Learn How To Learn

When it comes to learning how to learn, most students don’t understand the meaning of learning effectively. Often students are given the advice “Learn how to learn.” Essentially,  everyone has the tools to learn unfamiliar topics, especially once we know how brains work. However, to do that, students must learn how to learn. Doing this will help them succeed academically, in their work environment and in life as well. Understanding the process of learning how to learn is key to maintaining that skill.      

There are many factors when it comes to learning how to learn. It includes having the right mindset, time  management, and trying different techniques. These factors play a significant role in learning how to learn. Most students are confused on how to effectively study in college. Most students aren’t taught how to learn or study.  John Schwartz, the author of the article “Learning to Learn: You, Too, Can Rewire Your Brain” explained the problem “ They don’t know how their brain works”(shwartz1). There, he suggest multiple steps that can help students develop effective study skills which will help them succeed at the college level. The habits the student embody will increase the probability of their success going forward .

Many students would argue that learning how to learn should only apply to school. Trude Hogvold,  one of the authors who wrote the article “Learning to Learn Differently” in Norway would argue otherwise. This article thoroughly explores the learning patterns that change in the workplace. Learning institutions are not the only one that benefits from learning how to learn. Learning how to learn doesn’t solely apply to schools because, after a while, students stop going to school but they don’t stop learning. After college, students will enter the workforce and work requires people to continue to learn and sometimes changing the way they learn. For example, the authors from this article said: “It is crucial that managers facilitate the development of new routines, structures, and cultures to support individual initiatives and the growth of necessary changes in established practice to implement a new reform”(Hogvold et al.1). These managers have to improve the way they learn to support the way that their field is growing and changing.

Learning can be efficient if students understand their way of learning and learning process. Students should be conscious of what steps they should or shouldn’t follow. Undoubtedly, learning how to learn takes time, it’s a lifelong process that has many benefit once it’s mastered.  Meaning, taking the initiative and taking time to discover effective study techniques is a good decision by students who believe that they’re not learning effectively . Students taking control of their learning process can help them prepare for the increase of work loads that college demand. We all have our own particular way of processing new information. Marianne Jennings who wrote, “Escaping from the “Sorcery” of Learning Styles and Helping Students Learn How to Learn” understood that. She said “ we all learn differently”(Jennings1). It’s very important to recognize how long the process is but students should learn to embrace that process. That process will determine how likely students are to succeed. Whether its at school or when they enter the workforce.

All college students who has the desire to succeed should follow this advice.  Learning how to learn will help students succeed not only academically but in life, and the workplace as well. The techniques that students develop in the process will enhance their ability to learn. Knowing the main factors, time management, having the right mindset, and having different techniques can generate greater success beyond the time that students are in college. Recognizing that learning how to learn is a lifelong process can also make that process simple and easier.

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Schwartz, John. “Learning to Learn: You, Too, Can Rewire Your Brain.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 4  Aug. 2017.

“12 Things You Should Do In Order To Study Like An Ace”. Trade-Schools.Net, Nov 3 2018.

Olsen, Trude Høgvold, et al. “Learning to Learn Differently.” Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 30, no. 1, Jan. 2018, pp. 18–31.

Jennings MM. In Defense of the Sage on the Stage: Escaping from the “Sorcery” of Learning Styles and Helping Students Learn How to Learn. Journal of Legal Studies Education. 2012;29(2):191-237. 

CollegeXpress. “The Best (and Worst!) College Advice I Ever Got.” CollegeXpress, www.collegexpress.com/articles-and-advice/admission/articles/find-college/best-and-worst-college-advice-i-ever-got/.

Bjork, Robert A. “How to Succeed in College: Learn How to Learn.” Association for Psychological Science, www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/how-to-succeed-in-college-learn-how-to-learn.

Bjork, Robert A. “How to Succeed in College: Learn How to Learn.” Association for Psychological Science, www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/how-to-succeed-in-college-learn-how-to-learn.