custard.
Then, when someone asks you about egg proteins, you will just think back to your custard project, rather than sitting wondering whether some lecturer said 30° or 70° or 110°.
posted by emilyw at 12:31 AM on June 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
Learning How To Learn means knowing (and being good at) strategies for answering questions and completing tasks. For instance, let's say you need to know who ruled England immediately after Queen Victoria. How do you find out?
You look it up, of course. One simple way you (hopefully) learned how to learn is by knowing your way around reference materials. Do you know them really well? What if you need to look up a piece of music? A graphical symbol? A line from a poem? A mathematical formula? Do you know where to find all these things, online and off?
When I was a grad student in a theatre program, I taught an undergrad directing 101 class. The first unit I devised was about research. For fun, I made a reference-material scavenger hunt. I came up with ten questions, the answers to all of which could be found in the reference room in the school library. I took my students there and set them loose to find the answers. I was shocked that the most any were able to answer was two! These students had failed to learn a big part of how-to-learn. (Not their fault. It's the fault of their shameful highschool teachers.)
There are many other tried-and-true ways to learn. A bunch of them are bundled under the name Scientific Method. In other words, if you're trying to figure something out that you can't look up, you might be able to find it out via rigorous observation and experimentation. As with research skills, the Scientific Method is generally not taught in U.S. schools.
Along with the Scientific Method, formal logic is really useful for being able to mine the most out of disparate facts.
Then, there are a ton of practical means people have come up with to help them solve complex problems -- the most famous (and most continually useful) being to break big problems into smaller problems, grappling with the lowest-hanging-fruit first. It's surprising how many people don't know to do this. They look at a huge problem as one monolithic thing and have no idea where to begin.
Finally (in terms of what's popping into my mind at the moment), there are various brainstorming tools: making lists, mind maps, free writing, lateral-thinking exercises. These help you access stuff you know but don't know that you know. They also help you make surprising connections between things.
Everything I wrote about above is pretty obvious. But like all mental disciplines, only useful via practice. It's not enough to know what the Scientific Method is. You need to practice it constantly. When you have a problem, you shouldn't have to think ... hmm ... maybe I'll try the Scientific Method. The Method should just always be there, like a wrench that's forever in your hand. It should be a very comfortable, well-worn tool.
In my experience of American public schools, they never teach how to learn. All they do is give you stuff to memorize. And many people get by their entire careers without needing to learn how to learn. They just need to recall a set of memorized facts and steps needed for their jobs.
posted by grumblebee at 1:52 AM on June 25, 2010 [5 favorites]
You look it up, of course. One simple way you (hopefully) learned how to learn is by knowing your way around reference materials. Do you know them really well? What if you need to look up a piece of music? A graphical symbol? A line from a poem? A mathematical formula? Do you know where to find all these things, online and off?
When I was a grad student in a theatre program, I taught an undergrad directing 101 class. The first unit I devised was about research. For fun, I made a reference-material scavenger hunt. I came up with ten questions, the answers to all of which could be found in the reference room in the school library. I took my students there and set them loose to find the answers. I was shocked that the most any were able to answer was two! These students had failed to learn a big part of how-to-learn. (Not their fault. It's the fault of their shameful highschool teachers.)
There are many other tried-and-true ways to learn. A bunch of them are bundled under the name Scientific Method. In other words, if you're trying to figure something out that you can't look up, you might be able to find it out via rigorous observation and experimentation. As with research skills, the Scientific Method is generally not taught in U.S. schools.
Along with the Scientific Method, formal logic is really useful for being able to mine the most out of disparate facts.
Then, there are a ton of practical means people have come up with to help them solve complex problems -- the most famous (and most continually useful) being to break big problems into smaller problems, grappling with the lowest-hanging-fruit first. It's surprising how many people don't know to do this. They look at a huge problem as one monolithic thing and have no idea where to begin.
