I suppose it is much the same as how adults in general learn and not all that different to how children learn. First one must be motivated or shall we say engaged with the content. Then depending on one's learning style: visual, auditory or kinesthetic an adult could tailor their learning to their own learning style to optimize learning. Agency or the ability to push oneself to operate in Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development could be a challenge. So can finding scaffolds for supporting one's learning. This is where finding mentors is especially helpful. Luckily we have so many more ways of connecting with professionals today. We can find articles, You-Tube videos and podcasts. We can follow individuals on twitter, facebook, instagram and tik-tok. But then there are many challenges as to how to curate the massive volume of information.
To me, it feels like I am on the starship Enterprise and the entire universe is flying at me at warp speed. I want to process the information that is pertinent to my current area of study, while steering clear of the black holes that send me on time-consuming journeys to nowhere. Or worse send me on a collision course with an innumerable number of obstacles that could potentially derail me. A collision with an asteroid could be as devastating as writer's block. Or picking up an unwanted passenger like COVID could sideline me, much as interacting with unfriendly hostile extraterrestrials. So armed with my checklist, much as Chekhov plotting the course to get the Enterprise to its target destination, I too try to stay on course. Remembering the famous Star Trek quote "Insufficient facts always invite danger". I want to strike the balance of just enough information and not so much as to sink my endeavor.
Metacognition in overdrive, my brain struggles to take care of my mental, emotional, and physical health. Thinking about how I learn, makes me painfully aware of how my learning is not as "sticky" as it once was. Perhaps a major motivator to the challenge of obtaining a Master's Degree was to stave off age related dementia. I have never been overly confident about my abilities. That is probably because my learning style being evenly balanced between Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic means that I am not good at any of the learning styles. In fact I have to attempt to assimilate all three styles to really capture what I am attempting to learn. I have much empathy with my struggling students. It is also why I need to have a community of educators that can model for me and give me feedback so that I can be assured of my place in the classroom as an effective teacher.
So I pray that my brain is still capable of adding neural pathways and has not pruned away or allowed atrophy to take over and that I am still able to learn as a teacher. Because it is my most fervent wish that by continuing to learn, I will provide a model to my students that will give them a foundation in learning that will put them in good stead for their futures and solve the problems that will make for a better world for everyone.