The New Science of Learning: How to Learn in Harmony With Your Brain

by Terry Doyle, Todd Zakrajsek, Kathleen F. Gabriel (Foreword)

Learning to learn is the key skill for tomorrow. This breakthrough book builds the foundation every student needs, from freshman orientation to graduate school.The second edition of this bestselling student text has been considerably updated with the latest findings from cognitive science that further illuminate learning for students, and help them understand what’s involved in retaining new information. Beyond updating every chapter with insights from new research, this edition introduces a range of additional topics – such as cognitive load, learned helplessness, and persistence – all of which provide students with immediately usable information on how to regulate their lives to maximize learning and fulfillment in college.The premise of this book remains that brain science shows that most students' learning strategies are highly inefficient, ineffective or just plain wrong; and that while all learning requires effort, better learning does not require more effort, but rather effectively aligning how the brain naturally learns with the demands of intellectual work. This book explicates for students what is involved in learning new material, how the human brain processes new information, and what it takes for that information to stick, even after the test.This succinct book explains straightforward strategies for changing how to prepare to learn, engage with course material, and set about improving recall of newly learned material at will. This is not another book about study skills and time management strategies, but instead an easy-to-read description of the research about how the human brain learns in a way that students can put into practice right away.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Teaching

242 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2013

Reviews

[Timothy Villamater · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book. quick read. tons of information with supporting research to improve your learning.

[Mariah Byrnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were some important reminders I needed to hear from this book as I headed into this school year. Not a ton of new information, but rather, I realized the importance of the information I already knew and have put new schedules and techniques into practice.

[Wiebke Kuhn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read, succinctly relaying the key points that will allow students to learn better: sleep, nutrition, hydration, exercise, focusing, practicing, learning materials through more than one sensory input. While the book is short (about 120 small pages), I think a few more examples and illustrations would have been helpful because the target audience is supposed to be students. It did not really read like that; it read more like a book meant for teachers/faculty to think about how they are teaching. Nevertheless, I am giving it to my son to read...

[Sintija Valucka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ja lasa dažādas grāmatas par mācīšanos, pedagoģiju un līdzīgiem tematiem, tad nevarētu teikt, ka šī grāmata satur īpaši daudz jaunas informācijas, bet tā lieliski apkopo dažāda veida informāciju par to, kā īsti smadzenes var labāk iegaumēt informāciju. Grāmata nav par to, kā padarīt interesantāku mācību procesu, bet tieši par to, kā veicināt mācīšanās procesu, kas smadzenēm ir nepieciešams un kas traucē. Šīs bioloģiskās lietas par mācīšanos ir ļoti svarīgi apzināties, lai palīdzētu gan sev, gan citiem.

[Lee Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as part of a recommended list for work (I'm an instructional designer by trade), this didn't blow me away or 'shatter my paradigms' or anything. It did offer some handy tips on improving memory and learning. I enjoyed the parts differentiating multitasking vs task shifting, and the specifics of how the timing of exercise influenced retention of new learning. Worth a read for new, ambitious college students.

[Carly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Required reading for my job starting next week.

For a required reading, non-fiction novel it was not nearly as boring as it could've been. I feel like I learned a lot of good information that I can use in my upcoming job to help students make the most of their academic experience at university.

[Matthew Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rather short book, but packed full of research-based techniques to help learn anything in the most effective and efficient way humanly possible (as it is all based on how your brain actually works)!

[Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting reading

I wish I had this book before I went to college,

I enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend

This book to anyone who is thinking about college

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The advice in this book is basic but also indispensable for most college students. And it is written in an accessible way that all beginning college students could easily understand.

[Isabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I read this book in my graduate program. This is very important information for all learners

[Christa Maurice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, but nothing new. I've read all this information before. If you haven't read a lot about the science of learning and want to, this might be for you.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dipped my toes into this one for a few days. Brings some brain science and biological perspectives to learning - an activity we do more or less all the time. Most interesting for me was to consider how our brains make, remake and strengthen neural pathways and networks, through the process of engaging with things over time while awake and dreaming with them as we sleep. One insight I had was the power of reading, journaling, freewriting, and even daydreaming in weaving the ‘neural networks’ we operate with. Another was imagining how we access memories through other memories, and why we cannot access others, in our everyday train of thought. Short read to ponder on with your own thoughts - recommend.

[Patrik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Both Terry Doyle and Todd Zakrajsek have written other books about learning, at least some better than this one. However, by focusing on how to get the brain ready and able to learn this book does add something to the literature on learning. The book is also written for a student audience, which is a bit different from most.

The book claims to be about "how to learn in harmony with your brain." This statement made me think that it would discuss cognitive psychology and the evidence-based learning strategies that arise from this research (such as spacing, interleaving, retrieval practice, elaboration, dual-coding etc.). Although the book occasionally refers to these topics, especially spacing and elaboration, the focus is really on the "physical" side of the brain. That is, the book focuses on the importance of sleep, nutrition, and exercise, as well as the importance of paying attention, using multiple senses, seeing patterns, and fostering a good mindset (growth mindset).

These behaviors may seem trivial and perhaps obvious, but I don't think it is to our students. Hence the book serves students well in that even the best learning strategies will not prove effective if the learner is sleep-deprived and in poor health. So, in the end, this short book does serve a good purpose. [I would say that Tood Doyle's 2011 book on Learner-Centered Teaching covered most of the same topics very well. That book, however, was written for teachers.]