By Dennis Sale
THIS is the final column in this series, but only a pause in the wider aim of seeking to understand how humans can learn better and how technologies can enhance this endeavour. Knowledge is increasing exponentially, and in this AI era we are now in new, uncharted territory – scary, maybe dangerous, but certainly interesting. The overall aim of the series has been to make a definitive statement and explain the rationale why “learning how to learn” is the most important human capability in this so-called VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) world. Of particular importance is that motivated individual learners, whether inside or outside of formal educational structures, can now take full agency and responsibility for their own learning success by mastering the learning process. The rapid emergence of artificial intelligence is the game-changing resource – “piece of the jigsaw” – to make this an accessible and achievable outcome for all (most) people.
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Back into the MUD and why motivation & metacognition are your bedfellows
Once there is commitment and competence to develop one’s Motivation, Understanding and Doing (including the strategies, techniques, and tools involved), the foundation for effective learning is established. What is then required is the technical learning plan (as detailed prior), effective self-regulation, evaluating progress, and modifying/improving specific activities if and when needed – both in terms of what is being learned and how the learning process is progressing. As increasing mastery is achieved, there are similar enhancements in self-efficacy, confidence, and belief in the ability to succeed with effort (e.g., a growth mindset). Maintaining motivation is essential, as this drives the metacognitive and cognitive systems, which facilitates the actual learning to occur at the level of mind and get wired neurologically in the brain. Of course, there are barriers to learning that can subvert our best efforts – a naturally “lazy” brain, a limited working memory system, procrastination, and negative beliefs, etc. However, these are existential and it’s the people who can manage the barriers, maintain perseverance and show grit, who succeed best in the learning stakes and in life generally – though, of course, with some luck (serendipity) in many cases.
Fortunately, as humans, we have the unique capability of metacognition, which is the ability to critically reflect on our own thinking, beliefs, emotions and, most importantly, our behaviour. It is through our metacognitive capability that we can understand and manage how these things work (with all the barriers – both conscious and sub/unconscious – that potentially sabotage our best efforts) and still “get the job done” that makes the big difference between success and failure. This is further facilitated by having an explicit written learning plan as it provides an ongoing calendar of key learning events, experiences, and outcomes – essentially a structure for planning, monitoring, reviewing, and evaluating learning progress. This learning plan should identify the following key elements:
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Identify the specific learning outcomes for achieving the desired goals
Ensure you fully understand what the learning outcomes are for meeting your learning goal(s). These constitute the specific knowledge bases, key concepts, skills, and the expected levels of proficiency required for meeting the assessment criteria.
Clarity of goals and specific outcomes provides a structure for organising, monitoring, and evaluating your learning, so you can check how much you have learned and how well you are learning the different knowledge and skill areas. Be prepared to make modifications/ changes based on how effective you are learning.
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Identify the resources that aid learning and goal attainment
Resources are all the things that can be accessed to help you to achieve your learning outcomes/goals (e.g., prepared content/course materials, internet resources, AI tools, teachers, friends). Be prepared to ask for help – don’t be reticent – use all resources that are available and useful.
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Use strategies to maintain motivation and metacognitive capability
This is where your ongoing conscious attention and mindfulness come into play, as these are crucial for recognising when barriers are coming into play, whether external or internal (the sub/unconscious can be a nasty entity) and you must be able to act proactively to mitigate their impact. For analogy, in high level sport, one must be able to know both one’s own and the opposition strengths and weakness thoroughly, and then be able to strategically use all the available resources in the most effective ways in the appropriate contexts. As I am writing this, England are preparing for their final Euro match with Spain on Sunday – I am hoping Gareth is getting all this stuff right. The key resources are his playing squad, but how good is his motivational and metacognitive capability to make the right selections and utilise the best strategies in the ongoing context of the game? There will be opinions on this post Sunday evening.
As we enhance our resources and strategy use capability – this is good learning – we improve our chances of success. Of course, we do not always get the results we want, as goals vary in levels of difficulty. Getting a good degree is very achievable with a good learning plan and effort. Winning a Wimbledon tennis title is possible also, but much less achievable – even with the best plan and much willpower. An example, at the highest level of difficulty, is the Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who is exceptional at what he does, and his goal achievements have been excellent – one could use the term phenomenal. However, in the last season, while his team won the Premier League Title, they failed to win the European Champions Cup, the FA Cup and the League Cup. It could be that he lacked a best strategy in certain games, or a better strategy was employed by the opposition managers; maybe luck was just not on his side on such occasions – or any possible combination of such features. In such a heightened level of competition for top goal attainment, there are never guarantees of continuous success. Just on a whimsical point, I am not a Manchester City fan, but a long-suffering Spurs supporter – the team that is either very unlucky or what is becoming known as “Spursy”, “who consistently and inevitably fail to live up to expectations”.
I hope that you have found this series interesting and of practical value. I will put the full series on my website for future reference. Note: you can contact me at dennis.sale@gmail.com if you have areas of interest in the domains of learning, teaching, and wellbeing that you would like me to address from an evidence-based approach.
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Dennis Sale worked in the Singapore education system for 25 years as advisor, researcher and examiner. He coached over 15,000 teaching professionals and provided 100+ consultancies in the Asian region. Dennis is author of the books Creative Teachers: Self-directed Learners (Springer 2020) and Creative Teaching: An Evidence-Based Approach (Springer, 2015).
