Un alt fel de a învăța

by Barbara Oakley, Beth Rogowsky, Terrence J. Sejnowski

Încă de la început, cititorii sunt avertizați că multe dintre vechile lor opinii legate de aceste subiecte vor fi contrazise pe baza noilor descoperiri. Dacă elevii sau copiii tăi învață mai încet, este, în același timp, posibil să învețe mai temeinic și, dacă perseverează, pot chiar să întreacă niște copii supradotați.

Brainstormingul ar putea fi depășit – dar există și alte soluții. Pauzele mici și dese... chiar s-ar putea să fie cheia marilor succese, în vreme ce puțin stres ar fi chiar benefic. Iată doar câteva dintre ideile non-intuitive demonstrate în această carte revoluționară, din care vei afla tot ce trebuie să știi pentru a deveni un profesor al viitorului: de la cum să folosești lumina pentru cursurile video online până la cum să-i faci și pe cei mai încăpățânați elevi să se îndrăgostească de materia pe care o predai.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Teaching, Psychology, Science, Self Help, Neuroscience

384 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 2021

About the author

Barbara Oakley, PhD, a 'female Indiana Jones,' is one of the few women to hold a doctorate in systems engineering. She chronicled her adventures on Soviet fishing boats in the Bering Sea in Hair of the Dog: Tales from Aboard a Russian Trawler. She also served as a radio operator in Antarctica and rose from private to captain in the U.S. Army. Now an associate professor of engineering at Oakland University in Michigan, Oakley is a recent vice president of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Her work has appeared in publications ranging from The New York Times to the IEEE Transactions on Nanobioscience.

Reviews

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a foreign language tutor and I highly recommend this valuable and really practical book to all teachers no matter what subject you teach. Also it would be really useful for parents and students to better understand the process of learning and improve it.

I actually gave this wonderful book 4 starts only for the reason that I have already known many of the aspects that are described in the book, as I had seen the famous course "Learning How To Learn" by Barbara on coursera.

I must say that many of the techniques presented and explained in the book appeared to be quite familiar to me because I have been taught the majority of them on CELTA course. But I loved the book anyways because it was really practical and it actually reminded me about some techniques that I knew but failed to use.

School season starts in two weeks and this was the very right time for me to read this book!
I think I will prepare a check list for me in order to make sure I use most of the techniques and tools available in this book. Going to go through my lesson plans right now! :)))

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book hoping to gain key insights into improving my underlying teaching toolset. What I found interesting is that it made me re-assess the core idea of what teaching is. In other words, it reminded me that teaching is helping students to put knowledge into their long-term memory and to be able to recall it in contexts that are different to those in which they were learned so the skills, ideas and theories can be practised in a variety of situations. This is so common sense that a preteen could likely have developed the definition; yet, as teachers, it's easy to forget.

The "learn it, link it" methodology is simple and easy-to-remember yet functionally useful overall. However, although this book focuses a lot on long-term memory recall, it's disappointing that multi-contextual mastery was barely addressed. The most important goal of education (application of knowledge to problem-solving in novel situations), therefore, received barely a mention as did "higher-order" taxonomies such as "extended thinking" (Webb’s Depth of Knowledge) and "creating" with existing knowledge (Bloom's Taxonomy).

It was also aimed at younger children, and many of the strategies and ideas don't fit the university context. Therefore, I can't say I found many of the classroom strategies useful either for my own higher education or in teaching at university level. However, many of the "teaching principles" were interesting and can be generalised into some very interesting teaching strategies. The book also explains the remembering "half" of the teacher's goals very well. I like that it took a stand against lecture, for example, emphasising instead active learning and direct instruction balanced with procedural learning: strategies not often applied at the university level.

Another thing I didn't love about this book is the emphasis on test-taking. I think information should be learned for application not assessment; this, I believe, is one of the biggest failures in education at all levels: you get what you measure. If you measure assessments, you get an education system that gets very good at optimising performance in assessments. This book only emphasised that problem, and many of the strategies reinforced unhealthy educational culture.

The writing was also focused more on US Schools, as the heavy emphasis on tests suggests. Surely a less ethnocentric view would have made the book much more useful for the broader English-speaking audience? But the idea of American authors focusing exclusively on the American social context is so common now it's a cliché!

Despite complaints about the focus of the book, I learned a lot, it gave me a lot to think about, and it was well written overall and easy to follow.

