We live in a time where we can fly across oceans, talk to each other from thousands of kilometers away, hold magical mirrors in our hands that reflect a thousand colors, and open the gateway to countless other worlds. People may have thought these were mere fantasies in the past, but the real barrier was simply knowledge.
Therefore, I believe the difference between a "bad" learner and a good one is a knowledge gap. This gap is difficult to overcome but can be achieved through perseverance. Fortunately, we live in a modern Renaissance era, where there is an explosion of information and innovation, where humans understand cognitive science, neuroscience, philosophy, computer science, AI, and language models. We live in an age of abundant knowledge. The best time for self-learning and self-discovery.
In this blog, I want to share my learning journey from a bad student into a knowledgeable one.
<aside> 🏫 High school
During my high school, I am a bad student. The main reasons for my struggles were the lack of background knowledge of the subject, no learning skill, and learning without purpose. I had convinced myself that I was not intelligent, which led to a vicious cycle of negative self-talk and a lack of confidence. Then, it makes me lose motivation and less willing to work hard. The result is poorer grades.
Picture of my transcript in 11th grade, in which there are many subjects under 5.0
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I was overweight, had poor social skills, and was very insecure.
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<aside> 🏢 After high-school
After finishing high school, I spent six months at university but dropped out because I didn't feel my chosen major was a good fit. I then worked as a social worker and did photography and video journalism. I often covered social issues, such as elderly lottery ticket sellers or farmers losing their land. I could see their frustration, but I really struggled to explain the mechanisms behind these problems. I didn't know how to read a research paper and couldn't make a good argument for my writing. However, these frustrations helped me realize the importance of learning, and motivated me to return to university at the age of 27.
The photo in the story of land erosion caused by illegal sand mining in the Mekong Delta
Illustration of the health effects of fine dust
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<aside> 🎓 University
While studying at Fulbright University, I discovered a unique beauty in learning. I was ablefaced to see the wonderful combination of different fields of study, such as architecture, Buddhism, hip hop dancing, Vietnamese and world history, art, and psychology.
However, while studying, I faced the old problem of feeling insecure about my learning abilities and how to study effectively. Most of my classmates were very talented (many of them came from gifted school ,and many of my peer had national awards). In addition, I had to solve problems in learning such as language barriers, and how to manage and build knowledge for myself. That's why I started my self-learning journey about "learning how to learn".
A tour introducing the architectural history of classic buildings in Saigon
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<aside> 🧠 Learning “How to learn”
During my college years, I spent time self-learning on taking note, then started teaching at MỞ - Mơ và Hỏi. When I teach there, it inspired me to study in-depth the scientific knowledge behind the learning process. I delved into cognitive psychology to explain how to take effective notes and studied epistemology to understand how to reason and build a knowledge system. Additionally, I explored the role of technology in learning and thought of ways to use it to support the learning process.
Phuong Do and I taught two courses on Learning How to Learn. Each course has 20 students. This video summary content of that course.
Learning how to learn is a broad concept, but from my perspective, I will divide it into three main topics:
You can find some of my blog post about those topic here: https://howtolearn.space/community/hoang-long and follow my newletters: https://longhoang.substack.com/
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<aside> 🛣️ Where do I go from here?
But reflecting on my teaching, I’m not a good teacher because I tend to use teaching as a way for me to learn and don't focus on how to design learning materials for student success. For example, I often focus on explaining general theories and the science behind taking note rather than focusing on practical application - a stes-bs-step on how to take note. Theories approach is good for my learning process but it not the most logical way to teach beginners students. Therefore, in the coming time, I will design my learning approach to address the issues for students. I should priority at learning to solve the students' problems. One advantage of this approach is that it helps me identify and focus on the “useful knowledge”. Useful knowledge is the information that bring value for you and other life.
If I could go back in time, I would have wished for someone by my side to encourage me in my studies. This would have made me more confident and less insecure during the learning process. Therefore, in the next chapter of my learning journey, I want to learn so that I can help other students on their academic journey.
*Picture by midjourney: People help each other climb, many enormous mountains on the background*
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