Learn to Learn
“Can we learn how to learn better?”
INTRODUCTION
Many students would likely cite a desire to learn as the primary reason for committing four years to a college education. But what do we really mean when we use the word “learn”? It is something we all do from the moment of birth, so most of us likely take this very complex process for granted. How many of you have spent time trying to understand the meaning of learning, or how it occurs? Although many of us have a general sense of what it means to learn, there are often many assumptions involved. Teachers often assume that, because they are “teaching,” students must be learning. Students assume that, because they have read their text and memorized facts, they have learned something.
"Here we use the Socratic method: I call on you; I ask you a question; you answer it. Why don't I just give you a lecture? Because through my questions you learn to teach yourselves. By this method of questioning-answering, questioning-answering, we seek to develop in you the ability to analyze that vast complex of facts that constitutes the relationships of members within a given society.”
Professor Kingsfield (in the Paper Chase)
Research
Knowing something…..
is not the same as knowing the name of something. To know something takes time, real physical effort, and a period of assimilation and reflection. To know something you must develop a whole host of techniques; even if you have coped easily so far there will come a stage where the rate at which you are required to obtain knowledge and understanding will tax any informal techniques that you have to their limit. And, perhaps, beyond – to the point where you start to give up or to lose interest.
Habits
Habit governs quite a lot of what we do and are. To achieve something fresh you will probably have to change your habits, that is replace the old, weary, useless habits with fresh and profitable ones. Mostly it comes down to two things: planning and self-discipline.
Knowing something takes time; do not be tempted to short-cut this time. At first you will feel that everything takes too much time, but do not worry. You are increasing your learning efficiency without realising it, and the more you learn the easier it becomes to learn more. Your learning will become much faster and less effort.
Metacognition
Metacognition is "cognition about cognition", "thinking about thinking", "knowing about knowing", becoming "aware of one's awareness" and higher-order thinking skills. The term comes from the root word meta, meaning "beyond".
Metcalfe, J., & Shimamura, A. P. (1994). Metacognition: knowing about knowing.
Metacognition can take many forms; it includes knowledge about when and how to use particular strategies for learning or for problem-solving. There are generally two components of metacognition:
- knowledge about cognition
- regulation of cognition
solution
Learn to learn is a system that first teaches you what learning is, and then provides you the tools to learn your strengths and weaknesses in learning. This tool also gives the user solutions on what path and method of learning is suitable for them.
This tool uses the 3 Metacognition components:
- Metacognitive knowledge (also called metacognitive awareness) is what individuals know about themselves and others as cognitive processors.
- Metacognitive regulation is the regulation of cognition and learning experiences through a set of activities that help people control their learning.
- Metacognitive experiences are those experiences that have something to do with the current, on-going cognitive endeavour.
After inputing that information, it gives the a process of:
- How to aquire a new learning process
- How to modify an existiong learning process