What did this book leave me with?

Remembering Basics
• Hebbian learning: We can fool ourselves into believing we have knowledge in our long-term memory when it's only in the working memory. Retrieval practice, along with neural connections with existing knowledge is essential for transferring knowledge from working to long-term memory.
• Cognitive load: Working memory capacity is limited, handling 3-6 "chunks" simultaneously. The working memory can be overloaded when the capacity limit is exceeded. Working memory can also only hold information for a short time. Information should be periodically "offloaded" onto long-term memory to free the working memory for new ideas.
• Each chunk can be increased in size based on relevance to current knowledge in the long-term memory. The more closely associated it is with familiar concepts, the larger each chunk of information can be within the working memory. Therefore, working memory is impacted by familiarity and comfort with the topic/subject.
• Working memory capacity explains many of the issues faced in the classroom between the "high performing" and "poor performing" students. A smaller working memory requires smaller chunks, slower pace, more breaks, more practice, fewer distractions and more scaffolding.
• Scaffolding: the steps between current knowledge and end goal. The structure of activities aims to minimise the size of the jumps between scaffolding.
• Declarative and procedural neural pathways: two methods for transferring chunks from working memory to long-term memory via recall.
• Declarative memory is the conscious recall of facts or events using the hippocampus and the neocortex. Procedural memory is the repeated learning of procedures, such as speeches and problem-solving procedures, and habits, such as frequented directions, using the basal ganglia and neocortex. Both can be combined for richer learning, and both require active practice to develop.

Declarative Learning
• The declarative learning system: the hippocampus serves as a temporary indexing system by forming links with information stored in the neocortex (long-term memory). When the links have been substantially consolidated in the cortex over months of active recall and sleep, the working memory can bypass the hippocampus to access the information.
• The direct instruction continuum: Teacher-directed instruction should initially be relied upon more heavily to assist in the "learn it" phase, requiring instruction, demonstration, and guided practice. Student-direct construction should be increasingly phased in for the "link it" phase, requiring independent, exploratory or experiential problem-based inquiry.
• To transform lecture into direct instruction: chunk the key ideas into knowledge groups relative to working memory capacity and add retrieval, practice, and small-group discussion to offload the working memory into the "link it" phase. Avoid extended passivity.

Procedural Learning
• The procedural learning system: an unconscious goal-directed black box (right now). The goals aim to maximise reward and handle uncertainty.
• Procedural learning is acquired through repeated and extensive practice. It is slower to learn, faster to use, and more inflexible than declarative learning. It implies intuiting rules without being explicitly told what they are and determining categories and their differences.
• Procedural learning often emerges in immersion contexts, or when rules and patterns are too complex to consciously hold in the working memory. When declarative learning is combined with rapid feedback, procedural learning attempts to predict subsequent responses.
• Concept attainment: "the teacher presents examples and non-examples of the concept. The students figure out the common attributes of the concept and generate a potential definition. The teacher provides further examples for students to test their hypothesis and solidify their definition. In this way, students develop their own understanding of the concept."

Declerative and Procedural Learning
• Interleaving: mixing the sub-topics so that blocks of similar topics are interspersed among non-similar blocks. Interleaving helps students to recognise the subtle differences and intuitive patterns between concepts through their procedural system. There is a balancing act of similarity between concepts. If they're too different or too similar, interleaving will not initiate the procedural system. The pacing of the concepts embedded within the narrative matters and must be organic in its flow.
• Desirable difficulties: Making the mental effort to apply association and visualisation can make declarative and procedural learning more effective and efficient by forming stronger neural links. Narrative-inspired role-plays and hypothetical discussions can add mental effort to the narrative form.
• Schemas: the neural structures that represent the intuited patterns and contexts in which knowledge is applied. Applying knowledge to novel contexts requires enlarging schemas by demonstrating different use cases and increasing retrieval practice. Telling the same narrative with multiple perspectives (perhaps within a value chain) may enlarge relevant schemas.
• Spaced Repetition: take a break and return to a concept. This allows for the working memory to offload ideas and to begin consolidation, and for procedural learning to form stronger connections by reconfiguring into more efficient and stronger linkages. This fits with both the "unfinished cliffhanger" method and concept re-application within different contexts and new narratives.
• Brainwriting: reduce the inhibiting effects of groupthink by ensuring all students have 1-2 minutes to brainstorm their own ideas prior to entering groups. Keep groups small (2-3) to be productive.