Finally (in terms of what's popping into my mind at the moment), there are various brainstorming tools: making lists, mind maps, free writing, lateral-thinking exercises. These help you access stuff you know but don't know that you know. They also help you make surprising connections between things.
Everything I wrote about above is pretty obvious. But like all mental disciplines, only useful via practice. It's not enough to know what the Scientific Method is. You need to practice it constantly. When you have a problem, you shouldn't have to think ... hmm ... maybe I'll try the Scientific Method. The Method should just always be there, like a wrench that's forever in your hand. It should be a very comfortable, well-worn tool.
In my experience of American public schools, they never teach how to learn. All they do is give you stuff to memorize. And many people get by their entire careers without needing to learn how to learn. They just need to recall a set of memorized facts and steps needed for their jobs.
posted by grumblebee at 1:52 AM on June 25, 2010 [5 favorites]
To me it means trying to get as good as possible at two things:
1. Paying attention. Put like that, it sounds so obvious as to be stupid. But recent brain studies have shown that actively focusing, paying attention, causes new information to imprint itself more permanently on the neurons than just sort-of paying attention. It's the difference between, say, following a debate over whether you should be executed vs having a TV blare at you in a bar. You can feel the difference when you switch over to paying-attention mode.
2. Enjoying the caveats, inconsistencies and exceptions to what you just learned. Many areas of knowledge have general rules then, as you go deeper, exceptions. That irritates some people. "You just told me it's A, and now it's B? I'm outta here!" But prize those caveats and yes-buts, expect them, and your resistance to learning new things is lowered. Language study, for example, is like this. I get a little burst of joy when I learn grammatical exceptions or odd ways of saying things appropriate to limited situations.
posted by mono blanco at 2:14 AM on June 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
1. Paying attention. Put like that, it sounds so obvious as to be stupid. But recent brain studies have shown that actively focusing, paying attention, causes new information to imprint itself more permanently on the neurons than just sort-of paying attention. It's the difference between, say, following a debate over whether you should be executed vs having a TV blare at you in a bar. You can feel the difference when you switch over to paying-attention mode.
2. Enjoying the caveats, inconsistencies and exceptions to what you just learned. Many areas of knowledge have general rules then, as you go deeper, exceptions. That irritates some people. "You just told me it's A, and now it's B? I'm outta here!" But prize those caveats and yes-buts, expect them, and your resistance to learning new things is lowered. Language study, for example, is like this. I get a little burst of joy when I learn grammatical exceptions or odd ways of saying things appropriate to limited situations.
posted by mono blanco at 2:14 AM on June 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
Nice question.
I didn't learn how to learn until I was in grad school. I guess I was just a bit slow. In highschool and college I took French, Spanish, Latin, Greek and then Akkadian. It wasn't until Akkadian that I figured out how to learn a language. Previously I had done all the right things, my homework, notecards, gone to class, etc, but had never really learned any languages.
Later on I finally realized that I was trying to learn in too big of chunks. I couldn't memorize 20 words and their meanings at once with flash cards. I just couldn't keep it all in my memory at one time. So I wasted a lot of time studying that was never leaving my short term memory. Once I hit Akkadian (and all those nasty cuneiform signs) I realized that I could only memorize 4 or so at a time. I spent more time on the initial output, but it was at least getting to my long term memory.
I also learned that even though I'm a visual learner that is I never look away from the page and visualize it then I'm not learning, I'm just reading. I had to actually test myself on the page. Same for homework, if I look up every answer in the book, then I really haven't learned anything. In fact in language learning now I really prefer Pimsleur or other related products. Since I'm definitely not an auditory learner I have to really concentrate to learn using those programs so ultimately I'm more successful.
Unfortunately I don't know any of the other languages now. I lost a lot of time not knowing how to study.
posted by aetg at 4:36 AM on June 25, 2010
I didn't learn how to learn until I was in grad school. I guess I was just a bit slow. In highschool and college I took French, Spanish, Latin, Greek and then Akkadian. It wasn't until Akkadian that I figured out how to learn a language. Previously I had done all the right things, my homework, notecards, gone to class, etc, but had never really learned any languages.
