Introduction

A step by step course for Learners

How many of you have struggled with different aspects of education and learning? Whether it is understanding mathematical formulae, remembering the steps of a physics experiment or simply memorising names, dates, and events in history!

You know, I have been there too and wrestled through many such parts myself. I tried tirelessly to “ratta” the chapters in my history and English books and failed, mixed up symbols and reactions in chemistry, dreaded map marking in geography. And beyond all this, numerous times, I struggled to stay focused with so many distractions around like my cell phones, to name just one!

To decipher this problem, I have spent the last two years delving into the different aspects of learning challenges and speaking to experts to find solutions, tricks, techniques, and hacks to make learning an easy and fun exercise.

The answer lies in a proven scientific approach, one that uses real-life experiments and exercises and actual data to prove the efficacy of these learning techniques. This book brings to you learning strategies based on integrating cognitive science, psychology, neuroscience, and the basic theories of education. They are multidisciplinary techniques that have been proven, tested, and approved by scores of researchers and appreciated by millions of students, teachers, and parents.

We are going to throw distractions, rote learning, procrastination, and ineffective learning techniques out of our mind, and highlight on learning mechanisms that truly deliver accelerated learning outcomes.

So, what is this book about? While we have all heard about developing proficiency in our regular subjects, there is very little focus on learning about “learning.” No skill is as powerful as gaining competency in learning about the superpower of learning, and Learn to Learn focuses on just that!

Let me introduce myself. I am Agastya Sinha, a high school student who, perhaps just like you, struggled in my own learning journey. One day, after getting Bs and Cs in most subjects, I decided enough is enough. I set out on my own journey to address the issue and truly understand how to become the most efficient and effective learner possible.

Two years of primary and secondary research later, I have shrunk all the knowledge that I have garnered till now into this book. All with one singular objective, so that others like me can have the knowledge to be the best learner ever and conquer any exams or tests on the way.

My special thanks to the experts—Carol Dweck, Prof. Andrew Huberman, Angela Duckworth, Cal Newport, Scott Young, Daniel T. Willingham, Sir Ken Robinson, and Barbara Oakley.

While we have all heard about developing proficiency in subjects like physics, math, and psychology, there is limited focus and interest on learning about learning. We all believe that learning is an essential skill. But what do we do about it? Mostly nothing!

Our capacity to learn is limitless and we simply need to be shown how to access it. The science of learning aims to understand how people learn, process, and retain information. It is a multidisciplinary approach integrating cognitive science, psychology, neuroscience, and education.

We live in an environment of digital overload and immense distraction. In order to excel in this environment, we have to learn how to filter excess data, develop new methods and skills for thriving in this flood of information.

Welcome to Learn to Learn. A book that is designed as a course program for students, with six razor-sharp modules that will completely change the way you learn. The program is focused on the techniques of accelerated learning. It investigates various mechanisms and factors that influence learning and provides select meta-learning strategies to help learners sharpen their focus, performance, and productivity. The lesson is meant to help students realise how learning in different ways can actually help improve their concentration and increase the understanding of any subject or discipline.

After scanning through the learning canvas, we have picked select learning techniques that have been identified to help students learn better. The book covers these techniques through well-crafted learning plans that lay out a methodical approach to engage students in a vibrant and energising manner. It is an active learning format where students engage in hands-on activities and reflective exercises that have been shown to improve retention and critical thinking skills.

Now let’s give you a quick overview of the module structure. After introducing the concept of “learn to learn,” the book goes on to present in detail the different learning techniques, divided into 6 modules, as outlined below.

We begin with deep concentration, which is an important trait to acquire, especially in a world where social media has created an epidemic of focus deficit, and this ever-decreasing attention span is not only deteriorating our ability to learn but impacting our overall health and mental well-being. And more importantly, we present here an approach that will dramatically alter your learning outcomes as well as improve your overall mindfulness and well-being.

As we move to module 2, we delve into the most dreaded part of our learning lifecycle—rote learning or ”ratta” as most of us like to call it. But you know what, there are proven techniques to help us memorise better and make rote learning a strength rather than a weakness. In this module we will ensure that you can replace the mindless but exhausting ratta by super efficient techniques such as spaced repetition.

The third module is about understanding and evaluating your learning journey through metacognition. The term metacognition sounds a bit complex, but it is essentially learning about your own learning—how you think, plan, and evaluate your learning, and thus understand what works for you and what doesn’t.

The technique of gamified learning is presented in module 4. It is an immersive and interactive approach, which involves incorporating elements of game design and mechanics into the learning experience to make the learning process fun and interesting for students.

We then move to our fifth module. No aspect of learning can be complete without understanding about your cognitive biases and how it affects you in day-to-day interactions.

Module 6 teaches you about the super power of growth mindset and how a positive mindset can transform an event of failure into true learning. It is a mindful approach of transforming your failures into your growth.

Our concluding section runs a quick recap of the learning techniques. In addition, it discusses select set of learning hacks to equip you better with the art of learning. These hacks have been identified to supercharge your next learning process and deliver rapid results.

So friends, let’s put all of these concepts together and dive into the world of accelerated learning. A world of improved education outcomes.

To put it simply, learning techniques are methods and tactics that students use to optimize the processes of learning.

Donald Deshler and Jean Schumaker in their article validation of learning strategy interventions for students with LD, defines learning strategies as an individual’s way of organising and using a particular set of skills in order to learn content or accomplish other tasks more effectively and efficiently in school as well as in non-academic settings.

This section provides a structured approach to introducing students to various learning techniques and their benefits. Each segment starts with a clear understanding of the key takeaways and deliverables of the module. This includes introduction to the concept and some of the essential attributes of the technique in discussion. This is followed by an exploration phase that delves into the learning challenges of the students, their understanding of the technique, and its relevance in the learning process. Then there is the active learning exercise to engage the students, and finally a reflection exercise to internalise and assimilate the key takeaways from the active engagement phase.