Metalearning

I use the term metalearning alot when talking about the underlying principles in my training and development work. I used it yesterday and got a funny look (over the phone). The other party said “you mean learning, right?”

I responded in the negative and reassured the person I meant metalearning. But what is it?

Metalearning refers to the practice of learning how I learn or in your case, learning how you learn. Like metacognition, thinking about thinking, metalearning helps us become more powerful and thoughtful contributers to the organization. I post about leading through learning and how learning is the precondition to growth in the new economy but did not include my thoughts on metalearning. I simply hadn’t drawn the connection until my conversation late yesterday that leaders learn to learn.

Metalearning, for me, has enabled me to control and own my own learning and thus performance and productivity. I know how I learn and I control that in my interactions. The hard part is helping others understand that they do not know what is best for me in terms of learning.

For example, I was invited to review a training program and promptly agreed asking for the materials to be sent to me electronically so I can review them and offer insights. The response was a romantic posturing about how vital it was to see the delivery of the content, the nuances instructor’s banter, the pageantry of workgroups tackling problems, and a bunch of hokum about coming out for a week long program about a topic with which I am intimately familiar. The problem here is that the person feels that all people learn in one or few ways and that I, in fact, don’t know how I learn best.

As a Bill Kirwin, recent commenter added, “The state of knowledge work today can be summed up in one word. Overload.” I totally agree. Bill went on to offer guidance, “The key change that will allow innovation and creativity to arise is to reduce (not eliminate) the noise of email, info-feeds, social networks, etc.” Bill is talking about the influx of electronic media but the point goes well beyond that. It is about control what and how we learn and process knowledge for productive use in our environments.

Metalearning paves the way for you to own the learning and interact with knowledge in ways that are best and most productive. Moreover, it helps you to know when to switch the modality so you can get more. Probably the most powerful thing about metalearning is that you learn more about learning as you go. My mind is always on and I can absorb knowledge and process it at amazing rates, leaving some to wonder if I have got too much time on my hands.

So how do you learn to learn? I learned to learn in a Jesuit college. I mastered this when I took on the role of learning professional and began noticing how my information comes in, how it processes, and how it goes out. I took notes, I reflected on my learning, and began to practice and experiment with different modalities. It was almost like metacognition leading to metalearning.

Today’s task is for you to recognize when you are learning something and take a few notes about the modality of that experience and what you take from the situation. Do this a few times and you’ll be metalearning.

Image source: Envios

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