At the very beginning the course seemed somehow easy and pretty basic. Nonetheless, once that you start understanding the biological reason about how and why we learn, you get the feeling that this course will definitively change your life. And that is exactly what has happened to me. Before this course I had the illusion that what I was doing was normal, I mean the way in which I was accustomed to learn. However, I had that sense that something was wrong with my approach. It turns out that my intuition was right because I was completely wasting my time while rereading or highlighting the material all the time, just to give you an example.

Additionally, I knew that procrastination could affect your life and your productivity in a way that you do not catch until you start getting anxious, for instance. Therefore a simple technique like the pomodoro, which I have been using during the last month, has been enormously beneficial for your studying and productivity.

Furthermore, there are some techniques like the memory palace, or the use of metaphors and analogies that will definitively ease your job while learning any subject.

Apart from that, understanding how your brain works and why you have certain behavior under certain circumstances, will change the way that you process any new information and it will boost your cognitive abilities up.

Please, give it a try, then you will understand what I have written here.

Learning how to learn, in my opinion, is a must, not an option.

Happy journey.

Since the original book "A Mind for Numbers" written by Dr. Barbara Oakley came out some years ago alongside the other books and studies, if you have been highly interested in learning method you might see the ideas in this course whether via books or online like I did. In spite of the fact that there rarely was a totally new method I got to know, it was great to see all the brilliant ideas in one place with supportive references so I don't need to worry about false myths and unreasonable remedies.

The lecture is about learning, and the best point of this lecture is that it is about not only 'study' itself but also things for a better study such as preventing procrastination and test-taking tips. Dr. Barbara also gives you some mindful advice for learning to help you not to be afraid of taking a new step and not to judge your own ability and give up too early and too easily. Personally, I do not like most of the self-help books which point out all the problem could be changed if you think differently. However, her lecture was a bit different since she actually helps you find a better perspective on your problem and let you know it is not only you who have the same problem and it is able to be solved.

You could finish this course without paying option and there are honour contents that will give you further understanding and extra recognition for the course. There is no doubt that by having this course I would be better prepared for my further study.

Since the original book "A Mind for Numbers" written by Dr. Barbara Oakley came out some years ago alongside the other books and studies, if you have been highly interested in learning method you might see the ideas in this course whether via books or online like I did. In spite of the fact that there rarely was a totally new method I got to know, it was great to see all the brilliant ideas in one place with supportive references so I don't need to worry about false myths and unreasonable remedies.

The lecture is about learning, and the best point of this lecture is that it is about not only 'study' itself but also things for a better study such as preventing procrastination and test-taking tips. Dr. Barbara also gives you some mindful advice for learning to help you not to be afraid of taking a new step and not to judge your own ability and give up too early and too easily. Personally, I do not like most of the self-help books which point out all the problem could be changed if you think differently. However, her lecture was a bit different since she actually helps you find a better perspective on your problem and let you know it is not only you who have the same problem and it is able to be solved.

You could finish this course without paying option and there are honor contents that will give you further understanding and extra recognition for the course. There is no doubt that by having this course I would be better prepared for my further study.

GREAT COURSE: Are you a passionate learner but sometimes feel that you could do better with your learning? Well, this course could do magic for you. I have loved every bit of the course from the moment I signed up. It has given me an opportunity on reflect on my learning and the effectiveness of the methods I use. The course takes a deep look into how the brain works and how we can make our brains better because brains are the part of the body responsible for our learning. The facilitators especially Terry made me feel like I have studied the brain for loving. Barbara keeps on provide valuable techniques for learning which i surely wouldn't have known if I didn't take this course. Thanks for those tips. As a result of this course, I am sure that my learning and study time is going to be more enjoyable and I hope to improve my grades in my masters study because the techniques and tips from here can not leave you the same. Same of bad habits like procrastination and last minute study we tackled and ideas to overcome them provided. Who am I to remain the same? I am truly grateful to God that I found this course. A big thank you to the facilitators once again and Coursera for this Knowledge. I highly recommend anyone looking to improve their learning methods to start with this course if he/she has not done it. If you are indeed passionate about learning, this course could do all the Magics for you. Thank you

I can't even begin to describe how helpful this course was for me. In school, I thought I had a learning disability. My reading comprehension was poor, my memory was not that great. I had terrible study habits.

I didn't do that great at tests...

What this course has helped me conclude is that, I just didn't know how to learn very well. In fact, I don't think schools teach this enough to students when they are learning to form their "very first chunks".

Barbara Oakley and Dr. Terry Sejnowski have broken down the learning process and have explained it in a very simple way, using a ton of visual examples, (which by the way is a great way to retain information) and have given me a deeper understanding of using creative learning techniques to simply learning better.

They are also very passionate and excited about teaching and that makes a huge difference. They are wonderful instructors and enjoy what they do. It shows in their lectures and course material. Their videos are funny and it just made everything so much more enjoyable.

My biggest take away from this course is that you can use science to explain how something works, but learning - that's where it becomes personal. It is a journey that is special to you, that is unique to you and only you. And if you know how to do it better, you're rewarding yourself, and you will enjoy everything you do and learn much better moving forward in your life.

