Learning to Learn 

We often hear phrases from the hadith such as: "learn from the mother's arms to the grave" or "Seek knowledge to China", all of these expressions show how important learning is, how important it is to study. The phrase also shows that learning is a lifelong activity, as long as we live. If learning is important, of course we need to know what is the essence of learning? 

Learning according to Gagne is a change in the level of behavior that is relatively permanent due to the process of experience. Changes in the level of behavior in question are changes that are open, observable. So if people study mathematics, they must be able to show their learning outcomes, for example, if they are asked 1 + 1, if they answer 2, it means that they have learned correctly. A person is not enough to be called learning if he only says that 'I have learned' without showing a result of his learning. The process of experience in question is a process such as reading, listening, discussing, taking notes and so on. If someone hits his head and then is able to work on high-level math problems, it cannot be classified as learning.

I remember when I was in elementary school, I memorized many cabinet ministers' names, but now, maybe I only remember 3 cabinet ministers. With this phenomenon how to learn can explain. When I used to memorize there was a change in behavior, namely being able to remember the name of the minister and for a certain time it remained in my memory, meaning that something was permanent even though it wasn't for a long period of time. This is still a learning process.

With today's technological developments and changes happening so rapidly, what we previously learned will quickly become obsolete. What we previously learned later becomes "stale" and even useless, so we are always required to update our knowledge, which also means that we must always learn. Another interesting thing is that the way we learn is also becoming obsolete. A possible alternative is also to constantly update our way of learning, not just the content of our study (content) but also the method, because it requires a learning process to learn (learning to learn).

Then how exactly is learning to learn. One thing that is important is that there is no one way of learning that fits everyone, everyone should develop his own way of learning that is most effective. One person's way of learning may not necessarily be right for another.

Learning to learn (LTL), is an attitude to always renew and improve oneself, therefore it requires people who are always open to input and opinions of others. A number of institutions continue to develop this LTL.

Some of the basic philosophies of LTL are context, goals, methods, feedback and action

Context in this sense is what will be studied should have a clear context, we can choose a different context for the same content, for example in a thermodynamics course, people can choose the context of the course for the basic science of thermodynamics or to develop machines. related to the principles of thermodynamics. With a clear context we can choose the important part of the content that is conveyed, remember not all content is meaningful to us, even though all of them are important but there are only some parts that are meaningful to us, here the principle of significance plays a role

Also related to the context is the goal or purpose. The goal here is to what extent we will absorb the content we learn within a certain period of time, remember that science continues to develop and it takes time to get into a certain area in a field. If we insist on exploring a content/science but we don't have enough time to explore it, chances are we will be disappointed and then will reduce our motivation to learn.

The next basic philosophy is method, and it is this part that most people highlight. There are unlimited methods that can be used, conventional methods such as studying in the classroom or in the library, are only one way, other ways can be used, discussion, chatting, observing, asking, and doing it (practice), and can done with the coca cola principle: anytime, anywhere, with anyone. This also has a consequence that the relationship between teachers and teaching participants does not have to be in the form of formal teacher-student relationships, lecturers and students, which actually narrows the learning process itself.

But in general, start a learning process, from a number of learning methods, by looking at the outline of what will be learned, then first get a comprehensive picture of its contents, then look for the main principles. Reduce writing, but complete it with pictures, sounds, schematics, graphics, sketches and mind maps (this section will be discussed specifically). Another thing that is often forgotten or "feared" by fellow students is ASKING and questioning the principle of our best friend being used here. Our best friends are: What, Why, Who, Where, When and How.

Still about the method, why a teacher or lecturer always looks smarter is because they teach back what they have learned, therefore start also to teach what you know to others. Rest assured that your knowledge or knowledge will not decrease in the slightest and will even increase.

Feedback, what is meant here is to immediately get feedback from what we learn, no matter how bad the feedback is, for example by checking the correctness of our understanding with the lecturer, or trying it directly, so that we can know whether what we have learned is correct or not. , if it can't be fixed immediately. Unpleasant words that often appear from the teacher are actually feedback for students, if this happens, don't be afraid or discouraged, immediately ask which part needs improvement.