When we were starting
LLLab, the main thesis reflecting our company was, "we explore how to learn and teach in a world where the only constant is change." We borrowed the phrase "the only constant is change", allegedly coined by Greek philosopher Heraclitus, from a guidebook to Tokyo architecture.
No one expected that the concept would become so relevant, and the developments happening in the world would force us to reinvent education so quickly.
In an instant, we were left one on one with a ton of content. Education companies big and small opened up their courses for general public. Pick whatever strikes your fancy—learning new things with Сoursera or listening to Arzamas podcasts. Simultaneously, universities and schools were rushing to move operations online. To be honest, I, too signed up for a whole bunch of courses in March, but, three weeks into quarantine, my ability to digest content ran out of steam. In the end, I started adding any new video or lecture to a long list titled "Things to watch when I have the energy". Clearly, most of the items were doomed to stay in that list indefinitely.
One of the most popular requests these days that I get from educational companies is not about moving programs online (everyone seems to have managed to do that), but, rather, how to teach people to learn online and independently turn their knowledge into skills, preferably, quickly and all while staying at home. Just like companies introducing working-from-home regimes revealed lots of unviable work systems, business processes and interaction, in the sphere of education, too, though slowly and reluctantly, everyone got exposed to more choices, and together with those came responsibility that no one actually wished for.
In light of all that, let's find out what it means—to know how to learn. The process of learning includes three stages:
- Awareness and goal setting
- Action
- Reflection on gained experience
Each stage has its own emotional, cognitive and behavioral processes. The cycle is never-ending—reflection is followed by new goals, new actions and another reflection.
Let us review each stage in detail.