A Reflection on Metaskills

Introduction

Have you heard about metaskills?  This is a framework that the SQA have devised that allows us to reflect on many of the skills and qualities that we have.  It also allows us to reflect on our strengths and weaknesses highlighting what we might want to improve on.  

When I reflected on this framework I realised that my self-management, social intelligence and ability to innovate didn't just magically happen overnight.  They emerged over time.  So I wanted to write this with a view to sharing my own experience and to highlight some ways that other people might consider developing their metaskills too.  So here are two things that I'd like you, the reader, to think about.  

1.  Focusing on the Important Bits.

As a student when I began studying maths, I really found it hard to focus.  Maths was boring and hard, and there were lots of distractions around.  I wanted to be able to go out with my friends, play some music, draw...  But I learned over time that if I wanted to do well in my maths exams I had to focus.  I had to concentrate on one thing at a time and I had to remove any distractions.  I had no idea why this worked, I just knew that it did.  

What I learned was that I had to control my environment and I had to practice focusing.  The video below is by a medical expert, Dr. Andrew Huberman, who explains the biology and the biochemistry that occurs within our bodies when we try to focus.  It''s a complex video, but very much worth watching because explains some of the reasons why sometimes we can struggle to focus in terms of our bodies, our brains and the chemical reactions that take place within.  

What I love about this video is that he explains why distractions are such a problem, because they distract our visual attention away from what we're trying to do.  Moreover, he explains that it does take practice to get into the routine of realising that we've become distracted in our work and that we need to put some effort into refocusing.   

However, he also explains that there are optimal times in the day when we are more alert, he highlights that it's OK to take breaks, he highlights that everyone has different ways of learning, "cones of alertness", whereby some people focus their attention by looking at something and others focus their attention by listening.  All this comes from understanding the biology of our own bodies.  

2.  The Knock-On Effect of Learning to Focus.     

Learning to focus was a huge life skill for me, one that I learned through studying Maths.  But the knock-on effect of learning to focus was that I learned to pay attention to the important things and to adapt the way I behave in different situations.  I knew when it was important to pay attention to my lecturers and when it was OK to have a bit of a laugh with my friends.  My critical thinking improved and my curiosity about the world grew as I learned the different ways that mathematical patterns existed in the world so I was able to make better sense of the physical and social worlds that I was part of.  My self-confidence grew as I passed more and more of my assessments at college and university.  Even my leadership skills grew as I learned to make good decisions based of evidence and I was able to communicate and justify decisions to my colleagues.  

Studying mathematics was very much instrumental in helping me to learn to focus my attention.  But once had practiced and gotten good at that skill, I started to see how much maths there was in the world around us.  Hannah Fry is a brilliant mathematician and she devotes much of her time to educating people about the different ways in which almost any aspect of life can be understood if you look at it in a mathematical way.  Here is one of her videos that shows you how even a concept as abstractly human as love can be thought of in a mathematical way.  

One of the main points that I'm trying to make here is that my focus and my ability to focus my attention on the right things at the right time influenced all of my other metaskills.  But in Hannah's video she mentions the influence of other people.  Have you ever stopped to think about how other people can influence your ability to focus?  As Hannah points out, just like in a romantic relationship, the influence of one person on another is important. So perhaps this is something important to consider when you're trying to focus, study and learn?  Are you easily influenced by other people?  Do those people pull you into a negative spiral?  Or do they influence you in a positive way?  Some food for thought perhaps.

Conclusion

I hope that you've enjoyed my reflection on metaskills.  For me, learning to focus was a huge skill that was difficult to learn, but it was such an important skill to develop.  But it's not easy.  It takes time, it takes practice and it takes the support of your friends and family.  I loved my experience as a mathematics student.  It taught me so many skills way beyond the use of numbers, graphs and charts.  It taught me real life skills.  So as I draw this article to an end I hope you've found this article informative, inspiring and just a little bit entertaining.  And if you'd like to leave me some comments by responding to this article, I'd love to hear your thoughts about metaskills, mathematics or your experience of learning.