The Skill of Learning

There is, in fact, such thing as a stupid question. You will probably ask some in your life. I know that I have (Why are there only 60 cents in a dollar?) but you can avoid asking dumb questions most of the time with the right mindset, attitude, and discipline.

Asking the right questions is an aspect of the skill of learning. Yes, learning is a skill, just like riding a bike and cooking things without burning them are skills. The nice thing about skils is that you can practice them and become better.

Alright. Why Does This Matter?

Learning is not something that happens to you when people stand in front of you and speak for an hour. Learning isn’t some magic spell conjured up with chalk and poorly made PowerPoint slides. It’s an active process that you need to participate in.

Cool. So What do I do?

The skill of learning will be constantly under development. It’ll be a lifelong pursuit and you will never be a perfect learner, but that doesn’t mean you won’t benefit.

Let’s start small now, because a lot of these skills will develop over time as you continue in school or on projects in your workplace.

Practice the skill of learning:

• Practice the skill of learning by using something you find personally interesting. Hobbies tend to be an excellent way to train yourself to learn.
  • For example I love graphic design so I took time to learn the basics of colour theory and lighting dynamics. This uncovers a lot of cool and fun information.
  • You may like fitness and could take time to learn names of muscles and how they are best used, for example
  • Think outside the box to create personal desire and interest in learning.
• make notes for your hobbies or study interests.
  • Get into the habit of hand writing A LOT of information. Write so that YOU understand your own notes. Explain concepts to yourself when you take notes.
  • Ask a lot of questions about the subject of interest. Use Google and real people.
• Carefully consider how you use your downtime. Try to engage in more active forms of entertainment.
  • TED Talks are excellent to watch, but it would be even better if you take notes while you watch them
  • Read books as opposed to internet articles
  • Avoid social network apps / sites as much as possible during your regular work times. They are things that should be checked AFTER your important tasks are complete, and using them less in general won’t hurt
  • Make something. Anything. If it’s cool, you can brag about it later. If it sucked, you can hide your failure, but still learn a lot about what NOT to do

The goal in approaching your hobbies and interests this way is to strengthen your ability to learn ANYTHING, including even the worst courses you have to take. Learning is a skill that you can improve on over time, so getting in the practice with subjects that you are drawn to just makes the whole process run more smoothly.

More, Please!

Carnegie Mellon provides an excellent list of Principles of Learning:

https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/principles/learning.html

If you’re in school, I strongly suspect that your school’s website will have study tips and learning advice somewhere on the site. The fastest way to find out is to head to your school’s homepage, hit the search button and try “Study advice” or a similar phrase. See what you find and don’t be afraid to check out on-campus resources too!