Later on I finally realized that I was trying to learn in too big of chunks. I couldn't memorize 20 words and their meanings at once with flash cards. I just couldn't keep it all in my memory at one time. So I wasted a lot of time studying that was never leaving my short term memory. Once I hit Akkadian (and all those nasty cuneiform signs) I realized that I could only memorize 4 or so at a time. I spent more time on the initial output, but it was at least getting to my long term memory.
I also learned that even though I'm a visual learner that is I never look away from the page and visualize it then I'm not learning, I'm just reading. I had to actually test myself on the page. Same for homework, if I look up every answer in the book, then I really haven't learned anything. In fact in language learning now I really prefer Pimsleur or other related products. Since I'm definitely not an auditory learner I have to really concentrate to learn using those programs so ultimately I'm more successful.
Unfortunately I don't know any of the other languages now. I lost a lot of time not knowing how to study.
posted by aetg at 4:36 AM on June 25, 2010
Before you start grade school, you may be anxious as to whether you can learn a subject, a technique, etc. Example: when I was first in a music class I asked if we'll have to learn to read music. I was told, no. I thought the teacher meant for that year only, so I asked to confirm and was very happy when she said that it won't be required at all. My anxiety was due to the fact that music notation looks like hieroglyphs to me. "This looks like chinese to me." "This is greek to me." Did you ever feel intimidated when looking at advanced math formulas with squiggly lines, integrals, cotangenses, greek letters? That's what I'm talking about.
However, if you keep learning different things, eventually you find that it's not a function of ability or cleverness but of time. When enough time and energy are thrown at a thing, it gets learned, almost by magic. (Well, technically, exactly by magic.)
Another way to look at this is that when you're learning something new, if, say, you're under pressure of very limited time - an extreme example would be your diving unit breaking down and you having exactly 3 minutes to fix it, etc, - your full attention is understandably on learning how to fix it asap. On the other hand, if you're not under much pressure, you can spend some attention on the process of learning itself - never mind what you're actually learning, but looking back and thinking how you could have learned the same things more efficiently. That'd include time management, memory training, learning to use libraries, google fu, concentration, meditation, setting up study environment.
posted by rainy at 4:42 AM on June 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
However, if you keep learning different things, eventually you find that it's not a function of ability or cleverness but of time. When enough time and energy are thrown at a thing, it gets learned, almost by magic. (Well, technically, exactly by magic.)
Another way to look at this is that when you're learning something new, if, say, you're under pressure of very limited time - an extreme example would be your diving unit breaking down and you having exactly 3 minutes to fix it, etc, - your full attention is understandably on learning how to fix it asap. On the other hand, if you're not under much pressure, you can spend some attention on the process of learning itself - never mind what you're actually learning, but looking back and thinking how you could have learned the same things more efficiently. That'd include time management, memory training, learning to use libraries, google fu, concentration, meditation, setting up study environment.
posted by rainy at 4:42 AM on June 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
Reading up about Bloom's Taxonomy might help.
Also, Cal Newport.
posted by oceano at 5:00 AM on June 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
Also, Cal Newport.
posted by oceano at 5:00 AM on June 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
I was told during my entrance interview the virtue of my undergraduate education would be that it will "teach you how to learn". The example the interviewer used was that one wouldn't take a class in a programming language, one would learn it when needed it for a particular project. At the time I just nodded my head.
Now that I am a number of years away from my undergraduate education and have completed a graduate degree at a different institution, I can see how that is beneficial. Essentially, I now have the tools to know when I need to learn something new, know where to start looking to find it and, once I find the right sources, zero in on the particular area of material that I need.
This makes me really good at solving problems---I'll figure out the tools I need as I work and teach myself or ask questions as I go---but not that great at knowing everything about a CAD system or a programming language in super detail (unless it is something I need to use every day). This is okay with me and I end up gravitating to positions that have me solving many types of problems, rather than the same type over and over.
