Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash
Technical Learning
I’ve always been interested in what I like to call meta-learning or ways that I can be a more effective learner. This goes all the way back to my school days and I remember learning about ways that drawing mind-maps was more effective for visual learning and that da Vinci kept notebooks, and so I started doing that too. I started trying to capture notes in these tree-like mind-maps. I kept moleskine notebooks for years. I also read a book on speed reading, but I must confess even after lots of practice I was never very good at it. Maybe I just didn’t get it, but it felt like just glorified skimming to me. But I did pick up some habits around getting a sense of the overall structure of a book or chapter and making multiple passes at the information each with a different purpose. For technical learning I very rarely read every word on the page.
Technical learning
In terms of technical learning of skills used in software engineering, infrastructure engineering, cyber engineering… basically any of the term + engineering where the engineering being done is solving problems with computers, there’s a few techniques that I’ve picked up which have served me well.
Skip to the tl;dr if you’re short on time.
Spaced Repetition Memory
I first learned about spaced-repetition memory when I was experimenting with polyphasic sleeping, and the author of supermemo has also written about this subject. But, where I first learned about the power of using spaced-repetition memory in relation to learning a skill like programming was through this article by Derek Sivers.
Memorizing a programming language using spaced repetition software
Spaced-repetition software (SRS), I use Anki, is a force-multiplier when learning any technical subject. It’s particularly useful when studying for certification exams, I’ve found.
Type it out yourself
I can’t remember where I first received this advice, but when learning something like a programming language, type out all of the examples, exercises and labs yourself and get it to run. There seems to be a mind-body connection and muscle memory plays an important part in learning something like a programming language. This also forces you to slow down and really ingest and understand what you’re learning. I think the tendency is to want to just copy and paste examples from books or tutorials into the code editor, but a lot more value is derived from typing it out manually. This is the active learning required to really understand something like a programming language in a way that sticks with you.
I always learn this way when learning something like Ansible, Terraform, Python, etc.
Anki has a feature where you can type out the answer. I’ve found this really useful for memorizing terminal commands and syntax.
Labbing
There’s no substitute for real-world hands-on experience but working out engineering challenges in a lab environment is a decent facsimile I’ve found.
This is the “learn thing the hard way” approach that has become a marketing moniker for titles such as “Learn Python the Hard Way” or “Learn Kubernetes the Hard Way”. When choosing study materials I think at least one resource should follow this approach where the learner is encouraged to work through the examples or labs while following along with the material. If the material doesn’t have it you should invent your own.
Creating your own homelab can be a great way to learn hands-on, but you don’t need to. Most of the time I find myself spinning up VM’s in VirtualBox using Vagrant right on my workstation. All you need is a laptop and some VM’s. For learning some topics like networking, dedicated hardware is useful though.
I highly recommend automating building lab environments with a tool like Vagrant. There should be as little friction as possible between making a mistake that potentially breaks your environment and being able to just tear down and rebuild. It’s important to have the psychological safety-net to allow for experimentation, trying things, and knowing it can be easily rebuilt. The learning process can and should be a bit messy. Very much like the creative process. You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet sort of thing.
Project-based learning
In my experience nothing quite solidifies technical skills I’ve learned quite like working on a project using those tools. I’ve been fortunate in my work that often I’ve had something directly related to what I was trying to learn that I needed to build or fix. But in other cases I’ve learned a ton on my own either putting together some automation for my homelab build, adding a feature to an open source project or just building something I thought should exist.
It’s my opinion that you don’t really know a thing until you’ve built something with it. I stand by this.
No amount of book learning, certification exams, or fill-in-the-blank is a substitute for being able to build something with what you’ve learned. In fact, I think as soon as you can get your hands on a project to build alongside coursework, books, or tutorials, that’s the best way to learn. It also helps if it’s something you care about. Personal projects or work projects tend to be the best I’ve found.
I’ll often start a project before I’m done working through whatever learning materials I’m using for that skill. This quickly uncovers the gaps in my learning and it forces a different kind of attention to the source material that’s necessary to solve problems. The information becomes more sticky too as your brain starts to create a more accurate mental model of what you’re trying to learn as it makes links and associations with the hands-on project.
Treat primary sources like books, courses, or tutorials more like references. Project-based learning is where the real learning happens.
Don’t just take my word for it either.
Self-directed, project-based learning by Seth Godin
Take notes
I’ve been a religious note-taker going all the way back to my highschool days. Note-taking seems to be a common habit among all of the really high performing technical professionals I’ve encountered over the course of my career.
I don’t think it matters so much how you do it though, I’ve seen a variety of methods used. But habitual note-taking seems to be a differentiator.
I’ve already written extensively on how I manage my personal knowledge base if you’re curious to learn more about how I do it.
Quality primary sources
As with most things, quality matters. I also think it pays dividends to put effort in up front in sourcing quality learning materials. Often I’m working a full time gig while also trying to improve my skills and advance my career. I don’t have a lot of time to waste on inferior learning materials.
I think it’s well worth it to spend a little money on a book or a course if it’s well regarded. I’m a book learner, so I’ll often find myself purchasing at least 2-3 books on whatever subject I’m trying to learn. I typically base this on researching what are the most recommended or well-regarded books on that topic. There’s usually 1-2 that are widely considered the de facto standard on some topic.
In terms of book sources I think the material should be progressive and I think the best sources encourage the reader to follow along by doing the examples or labs themselves.
Ansible for DevOps by Jeff Geerling is one of my favorite examples that does this really well.
Another great example is The Kubernetes Book by Nigel Poulton.
(These aren’t affiliate links, I just really admire their work)
It’s not uncommon for me to bounce between 2-3 primary sources for learning something. I don’t think the learner should rely on just one book, course, or tutorial to learn a thing.
tl;dr
If I had to sum up the most effective way that I learn it would be:
- Find 2-3 well-regarded primary sources to learn from whether it’s books, courses, or tutorials.
- Work through the learning materials and type out the exercises, terminal commands, or labs manually yourself and get them to run.
- Create a lab and automate it with tools like Vagrant and VirtualBox.
- Pick a project you’re interested in to hack on and work on it alongside while you’re learning.
- Supplement by taking notes and doing Anki flashcards.
That’s it. Have fun learning!