[Iroda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book very applicable. Although I've covered these methods at the university, I've struggled to implement them successfully. In a month, I'll start conducting my first lessons with students, so I've decided to include this book in my preparation for it, as it offers practical insights on effective teaching and learning methods.

[John Martindale · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is so much good material in this book. I definitely intend to give it another listen. One thing it impressed upon me is why lectures on new material tend to be ineffective for students, for it is like the lecturer continues to toss new balls of information, and the only way to juggle the new ones is to drop the previous bits. Also, the moment distraction comes (like the end of the class), all the balls of knowledge can fall to the ground. There must be opportunities for students to attempt to file some of the most important content into their long-term memory. Oakley shares important methods for this filing and indexing of information. I hope to incorporate some of the methods this school year.

[Rana Habib · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 10/10

One Sentence Summary: Barbara Oakley's guide empowers teachers with effective, research-based methods for enhancing student learning

Likes:
Since reading "A Mind For Numbers," I've become a massive fan of Barbara Oakley (she has a great TedTalk called "Learning How To Learn" that I highly recommend watching)

Her writing effortlessly blends entertainment with clarity, making complex concepts accessible through engaging analogies and vivid storytelling

Despite not being a teacher myself, as a self-teacher and learner, I found Oakley's advice immensely valuable. For example, I plan to create my own structured learning framework for learning new languages

Oakley delves deeply into the neuroscience of learning, exploring various memory types and offering actionable insights to improve our learning abilities

I genuinely wish I discovered Oakley in High School and University because of how great she is. I'm excited to employ some new concepts like spaced repetition and interweaving into my self-studies

Note: The target audience for this book is teachers. However, there is still a lot that one can learn from and apply to themselves.

Next, I want to read her book "Learning How To Learn"

[Bryan Tanner · Rating 5 out of 5]

TL;DR

For (classroom) teachers who need to understand why something works before they "get it."

Review

Loved it! I highly recommend it to seasoned teachers looking to refine their teaching process. It doesn't cover EVERYTHING you'd ever want to know about classroom teaching strategies, but what it does, it does well. The book certainly delivers on its title.

Recommendation

If you come to this book with student-learning-related problems, you will discover practical solutions you can implement the next day. Chapter 9 is dedicated to online instruction. This book isn't just for teachers; it could easily be the required textbook for a high school or college class on "How to Learn."

4 Main Cognitive Processes and Learning Strategies

1. Remembering 101:

- Acing drill and kill practice lulls us into the false confidence of having mastered the content. In reality, those mental connections never get linked to long-term memory, leading us to conclude we must be poor test takers when we fail to recall info during exams.

- Hebbian learning emphasizes the importance of retrieval practice and strengthening neural connections in order to transfer knowledge from working memory to long-term memory. "Learn it, and Link it."

- Cognitive load theory highlights the limited capacity of working memory (3-6 "chunks") and the need to periodically offload information to long-term memory to prevent overload. (The reason why spacing out instruction is important.) The size of chunks in working memory can increase based on relevance to existing long-term memory, impacted by familiarity with the topic.

- Working memory capacity affects classroom performance. Learners with a smaller working memory need a slower pace, and more breaks and scaffolding.

- Scaffolding minimizes the gap between current knowledge and the end goal, aiding learning progression. You “lose” fewer learners along the way.

- Declarative memory recalls facts or events using the hippocampus and neocortex, while procedural memory learns procedures and habits using the basal ganglia and neocortex.

- Both memory types develop through active practice and can be combined for enhanced learning.

2. Declarative Learning:

- How declarative learning works: To employ an antiquated analogy, the hippocampus is like the brain's library card catalog. It serves as a indexing system by forming temporary links with the neocortex (long-term memory storage), which over time, allows direct access from the pre-frontal cortex (primarily responsible for working memory) without relying on the hippocampus. Your mental librarian is like, “Oh, I know right where that book is.”

- The direct instruction continuum: Begin with teacher-directed instruction to assist in the "learn it" phase. In this phase, students require instruction, demonstration, and guided practice. Student-directed construction should be increasingly phased in for the "link it" phase, emphasizing independent, exploratory or experiential problem-based inquiry.