So, the key steps in knowing how to learn, from this engineer's point of veiw:
posted by chiefthe at 5:53 AM on June 25, 2010
Now that I am a number of years away from my undergraduate education and have completed a graduate degree at a different institution, I can see how that is beneficial. Essentially, I now have the tools to know when I need to learn something new, know where to start looking to find it and, once I find the right sources, zero in on the particular area of material that I need.
This makes me really good at solving problems---I'll figure out the tools I need as I work and teach myself or ask questions as I go---but not that great at knowing everything about a CAD system or a programming language in super detail (unless it is something I need to use every day). This is okay with me and I end up gravitating to positions that have me solving many types of problems, rather than the same type over and over.
So, the key steps in knowing how to learn, from this engineer's point of veiw:
- Figure out what types of things you need to solve the problem
- Assess your knowledge of those areas---is it enough to solve this problem?
- Research the areas where you need to know more
- Zero in on the information you need
- Apply the new information for your solution
- File this new information and/or the method to get it in your brain for later retrieval on a future project
posted by chiefthe at 5:53 AM on June 25, 2010
I agree with others particularly when it comes to developing principles and mindsets that help you address knowledge and skills.
I also want to suggest that REFLECTION is important part of learning. When you reflect on and analyze a situation and consider what worked well (and why) and what could be improved (and how), you take your learning to a new level.
posted by jander03 at 6:31 AM on June 25, 2010
I also want to suggest that REFLECTION is important part of learning. When you reflect on and analyze a situation and consider what worked well (and why) and what could be improved (and how), you take your learning to a new level.
posted by jander03 at 6:31 AM on June 25, 2010
nthing finding a framework to hang your new knowledge on.
For example: I play lots of games, and used to always play the same class of character (, because I just couldn't figure out how to play anything else. Then one day the framework of the game mechanics snapped into place for me - there are melee attacks and ranged attacks, instants and slow casts and damage-over-time etc., and a best way to use each type of attack - and each individual new skill I could learn in the game fit into this framework of types. Suddenly all the different character types made sense and I could learn how to play all of them - I'd learned how to learn how to play them.
Frameworks are different everywhere, but they're the base upon which you pin your knowledge. Once you figure out how to find the framework for the topic you're approaching, you'll find it much easier to learn anything.
posted by L'Estrange Fruit at 7:22 AM on June 25, 2010
For example: I play lots of games, and used to always play the same class of character (, because I just couldn't figure out how to play anything else. Then one day the framework of the game mechanics snapped into place for me - there are melee attacks and ranged attacks, instants and slow casts and damage-over-time etc., and a best way to use each type of attack - and each individual new skill I could learn in the game fit into this framework of types. Suddenly all the different character types made sense and I could learn how to play all of them - I'd learned how to learn how to play them.
Frameworks are different everywhere, but they're the base upon which you pin your knowledge. Once you figure out how to find the framework for the topic you're approaching, you'll find it much easier to learn anything.
posted by L'Estrange Fruit at 7:22 AM on June 25, 2010
Will permanently blow your mind if you like this sort of thing. It has practical applications:
http://www.amazon.com/Experiencing-Creation-Meaning-Philosophical-Psychological/dp/0810114275
Far more straightforward and practical, this is the ultimate learn how to learn. I was using these techniques intuitively all through school:
http://www.amazon.com/What-Smart-Students-Know-Learning/dp/0517880857
posted by zeek321 at 7:26 AM on June 25, 2010
http://www.amazon.com/Experiencing-Creation-Meaning-Philosophical-Psychological/dp/0810114275
Far more straightforward and practical, this is the ultimate learn how to learn. I was using these techniques intuitively all through school:
http://www.amazon.com/What-Smart-Students-Know-Learning/dp/0517880857
posted by zeek321 at 7:26 AM on June 25, 2010
During college (psychology), as a high-school teacher and while getting my master's in education degree, learning to learn is a "big deal" sort of concept that I've come across dozens of times.
