TTT #51: "Taking Agency Over Learning" with Sergio Hunt

The way you learn and comprehend can vary significantly compared to how someone around you does. Irrespectively, you are both exposed to the same linear approach that might not cater to either of your styles. Most education systems across the world try to limit us into a box that might not be meant for us. As a result, so many students-despite having “access” to learning-are deprived of a meaningful learning experience.

Sergio Hunt was more of a social learner. He enjoyed being in a small group, collaborating with others, listening to their perspectives and offering his own. Moreover, he approached emulation as a learning tactic: a source of inspiration for understanding until you could make it your own. However, very few students are exposed to schooling that involves critical discussions or exposed to fruitful experiences. Also, despite observational learning being backed by empirical psychological evidence, imitation is discouraged and has a layer of guilt or embarrassment attached to it.

Sergio's educational journey had a blend of diverse options-both public and private school in England, a trade college and an interdisciplinary BSc degree in music technology. Reflecting, he realized how schooling often relies on hitting outcomes. We get only one chance to define ourselves instead of being motivated to improve upon our mistakes. Not only do we seldom learn the real-world application, but even within the current system, the absence of the liberty to fail hinders us from working over the identified gaps.

Moreover, Sergio talks about personal knowledge management. Our brain, he mentions, may have remarkable ideas and insights. But we may not be the best at holding those pieces of information or organizing our thoughts. Being a super Notion user, Serj developed Edu-Creator OS; a Notion dashboard for educational content creators to deliver transformational learning experiences.

We have different ways of learning and retention and even differences in terms of what we want to learn. Unfortunately, even after recognizing this, we have yet not accommodated such considerations.  In such an environment, let's not restrict ourselves to the linear approach we are exposed to. Engage with the last podcast you listened, learn something that interests you even if it is unrelated to your career prospects, watch a lecture about a subject you have never interacted with before. We need to take agency over our learning, constructing what and how we want to learn based on what matters to us.