- To convert lectures into effective direct instruction, key ideas should be chunked to match working memory capacity. Incorporating retrieval practice, active learning, and small-group discussions helps transition information from working memory to long-term memory, avoiding prolonged passivity.

3. Procedural Learning:

- Procedural learning functions as an unconscious, goal-oriented system.

- This type of learning is acquired through repetitive practice. Without explicit rules, it can be slower to learn new information but faster to apply because it relies on intuition.

- This system for learning is often employed in immersive or complex contexts where holding rules in working memory is impractical. E.g., Chief of Staff training.

- When declarative learning is combined with rapid feedback, procedural learning kicks in and attempts to predict subsequent responses.

- Concept attainment involves presenting examples and non-examples, allowing students to deduce common attributes, generate their own definitions, and refine their understanding through further examples from the instructor. (In this way, students develop their own understanding of the concept.)

4. Principles Used in Both Declarative and Procedural Learning:

- Interleaving: mixing the sub-topics so that blocks of similar topics are interspersed among non-similar blocks. Interleaving helps students to recognize the subtle differences and intuitive patterns between concepts through their procedural system. There is a balancing act of similarity between concepts. If they're too different or too similar, interleaving will not initiate the procedural system. The pacing of the concepts embedded within the narrative matters and must be organic in its flow.

- Desirable difficulties: Making the mental effort to apply association and visualization can make declarative and procedural learning more effective and efficient by forming stronger neural links. Narrative-inspired role-plays and hypothetical discussions can add mental effort to the narrative form.

- Schemas: the neural structures that represent the intuited patterns and contexts in which knowledge is applied. Applying knowledge to novel contexts requires enlarging schemas by demonstrating different use cases and increasing retrieval practice. Telling the same narrative with multiple perspectives (perhaps within a value chain) may enlarge relevant schemas.

- Spaced Repetition: take a break and return to a concept. This allows for the working memory to offload ideas and to begin consolidation, and for procedural learning to form stronger connections by reconfiguring into more efficient and stronger linkages. This fits with both the "unfinished cliffhanger" method and concept re-application within different contexts and new narratives.

- Brainwriting: reduce the inhibiting effects of groupthink by ensuring all students have 1-2 minutes to brainstorm their own ideas prior to entering groups. Keep groups small (2-3) to maximize productivity.

[Ann Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Väga tore et eesti keeles on nüüd võimalik lugeda õppimisest ja õpetamisest neurobioloogilisest vaatepunktist. Täitis nii mõnegi lünga minu õpetamisstrateegias.
Roedigeri "Make it Stick" raamatu kõrval on see teine haridust ja õppimist puudutav raamat, mida soovitaks lugeda igal õpetajal.

[Russ Hoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note: I'm giving this book 5 stars because I benefitted from it despite not being the book's intended audience. I find it unfair to critique it otherwise, having skipped some chapters that were not benefitting me directly. But also, its well written and I see no issue with any of its content.

----

I learnt about Barbara Oakley when I was looking for books on how to learn better in general, and her books were almost always recommended. I borrowed this book despite knowing that I was probably not the main target audience of the book, but I decided that since its Oakley and team's newest text (published 2021), the references and research would probably be the most updated and accurate as well.

While that is true,-- and that this book gives great information backed by neuroscience on how the brain works, and how we learn in general,-- I would say that the other 65 percent of the book is still rightly geared towards teachers, and the information is often presented simply, and with a lot of techniques relating to pedagogy, particularly with students in the primary to secondary levels.

I've already recommended this book to a teacher friend, and I think most educators would benefit from this! From a general reader, I learnt quite a bit abit about learning pathways, namely the declarative and procedural pathways, as well as other technical terms that I find will help me articulate better how the learning brain works. The analogies, examples, and accompanying illustrations were pretty cute and fun. From this book, I found out that Barbara and her team have a free Coursera course that might be more my speed, and I'm interested in seeing what else I can pick up from it.

I think the biggest and best takeaway from this book is that the brain needs rest to sharpen and prune knowledge! I think most people on Goodreads are avid readers and learners, and if we aren't reading, we are being constantly barraged by social media and many other little things on our mobile devices. This book taught me that the mind at rest is actually consolidating, compressing and shelving knowledge, and that we need to be at rest for our minds to make the random connections that often lead to our strokes of genius!

Keeping that in mind, I'm trying to cut down on doom scrolling and filling up my brain with junk, and just let my skulljelly and her little butler hippocampus do their gardening in peace. It's a simple reminder that can really benefit us in the long run.