Basically it means that learning isn't all about knowledge, but about how you get that knowledge and what you do with it. From a teacher's point of view, learning to learn, or teaching to learn, means that we don't just lecture while kids sit there and memorize stuff. Nowadays, it's more about giving guidance towards learning. A good student isn't one who knows a lot of stuff but that knows how to teach himself what he needs to know. Learning to learn goes hand in hand with critical thinking, with being curious and creative, by asking a lot of questions and doing research, and also by having a lot of do-it-yourself attitude.
Why do many people say "[they] learned how to learn until graduate school"? I think it is because for a lot of people, that's when they either mature enough or care enough about what they're doing to take the learning part of school into their own hands.
Have you heard about the concept of competencies? Most of what I can find in English has to do with HR, but in a lot of Hispanic countries, it's becoming the next big thing in teaching-learning. Competencies are sets of knowledge/attitudes/skills required or useful for something or other. For example, one of the competencies that we try to encourage in my high-school is about the development of methodological skills (sorry, doesn't translate well), and the document I have here goes on to explain that this means "works collaboratively and innovatively applying scientific methodologies toward the solution of problems and the development of projects". Can you see how knowledge, skills and attitude would fit into that? And how knowing how to learn?
Ok, for the second part of your question. In order to teach yourself how to learn, (and I disagree with alex_skazat who says you can't teach how to learn), first you have to know that all the memorizing has to stop. It's hurting your learning skills. We teachers know that of the 100% of concepts we teach, only a smaller percentage will be retained. We don't care. What we care about is what you do with your knowledge. Like dirtynumbangelboy said, a big part is making connections. When you're in a certification class, instead of memorizing, start trying to connect all the new stuff with what you already know, or with what you know that you don't know, if that makes sense. Try to find some application for what you just learned.
Another way to teach yourself how to learn is to develop the "attitude" part of learning. Teach yourself to be more curious. Write down new words or concepts that come up during a course or during work. Do some research.
Yet another big part in learning how to learn is about motivation. I just did my whole thesis on motivation and what it has to do with learning, and well, I learned a lot. You may have to do some meta-thinking about your own learning process, and figure out just how important learning is to you, and how much of a role you have in the learning process. The more learning is about you and less about your instructors, boss or whoever, the more you'll learn how to teach yourself.
Hope this helps, I'll come back later if I can think of any more particular techniques I could share with you.
posted by CrazyLemonade at 7:44 AM on June 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
Basically it means that learning isn't all about knowledge, but about how you get that knowledge and what you do with it. From a teacher's point of view, learning to learn, or teaching to learn, means that we don't just lecture while kids sit there and memorize stuff. Nowadays, it's more about giving guidance towards learning. A good student isn't one who knows a lot of stuff but that knows how to teach himself what he needs to know. Learning to learn goes hand in hand with critical thinking, with being curious and creative, by asking a lot of questions and doing research, and also by having a lot of do-it-yourself attitude.
Why do many people say "[they] learned how to learn until graduate school"? I think it is because for a lot of people, that's when they either mature enough or care enough about what they're doing to take the learning part of school into their own hands.
Have you heard about the concept of competencies? Most of what I can find in English has to do with HR, but in a lot of Hispanic countries, it's becoming the next big thing in teaching-learning. Competencies are sets of knowledge/attitudes/skills required or useful for something or other. For example, one of the competencies that we try to encourage in my high-school is about the development of methodological skills (sorry, doesn't translate well), and the document I have here goes on to explain that this means "works collaboratively and innovatively applying scientific methodologies toward the solution of problems and the development of projects". Can you see how knowledge, skills and attitude would fit into that? And how knowing how to learn?
