Learning to Learn Learning to Learn

What are learning strategies?

So, learning strategies are methods that can help you acquire, retain and apply knowledge. You don’t need to know and use all the possible methods there are—you just need the right number in your armory that you can unleash flexibly in different learning situations. This lets you optimize your learning process and makes it easier to tackle the mountain of material in front of you.

What learning strategies do you cover in your workshop?

We spend two days introducing a range of strategies and trying them out together with the students. Every workshop turns out differently, though, because we go along with whatever the students need. One group might be more concerned with methods for planning their time, for instance, while others could be more interested in reflection and in methods with a more practical side. We discuss methods such as question-and-answer techniques or the Pomodoro technique.

We look at people’s individual learning behavior with the aid of specific learning situations and start by asking ourselves two questions:  “How do I learn at the moment?” and “What challenges do I encounter in the process?” We think about these questions and see what still needs to be improved and what methods might be good for achieving that.

Can you actually learn without strategies?

Absolutely! I always find that, when something’s working super well, you should stick to what brings you proven success. In the long term, though, learning without any strategies whatsoever is often less efficient and less effective.

What are the most common challenges that students raise with you?

The challenges vary. One very common issue is how to learn vast amounts of material in a short space of time. That can be so overwhelming that you never actually get started. For this, therefore, we try out strategies that help people to structure and process what’s in front of them and see together how we can plan the time available to them well and fit everything in with the rest of their day-to-day routine.

Who is the workshop suitable for?

The workshop is designed for students of all subjects and in all semesters, especially those who really are interested in grappling with the issue, adapting how they learn and thus benefiting from learning strategies.

What “myths” about learning would you be happy to debunk once and for all?

My top contender would be the idea that you simply have to re-read something often enough for it to stick. That’s not true. Active learning is much more effective than passive read-throughs and repetition. In the workshop, we look at what rhythms are good for repetition.

How did you yourself learn when you were younger? Did you have a learning strategy you couldn’t do without?

I used to be quite an unstructured learner. At some point, though, I consciously started to question my learning behavior. A real game-changer for me came right at the start of a semester, when I began to ask myself questions about the courses I was about to do. That got me curious and drew me away from the idea of “I have to do that.” Thus I was able to understand what I’d learned better and could see where there were still gaps.

One last question: what’s been your most important insight about learning?

My most important insight about learning is that it’s an ongoing process that I can and must shape through my own actions. It’s important to realize if a method doesn’t suit you—and then to make a deliberate effort to drop it from your repertoire. The same goes for mistakes. That way I find out what really works for me.

Thank you very much for your time.

The interview was conducted by Alena Krieger.

Three strategies to try out

1. Time check-in in the mornings: what commitments do I have today? What could I move around? Have I planned in enough breaks? A brief check-in can be a huge help with time management.
2. Mind map: what’s been some of the key content of the last few lectures? What can I remember, and can I already begin to form connections? The mind map makes it clear where you might still have some gaps, allowing you to target your learning accordingly.
3. Just five minutes: I’m going to sit down and study for just five minutes. Once you’ve started, you often simply end up finishing the task in front of you.