[VickyDrouka · Rating 5 out of 5]

If 6-stars could be given, this would be it!!!

My most favourite book that brings neuroscience alive inside the classroom in the most understandable way! With metaphors that will stick, and always practical applications of everything discussed how can you not simply fall in love with this book?

A true gem, especially for teachers like me! If you haven't read it, what are you waiting for?

[Jona-Lynn Rowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had a lot of good insight.

[Dr. Dima · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is written by 3 authors; Barbara Oakley (who is also the author of "A Mind for Numbers"), Terrence Sejnowski, and Beth Rogowsky. Oakley and Sejnowski are creators of the popular online course “Learning how to Learn”. Just as the subtitle says, this book offers a practical guide to teaching and learning based on insights from neuroscience.⁣
⁣
Early on, the authors introduce one of the main themes of the book, a process they call "learn it, link it", which explains how neural links form and how the brain changes while learning. In the context of this process, the authors cover several neuroscience-based topics and their implications for teaching and learning. These include: long term vs working memory, declarative vs procedural learning pathways, the relation between working memory, the hippocampus and the cortex in declarative learning, the role of the basal ganglia in procedural learning, consolidation, retrieval practice, desirable difficulties, habits and procrastination, the role of stress in learning, collaborative learning, teacher-directed vs student-directed instruction, online teaching, and many practical strategies informed by cognitive and behavioural science.⁣
⁣
Tِhe book contains a lot of useful graphics and illustrations, and just like in "A Mind for Numbers", there are several breakout boxes such as "Now You Try" and "Analyze Your Teaching". Chapters end with "Key Ideas" that highlight the most important concepts. There's also a thorough list of references at the end of the book.⁣
⁣
Whereas I felt "A Mind for Numbers" lacked organisation, this one was easier to follow and had a more organised flow. Although the title suggests the book is aimed at teachers, I think it would be useful for parents and anyone interested in education and in implementing actionable learning and teaching strategies. To echo other reviewers: this book describes the "Whys" and "Hows" with regards to learning and bridges the gap between teaching and neuroscience.⁣

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess the info in this would be uncommon sense teaching to a new teacher, but if you have been a teacher for a while and do professional development, much of it is common sense. The first few chapters were the most beneficial as far as new information, but if the author is defining things like formative assessment or summarizing Harry Wong: teaching the first days of school, that's just not new information to an experienced teacher.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was assigned to read this as professional development at work - which I was resistant to because I’m not really into reading non-fiction, and as someone with an education background, I wasn’t sure if I’d get much out of it because I know all about differentiated instruction and inclusion.

But… I will eat my words. I learned lots about the human brain and how it stores information. This wasn’t only useful in learning how learners receive and process information, but also how my own brain works.

I learned I have a race-car brain and I’m married to a someone with a hiker brain.

I also learned about working-memory storage and how it differs from long-term memory. I’m always saying how my brain is full, and I learned that in a sense, it is! My working-memory storage is full and struggling to receive more information because I haven’t had enough repetition to convert that information into long-term memories (nor have I had a chance to delete the browser history of my brain)

Overall, it was an interesting read - even though (unlike 85% of the books I read) there wasn’t a murderer on the loose.

[「 ✦ yana ✦ 」 · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Teaching is an art—and science has led you to a richer understanding of how to express your art.”

I came across this book completely by chance, and it couldn’t have come at a better time, right before we were choosing a book for our language teachers’ book club. I’m so glad I picked it, because it’s full of valuable insights.

I’m no stranger to education, so a lot of the information in the book was familiar. Still, getting scientific confirmation for the methods and approaches I already use with my students was incredibly meaningful. This is a true treasure for teachers, especially for those just starting out in the field.

One key insight I took away is that it was fascinating to dive deeper into how the brain works, how it absorbs, processes, and retains information. The tools, activities, and tips for helping students with different learning paces and processing styles really made me look at each lesson block in a whole new way.

For me, it’s always been important to improve my teaching skills in a way that makes learning a language easier and more engaging for students without sacrificing effectiveness. And this book can definitely, if not point the exact way, at least inspire you to find the path where students open new horizons and learn with excitement.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uncommon Sense Teaching takes the insights from the book A Mind for Numbers and turns out a guide for teaching for the way(s) the brain learns. The book is especially aimed at K-12 teachers but I found it quite helpful for reflecting on teaching first level university students. (The authors also have a short course in Coursera that works through much of the information with applications.)