Ok, for the second part of your question. In order to teach yourself how to learn, (and I disagree with alex_skazat who says you can't teach how to learn), first you have to know that all the memorizing has to stop. It's hurting your learning skills. We teachers know that of the 100% of concepts we teach, only a smaller percentage will be retained. We don't care. What we care about is what you do with your knowledge. Like dirtynumbangelboy said, a big part is making connections. When you're in a certification class, instead of memorizing, start trying to connect all the new stuff with what you already know, or with what you know that you don't know, if that makes sense. Try to find some application for what you just learned.
Another way to teach yourself how to learn is to develop the "attitude" part of learning. Teach yourself to be more curious. Write down new words or concepts that come up during a course or during work. Do some research.
Yet another big part in learning how to learn is about motivation. I just did my whole thesis on motivation and what it has to do with learning, and well, I learned a lot. You may have to do some meta-thinking about your own learning process, and figure out just how important learning is to you, and how much of a role you have in the learning process. The more learning is about you and less about your instructors, boss or whoever, the more you'll learn how to teach yourself.
Hope this helps, I'll come back later if I can think of any more particular techniques I could share with you.
posted by CrazyLemonade at 7:44 AM on June 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
I re-read your posting after reading the replies. You say that you remember the concepts but not the details. I think that you are asking a few things, that are somewhat connected and I am not going to take you totally at your word.
1. I agree with the postings that suggest that having a context or framework in your head is vitally important. Once you have the "here is how it fits together" stuff in your mind, it is easy to slot details into various nooks and crannies and remember them.
2. Often the problem is to get to the point where you can say "Ah, I see what this is all about". If you know an expert or knowledgeable person, then you can pick their brains until you understand the big picture. This "picking of brains" is a skill that can be honed. You will likely find out that there are rules of thumb that are followed or quick ways to do things. Ever watch a carpenter cut a piece of wood and use the first piece to measure off the 2nd? If you don't have access to such a person (it really helps to be able to interact in person, so that instructor can tell if you "get it" and you get a chance to follow up on things like "but nobody ever does it that way") then I would suggest you find something that gives a quick overview. Small, hence fast, is best. It is hard to ride a bike when you pedal once per minute. Speed counts. The purpose of this is to familiarize yourself with the subject matter, what's the big deal, why are some things talked about, what problems are being dealt with and so on. As an example, my son was at sea in a philosophy course. I suggested he check out an overview book by Bertrand Russell. This is a bit long-winded but here is an extract from Wikipedia about the book: The Problems of Philosophy (1912) is one of Bertrand Russell's attempts to create a brief and accessible guide to the problems of philosophy. ...
Russell guides the reader through his famous 1910 distinction between "knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge by description" and introduces important theories of Plato, Aristotle, René Descartes, David Hume, John Locke, Immanuel Kant, G. W. F. Hegel and others to lay the foundation for philosophical inquiry by general readers and scholars alike.
This solved my son's problem of grokking the problem. He then read the source material with some sort of framework or context in his mind and absorbed the argument.
From my experience at University, there is always some book like this. Look hard for it. Alternatively, look online for a short good quality tutorial. Check out Dummies books. Check out more advanced books that include a quick summary of the basics at the front; often the summary is very well written, short, fast to read, not overly decorated with some of the complicated, thorny issues and so on. Perfect for a quick overview.
3. In the technical realm, I learned how to read computer manuals. From somebody who was very clever, I learned to read a manual quickly, the first time. Don't get bogged down in details. What is the general problem that is being discussed? Note various issues and solutions that are discussed. Put the manual way. Think about the problem. How would you solve it? How you you deal with the various problems and issues raised? Now, re-read the manual, filling in the details. Is the author's solution better or worse than your own? This is the process of developing a context or a framework of your own, then filling it in.
4. Take a speed reading course. You will be taught, as a preliminary, to examine the Table of Contents, to scan for diagrams (information dense) to check the index and other things. Once again, this is all in aid of developing an understanding of the structure of what you are going to learn. Then when you start to speed read, you have a better idea of where the author is going and why he is talking about whatever it is.
