Learning to learn at school is based on successfully applied learning strategies and is a core competence that can be acquired throughout the school years. Successful learning at school is based on the precise knowledge of learning methods – and their applicability.
There are two levels of learning: the subject level and the methodological level. While students learn concrete knowledge about the respective subjects at the subject level, they also learn – at best – the corresponding learning methods.
Most learning methods at school are not subject-specific. Teachers teach them across subjects and parallel to subject knowledge. In most cases, they are not explicitly communicated as learning content or even an exclusive part of a subject, so that often the students (and not infrequently the teachers as well) do not have a pronounced awareness of the long-term significance of learning methods or at least do not give them a central place in everyday school life.