The authors present some different kinds of students with how their brains are functioning as well as how brains function when they are learning. With this information in hand, the authors connect with teaching methods. As I read much of the book, I could identify many of the students I have had in class and see how changing some of my teaching would help many of them. There is a lot to chew on. I highly recommend the book for all teachers.

The contents include an opening Note followed by 10 meaty chapters, a closing Farewell, two appendixes, a section for Credits, a Bibliography, a Notes section, and an Inedx.

[Leniwa Wenus · Rating 5 out of 5]

The part of the book about brain-friendly learning and teaching is a great summary of neuroscience research applied to education. There’s practical advice as well as examples of best practices.
The second part of the book would be most beneficial to school teachers, especially in the US. It includes a lot of information of how collaborative learning can effectively be used at schools.
The chapter on online teaching contains a lot of practical information, but is a bit outdated considering AI wasn’t a thing at the moment of writing the book.

[Liz Dasher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I have so many notes as well as practical ideas and strategies to implement within my own education practice and with my elementary son. This book focuses mainly on K-12 but has many practical applications for adult learners as well.

3 Important Things I Learned:
1. Retrieval practice is one of the most effective strategies to move new knowledge from working memory to long term memory.
2. Direct instruction is a highly effective method of teaching especially with the I do, we do, you do strategy.
3. Brain breaks 🧠 are neurologically needed to help learners link 🔗 information and move it from working to long term memory.

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5. Enjoyed reading more about different types of learning and some strategies to employ. Most of them were a bit hard to apply to adults in a professional program, but the general principles are helpful and got me thinking about how to engage students more and convince them to participate and self-motivate. Also led to good discussions with coworkers during book club!

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm an art instructor rather than a teacher, but I found the information fascinating and enjoyed the opportunity for immersive experience: the authors of this book and a lot of their cited authors have audiobooks, interviews, even podcast appearances to listen to. I do wish they'd not listed specific apps, that info will be dated soon. The functions would have been more helpful.

[Paige Wibby · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a book about teaching I don’t actually feel like I learned much. A lot of the teaching tips that were suggested did not help me learn in high school but that could just be me 🤷🏼‍♀️ I would maybe recommend reading a physical copy and not an audio book

[Zachary Krug · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is full of all the skills and knowledge one gains as a teacher AFTER you have entered the field. I wish it were possible to grasp this information during an undergraduate degree, but unfortunately I think a new teacher has to be thrown into the world and experience the overwhelming environment of education. However, every teacher should read this and implement the techniques.

It would also make for a great text for studying in a masters program.

[Jake Doberenz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Revolutionary and interesting. It fundamentally changed by teaching practice.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reasonably well done but a bit too long for it’s purpose.

[Sarah R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Need to finish, but an excellent book on different types of learners in the classroom.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing new, but good reminders about some best practices. Definitely not as interesting or as deep/thorough as I was expecting it to be, though

[Haley Skinner · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

This was another book for my education classes! I liked the second half better than the first. Had great information, ideas, and practical strategies to implement into our classrooms!

[Asher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was designed for teachers (closer to elementary through high school ages) but the chapters on neuroscience and learning are insanely good. You can build quite a foundation about solidifying and accelerating any learning that's desired by adults. I was recommended this book from a YouTube channel that had refocused on learning and I'm very thankful I kept with it.

The first half of the book has chapters more specific to my interests in meta-learning and neuroscience (declarative and procedural learning, basal ganglia, neuerons, the neocortex, etc). I consume a ton of content (in myriad domains and disciplines) and being able to learn it deeper than I already have is important. I see how parts of the book were successful for me in school and wish I understood this before some of my certification exams.

Some of the book includes teaching methods for teachers and children which aren't bad, but aren't what I'm currently using it for. I would recommend this book to any student, teacher, polymath or knowledge accumulator.

[Katie Heussman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good but nothing novel…was expecting more “uncommon sense” strategies based on the title

[Rebecca Cunningham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Understanding that there is science to back up the strategies that we use in the classroom is so validating!

[Hina Ansari · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not a teacher, but if I was, I might find this book incredible. However, I felt like there were some great points at how to learn better and more effectively.