5. Use your knowledge as soon as you can. This unearths things that you thought you knew but don't. If you are learning a new programming language, do the exercises as you encounter them. In the Arts fields, they often advise you to try to summarize and explain the essence of what you just learned to somebody else. That way you find out what you thought you knew but don't. Go back and re-read or find another book that takes another tack. Read that. Often, a second, seemingly redundant book will fill in the gaps or give you a key piece of the puzzle that previously eluded you.
Good luck.
posted by PickeringPete at 10:43 AM on June 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
1. I agree with the postings that suggest that having a context or framework in your head is vitally important. Once you have the "here is how it fits together" stuff in your mind, it is easy to slot details into various nooks and crannies and remember them.
2. Often the problem is to get to the point where you can say "Ah, I see what this is all about". If you know an expert or knowledgeable person, then you can pick their brains until you understand the big picture. This "picking of brains" is a skill that can be honed. You will likely find out that there are rules of thumb that are followed or quick ways to do things. Ever watch a carpenter cut a piece of wood and use the first piece to measure off the 2nd? If you don't have access to such a person (it really helps to be able to interact in person, so that instructor can tell if you "get it" and you get a chance to follow up on things like "but nobody ever does it that way") then I would suggest you find something that gives a quick overview. Small, hence fast, is best. It is hard to ride a bike when you pedal once per minute. Speed counts. The purpose of this is to familiarize yourself with the subject matter, what's the big deal, why are some things talked about, what problems are being dealt with and so on. As an example, my son was at sea in a philosophy course. I suggested he check out an overview book by Bertrand Russell. This is a bit long-winded but here is an extract from Wikipedia about the book: The Problems of Philosophy (1912) is one of Bertrand Russell's attempts to create a brief and accessible guide to the problems of philosophy. ...
Russell guides the reader through his famous 1910 distinction between "knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge by description" and introduces important theories of Plato, Aristotle, René Descartes, David Hume, John Locke, Immanuel Kant, G. W. F. Hegel and others to lay the foundation for philosophical inquiry by general readers and scholars alike.
This solved my son's problem of grokking the problem. He then read the source material with some sort of framework or context in his mind and absorbed the argument.
From my experience at University, there is always some book like this. Look hard for it. Alternatively, look online for a short good quality tutorial. Check out Dummies books. Check out more advanced books that include a quick summary of the basics at the front; often the summary is very well written, short, fast to read, not overly decorated with some of the complicated, thorny issues and so on. Perfect for a quick overview.
3. In the technical realm, I learned how to read computer manuals. From somebody who was very clever, I learned to read a manual quickly, the first time. Don't get bogged down in details. What is the general problem that is being discussed? Note various issues and solutions that are discussed. Put the manual way. Think about the problem. How would you solve it? How you you deal with the various problems and issues raised? Now, re-read the manual, filling in the details. Is the author's solution better or worse than your own? This is the process of developing a context or a framework of your own, then filling it in.
4. Take a speed reading course. You will be taught, as a preliminary, to examine the Table of Contents, to scan for diagrams (information dense) to check the index and other things. Once again, this is all in aid of developing an understanding of the structure of what you are going to learn. Then when you start to speed read, you have a better idea of where the author is going and why he is talking about whatever it is.
5. Use your knowledge as soon as you can. This unearths things that you thought you knew but don't. If you are learning a new programming language, do the exercises as you encounter them. In the Arts fields, they often advise you to try to summarize and explain the essence of what you just learned to somebody else. That way you find out what you thought you knew but don't. Go back and re-read or find another book that takes another tack. Read that. Often, a second, seemingly redundant book will fill in the gaps or give you a key piece of the puzzle that previously eluded you.
Good luck.
posted by PickeringPete at 10:43 AM on June 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
I came in to mention Bloom's Taxonomy, but I see oceano beat me to it!
Just to elaborate a bit, Bloom's encourages the memorization stuff that you seem to be doing, but then it makes you take that information a step further and actively use it by applying the ideas you've learned to new information and drawing connections between this idea you are learning and other things you already know.
