Learning process

 

methods strongly affect outcomes across professional fields.

Depending on which learning process students used, scientists were able to closely predict their GPAs.

Learning as a process is about more than science, results and prediction however. It is about how society works today, and the changing role of ‘expertise.’ The omnipresence of the internet and our shifting attention spans mean that facts, and memorizing them, has become less valuable.

Technology tends to handle details, logistics and facts for us. The bigger questions instead become: how do our brains really work, and how do we gain mastery?

Finding the best way to learn in the first place, means to set rigorous targets. What is it you truly want or need to learn?

Within the bounds of these targets, it should be normal to expect struggle and setbacks. Still most individuals need the promise of an eventual return from their efforts. Goals should be realistic, so that it feels possible to learn – but also ambitious enough to spark excitement. ​

Ambition surrounding a goal can also carry us through difficulty and hardship on the path.

Recognizing that struggle is often a part of learning prevents us from becoming too discouraged, and giving up entirely. That is – ‘learning is a process.’

Learning as a process means that through method, effort, focus, and practice, we can get a lot better at gaining expertise.