Thread by @rroudt

Want to become an effective learner? Do the metacognitive loop.

Inspired by @ness_labs' Collector to Creator course, I wrote an atomic essay on how to think about thinking—and how it makes you a better learner.

🧵 Prefer tweets? See my essay in the thread.

How do you learn best?

If you want to become an effective learner, you need to get an answer to that question—fast.

There are many ways to learn, but only a few work. Finding the right learning approach can be difficult—unless you use the metacognitive loop.

Metacognition is thinking about thinking, learning about learning, and knowing about knowing.

By going through this process often—making it a loop—you'll become a better thinker and learner.

Metacognition has three parts:

• Knowledge of processes for thinking, learning, and decision-making.
• Regulation of your thinking and learning environment.
• Experience that's driven by your thoughts and emotions during thinking and learning.

To make metacognition a loop, you need to:

• Plan
• Monitor
• Evaluate

Plan your sessions based on your knowledge of how
people generally think, learn, and make decisions. Study psychology so you can select the right mental and digital tools to help you think and learn better.

Monitor yourself to regulate your thinking and learning sessions. Discover the strategies that best help you learn and create. This is a personal area—for example, do you prefer drawing over writing, or mornings over evenings?

Evaluate your learning experience by reflecting on your thoughts and feelings. Learning and deep thinking are only sustainable if you progress, so make the struggle visible. Find weak spots and look for people to push you further.

This is the metacognitive loop. When stuck, learn more, and adjust your strategies. It's a never-ending cycle.