This is part of the seven-part series of Learning Is a Struggle (Learner Edition). In Episode 11, Dr. Donald Easton-Brooks closes the series by showing you how to move beyond short-term studying and build learning that transfers—into new classes, new problems, and real-life decision-making. You’ll learn how to recognize whether you truly understand something (or just recognize it), how to turn knowledge into usable skill through practice and reflection, and how to protect your confidence when struggle shows up again. This episode also ties the full method together—learning as a process shaped by your lived experience, language, and cultural context—so you can keep improving without comparing your “learning room” to anyone else’s. You’ll leave with a simple long-term plan to keep learning on purpose.

Audience

• High school and college students who want learning that lasts beyond the test

• First-generation college students building long-term academic confidence

• Struggling learners who want to stop the cram–forget cycle

• Adult learners returning to school or skill training

• Students preparing for cumulative finals, certification exams, or next-level courses

• Learners who want to connect school learning to real-life goals and identity

  
  

  Keywords

  • Learning Is a Struggle (Learner Edition)

  • learning transfer

  • learn on purpose

  • study strategies

  • deep learning

  • metacognition

  • Bloom’s Taxonomy

  • active recall

  • retrieval practice

  • long-term retention

  • academic confidence

  • struggling learners

  • first-generation students

  • learning habits

  • student success