We use this a TON in the textbooks I edit by including sort of "speedbump" questions after a chunk of text. "Ok, you read all this. If you really understand X, you should be able to explain how it relates to Y."
Best of luck! I'm a total dork, but I think active learning is fun, so try to enjoy!
posted by chatongriffes at 11:04 AM on June 25, 2010
Just to elaborate a bit, Bloom's encourages the memorization stuff that you seem to be doing, but then it makes you take that information a step further and actively use it by applying the ideas you've learned to new information and drawing connections between this idea you are learning and other things you already know.
We use this a TON in the textbooks I edit by including sort of "speedbump" questions after a chunk of text. "Ok, you read all this. If you really understand X, you should be able to explain how it relates to Y."
Best of luck! I'm a total dork, but I think active learning is fun, so try to enjoy!
posted by chatongriffes at 11:04 AM on June 25, 2010
Response by poster: All of these answers are spot-on and thought-provoking. Thanks to everyone for your input, I'll be thinking about this and re-reading your answers for a while.
posted by vignettist at 3:29 PM on June 25, 2010
posted by vignettist at 3:29 PM on June 25, 2010
Many of the above are good suggestions (except the learning styles one, sorry, learning styles don't exist, and here too).
But I wouldn't beat yourself up about this too much. You can use strategies, but if you are interested, pay attention, think about the concepts and how they relate to you, and actually use some of the concepts (or even the details), then they will stick with you.
If not, then even if you have "learned how to learn" they won't really stick with you. Interest, attention, application, and thinking about it later are necessary, and although they may not be sufficient, they are pretty durn close.
Another thing to consider is the important role of background knowledge. In depth understanding comes with considerable effort and background knowledge. Bloom's taxonomy is helpful, but the top floors of the pyramid aren't generally available until you have a lot of background knowledge. Even if I had all sorts of great learning strategies, it would be very very hard for me to do any application of recently learned chemistry knowledge since I haven't taken a chemistry class in over ten years, and have very little knowledge. Despite having an advanced degree in how we think, see and learn and all sorts of strategies at hand.
Which is not to say that I am advocating not taking notes, or not asking questions, or any of the strategies above. Just trying to reassure you that if you are interested, and think about the lessons, then that helps a lot more than you might think.
posted by cogpsychprof at 6:14 PM on June 25, 2010
But I wouldn't beat yourself up about this too much. You can use strategies, but if you are interested, pay attention, think about the concepts and how they relate to you, and actually use some of the concepts (or even the details), then they will stick with you.
If not, then even if you have "learned how to learn" they won't really stick with you. Interest, attention, application, and thinking about it later are necessary, and although they may not be sufficient, they are pretty durn close.
Another thing to consider is the important role of background knowledge. In depth understanding comes with considerable effort and background knowledge. Bloom's taxonomy is helpful, but the top floors of the pyramid aren't generally available until you have a lot of background knowledge. Even if I had all sorts of great learning strategies, it would be very very hard for me to do any application of recently learned chemistry knowledge since I haven't taken a chemistry class in over ten years, and have very little knowledge. Despite having an advanced degree in how we think, see and learn and all sorts of strategies at hand.
Which is not to say that I am advocating not taking notes, or not asking questions, or any of the strategies above. Just trying to reassure you that if you are interested, and think about the lessons, then that helps a lot more than you might think.
posted by cogpsychprof at 6:14 PM on June 25, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
An example.. in culinary school we learned the specific temperatures that will set egg yolks and egg whites. This was in theory class. A couple weeks later we were making creme caramel in baking class--and I suddenly had an aha moment about why and how a bain marie (water bath) moderates heat and prevents curdling etc.
So my advice would be to look for connections. You learn Fact X, look for how it connects to other things. The more you do this, the more you will see connections (and faster), and the more you will grasp underlying concepts.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 11:51 PM on June 24, 2010 [2 favorites]