Five Reasons Why Meta-learning is The #1 Skill For A Successful Career

There’s no underestimating the value of meta learning skills. Whether you’re branching out into a new discipline or looking to become the best at what you do, meta cognitive thinking can have an utterly transformative effect.

But what exactly is meta learning? And how can you develop your meta learning skills?

What Is Meta Learning?

It might sound like a meaningless buzzword but the term meta learning gives us an incredibly valuable way to talk about a practical everyday skill that we all use.

Put simply, meta learning is the process of learning about learning. It’s about understanding the most effective techniques for picking up new knowledge and new skills.

Sometimes it’s a general thing, such as methods of studying while other times it can be very specific to the person. Have you ever found that you learned better when you had music playing in the background? That’s meta learning. Or, on the other hand, do you find that you need a silent room, away from all possible distractions? That’s also metalearning.

In essence, meta learning is all about discovering the best ways to make your learning more effective and that all starts with learning about yourself.

Practising Meta Cognition

Most of the time when people talk about meta cognition (thinking about thinking), they’re talking in the context of mental health. That could encompass how to find good coping mechanisms for the things that stress you or how to deal with grief after the death of a loved one.

Meta learning has a strong crossover with mental health, except instead of thinking about how to minimise distress and maximise happiness, your aim is to minimise distraction and maximise comprehension.

Nonetheless, understanding your own mind will go a long way to making this process easier – particularly for neurodivergent people.

Of course, we can’t give much specific advice on how to study your own learning process as this does, of course, vary from person to person. That said, the best thing you can do is practise regular self observation to see what works and doesn’t work for you specifically.

Finding The Right Learning Resource

Some people learn well from books. All they need to do is spend a weekend reading about the subject and they’ll absorb all the knowledge they need. If you’re one of these people then you’re in luck – the world of nonfiction is rich and diverse and with the internet, you’ve got every resource you could ever need right at your fingertips.

If you’re not one of these people, then the most important meta learning you can do is to find out which resources DO work for you.

For many, videos are the answer. Between documentaries and YouTube tutorials, if you find that sound and images make a major difference to your learning style then, once again, the internet has everything you need.

Some people think that video materials are somehow less effective than written materials – that they simply can’t provide as much depth on a subject. This is not only wrong but can be damaging to many people’s learning styles.

If you find that a resource is working for you, then don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. This might sound strange for an article about meta learning but the most important part is not how you learn but simply that you learn.

Meta Learning With Mentors

Of course, for many people the best resource is to directly learn from a mentor, but even then your approach may vary greatly.

Most mentors like to explain things directly and, if possible, watch in real time as their students try something for the first time. This works very well for some students, giving them a chance to get immediate feedback and correction on what they’re doing wrong.

Unfortunately, as with all things psychology related, for every rule there is an exception. For as many people as there are who love to learn with their teacher present, there are plenty of people for whom that audience can be incredibly stressful.

For this second group of people, the best thing to do is to make notes, practise in their spare time, and report back the next week having had a chance to give something a go first before they have to show it off to their teacher.

At the end of the day, if you want to practise meta learning with your mentor, then be sure to have regular conversations about the process you’re taking and how effective it is. If all is working, then great, but if something’s not quite clicking, then don’t be afraid to change things up and experiment with other approaches.