Effective Learning: 2 Meta-Learning Principles for Success
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I've spent nearly a quarter-century in educational settings, relishing the process of learning and exploration as a doctoral student. My enthusiasm for learning has deepened over time, particularly as I’ve cultivated a genuine appreciation for the learning journey itself.
However, like many, I initially relied on less effective learning methods. Through considerable experimentation and an understanding of cognitive processes (as detailed in a paper reviewing ten learning techniques), I've discovered that effective learning hinges on adhering to straightforward principles.
Before delving deeper, you might want to explore my articles on learning strategies, note-taking, and productivity.
Principle 1: Meta-Learning
Understand how to learn a subject effectively.
Identify the skills and knowledge essential for mastery, as well as the resources and methods available to facilitate your learning. Dedicate about 10% of your anticipated learning time to preliminary research.
Why are you learning? Engage with individuals who have achieved your goals to ensure your learning objectives align with your aspirations. This can also serve as an opportunity to connect with experts.
What do you need to learn? Break down your learning into concepts, facts, and procedures, as each requires distinct strategies. Resources like Khan Academy and MIT’s Open Courseware can guide you in determining what to focus on.
How should you learn? Tailor existing curricula to meet your personal objectives.
Principle 2: Focus
Learn to navigate common challenges like procrastination, distractions, and maintaining focus quality.
Starting: Commit to working on a daunting task for just five minutes. Often, this initial push can lead to extended engagement. Techniques like the Pomodoro method (25 minutes of focused work) can be beneficial.
Sustaining: Allocate uninterrupted time in your schedule for focused learning.
Optimizing: If you encounter difficulties with a task, take a break and switch to another activity. Breaks can provide fresh insights on challenging issues.
Principle 3: Directness
Engage in hands-on learning and practice skills in realistic situations.
While direct learning can be uncomfortable and challenging, it is the most effective. Regularly ask yourself: What is your ultimate goal?
Devote the majority of your time to practicing the skills you wish to master.
Seek opportunities to present (rather than just reading about it), develop software (instead of merely watching instructional videos), converse in foreign languages (instead of passively using language apps), and take practice exams (rather than re-watching lectures).
Explore project-based, immersive, or high-challenge learning.
Project-based learning: Focus on creating tangible outcomes instead of just completing courses.
Immersive learning: Immerse yourself in environments where the skills are needed, such as learning Polish by living in Poland.
High-challenge learning: Increase your difficulty by engaging in high-pressure environments, such as trying stand-up comedy to refine your presentation skills.
Principle 4: Drill
Employ the direct-then-drill approach.
While applying direct learning methods, identify your weakest areas and focus on improving them through drills.
Direct practice: Work on comprehensive projects. When you hit a roadblock, pinpoint the specific skill or knowledge gap hindering your progress. Drills provide immediate feedback, and it's vital to engage in them mindfully.
Drilling: Addressing your weakest skills enhances overall learning speed and effectiveness during direct practice.
Principle 5: Retrieval Practice
Actively recall what you've learned instead of passively reviewing materials.
While practicing direct learning and drilling, continually test yourself to ensure you can retrieve relevant information without prompts.
Passive review can mislead you into thinking you're learning effectively. In contrast, active retrieval, though challenging, provides valuable feedback on your understanding.
Utilize flashcards with open-ended questions and consider testing your knowledge even before starting new material to identify gaps in your understanding.
Principle 6: Feedback
Actively seek feedback during your learning process.
Outcome feedback is less useful as it merely indicates success without guidance for improvement. Informational feedback highlights mistakes but lacks corrective advice. Corrective feedback is most valuable as it provides insight into both errors and solutions.
Principle 7: Retention
Avoid cramming and space your learning to enhance retention.
If you have five hours for study, it's more effective to study one hour a day over five days than to cram all five hours in a single day. Use spaced repetition techniques, such as those found in Anki, to optimize retrieval practice.
Automate skills: Transition knowledge from declarative to procedural, making it easier to retain. You'll find it hard to forget how to ride a bike or type but easier to forget specific facts.
Over-learn or engage in refresher projects to solidify skills into procedural knowledge.
Principle 8: Intuition
Concrete examples simplify the understanding of abstract concepts.
Don’t shy away from challenging problems; instead, start with tangible examples to ease comprehension. Develop intuition through systematic problem-solving, explaining concepts to others, generating analogies, and exploring diverse resources.
Principle 9: Experimentation
Adopt a scientific approach to your learning strategies.
Formulate hypotheses about obstacles in your learning, explore solutions, test them, and analyze the outcomes. Improvement often necessitates unlearning ineffective methods.
Be open to experimenting with various resources and techniques. Imitate successful individuals, compare learning strategies, and blend skills from different areas to innovate.
> “Good artists copy; great artists steal.” — Pablo Picasso
Conclusion
Learning can be challenging but is incredibly rewarding once mastery is achieved. The more adept you become at learning, the more you'll enjoy the process. Remember, learning is a skill you can continually refine.
By adhering to the two key meta-learning principles (systematic planning and active learning) and applying aligned strategies, you will enhance your knowledge and skill acquisition.
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