What about the topic of “learning how to learn”?
This is quite different from naming the many structures which we believe, at this time, to comprise the mechanics, if you will, of learning. The article you posted kind of details how this process is supposed occur. But, this is like looking at a car (assume engine in front, driveshaft, rear wheel drive) and saying “OK, to make this go, we need a rotating shaft with some power behind it; we need a means of changing the directional rotation from longitudinally to laterally, we need a way to be able to go around corners, and etc; etc;
When I was growing up I had the ability to rapidly grasp ideas and concepts...up to a point. And that got me through high school. And of course, since I got good grades, nobody ever thought there was any issue. But I never really learned how to learn and had a terrible time in college.
I still have that problem today. I can watch a webinar and watch it again and study the materials...and walk away with flaming nothing. It can be very frustrating. It’s not taught, how to learn.
One cannot make someone learn... learning comes with a thirst for knowing, when they think they know everything, there is no thirst for knowledge
"Learning how to learn" goes hand in hand with "Knowing what you know", I think.
In the early grades I recall learning the multiplication table. At some point I realized that I would hesitate on "8x7" and "7x8", as well as anything involving a "9" where the other digit was "5" or above.
Since I wanted to master the multiplication table, I realized that I was wasting my time by looking at combinations that I knew; such as "3x8".
The first step for me then was to get a set of flash cards of my own and remove the easy ones from the deck. I then practiced with the remaining cards until I knew them.
So the first step in learning is to figure out what you know and what you don't know. The second step is to focus on what you don't know until you finally know it.
The trick with more difficult topics is to discern what you do or do not know. Technical textbooks are typically jammed with example problems. You start by reading the explanatory material until you encounter a worked-out example problem.
Instead of simply reading through the example, you can challenge yourself to solve the problem using just the knowledge you gained from the prior reading. If you can't solve it, then refer to the explanation for the example to figure out what information or skill you were missing and then try again.
Now comes a really important detail. Don't proceed past the example problem until you can work it out yourself without referring to the book's solutions. If you don't do this, you are liable to find that the example problems get progressively harder as you proceed through the chapter due to the fact that you missed some key concept.
The next step in a technical course would be to complete a homework assignment consisting of some of the problems at the end of a chapter. If you can do them then you are probably in good shape. If not, you will need to refer back to the chapter itself to find out what you are missing.
After several chapters are covered, exam time will arrive. Effective study will entail challenging yourself by doing the examples again and reviewing the problems at the end of the chapter, paying first attention to the problems that were actually assigned as homework.
For non-technical courses, you will probably find that the textbook lacks the guidance supplied by example problems. The challenge then is to create your own problems. Create a timeline of important events in the chapter. Write several paragraphs describing the major accomplishments of the major personalities mentioned in the chapter. Make a chart of what happened ("effects") and why they happened ("causes"). Others can perhaps coach you better on how to learn non-technical material. The bottom line is to be constantly testing your mastery of the topic.