Take this class. I loved it!

5 stars and kudos to Dr Barbara Oakley and Dr. Terrence Sejnowski for a job well done. I've enjoyed the course and completed the 4 weeks in 1 week. Also enjoyed reading and watching the optional videos and articles. The stories and concepts are inspiring. It goes to show anyone can learn if given the right techniques to learn and if the person is motivated and commited. We are home during this covid-19 pandemic so it's been tough juggling computer time to do things but I managed to do so and if I can do it, so can you. I did at night and early morning to give everyone a chance and when the family was taking a break for lunch, I grabbed the laptop to do optional readings and videos. The quizzes were fine and the final test was good. I enjoyed doing the week 3 project. I haven't received a grade on the project but I did grade and provided feedback to my peers who completed the projects. I took the oneline course at coursera for free so I did not pay for it nor have a certification for it. I did get 100's and 89's on the quizzes and tests and on the final got a 92%. My point is if you plan to further yourself, it's a good idea to take this course with the expectation that you are paying for it and the professors expect only your best performance. It's your future and your life, learning how to learn will change some things in you. Best wishes and thank you to my two professors - it was a pleasure! -Miguel

This is an excellent course on learning how to learn. The videos are engaging and lively, and the instructors have an interest in the subject that rubs off on you. Dr. Oakley in particular manages to teach the material in a vibrant and lively way, although such things are a bit subjective so you may or may not appreciate her style as much as I did. Dr. Sejnowski, while clearly engaged and inspiring, seemed uncomfortable and at times a bit stuttering in front of the camera. On the other hand, I am in the second week of the companion course “Mindshift” now, and he is much more comfortable there.

One of the important points in this course is active learning. The team behind the course have eaten their own dogfood by providing a lot of quizzes, polls, and pauses for freestyle reflection (text-boxes) for the student to test their knowledge of the material, as well as reflect on it. The “honors” assignments provide even more opportunities for learners to reflect and consolidate their knowledge.

All videos are well-cited, and each module has a healthy dose of optional readings, as well as optional videos. On the whole I feel that this optional material has given me good pointers for further self-study, as well as helping me to relate what I've learned in this course with other resources that are unaffiliated with this course.

Disclaimer: This is only the first course I've finished on Coursera.

I am not sure if the course will help me in any degree but that is solely due to my laziness, low self-esteem and year long struggle with depression. However, with regards to the course itself, I think it can be very usefull. A lot of the learing tips seem common sense but for me it was very important that all of them were supported by science , not only the kind of advice that any person could give you. I can only regeret that I did not take a similar course when at school or at the universtiy. I am sure I will use, or at least try to use, some of the techniques and do more reading on the subject (using both the Web and the publications mentioned throughout the course of the lectures). In my opinion, the fact that the lectures are divided into rather short segments is beneficial as it helps to go through the course even without having much time and incresaes motivation to continue, as one is not faced with having to listen for a lecture for an hour or so. I often found myself only plannig to view one short videos and ending up in wieving a couple one after another, not noticing how much time passed. Finally, I think that both of the lecturers are a great benefit of the course as they bring a lot of enthusiasm and good will and seemed people I would like to know in person (or at least that was my impression).

Greetings and thanks from Poland to both of them!

I took this class before beginning completion of a formal bachelors degree at an online university. It’s been 13 years since I went to college and quit, and since it’s so much more expensive now than it was, I wanted to make sure my more mature and rusty brain would get the most out of it.

I’m really, really glad I did! I feel more confident that I’ll be able to handle the workload when spring semester starts. Not only that, but I’ve learned quite a few good techniques to handle issues in daily life as well. I also recently received an ADD diagnosis, and these techniques are already helping me learn how to use my brain better.

The most impactful is her discussion on process vs product with procrastination, and the pomodoro technique. A lot of advice that I’ve previously read said to focus on a task until it is done, no matter how long it takes; which never really worked for me, and now I know it’s because my brain is not wired for long focus on something I’m not deeply interested in. Using the pomodoro and process focus techniques, I can muster up 25 minutes of solid focus, while not letting the anxiety of getting it completed distract me for that time.

I would recommend this course to everyone. Let’s face it, most of us probably aren’t using our brains that well, and this course gives some great insights on how brains work, and how to use them better.

I graduated from college 5 years ago and have been looking to get back into the swing of taking courses and studying to further my education, both for my career and leisure. But it's been a daunting prospect because it's been so long and I'm not in a regimented program (I work full time, so school is no longer the only thing in my life). My brother introduced me to Professor Barbara Oakley's work and suggested I take this MOOC as a "warm up", if you will, to not only help get me back into "student mode", but also gain a better understanding of how the process of learning works. I have to say, this course was well worth it! I learned a lot of valuable information, and the course has helped with some of my habits - I find myself recalling concepts like "chunking" and "Einstulling" in everyday life - and I plan on reading the optional material now that I've finished the course. The optional videos are also worth watching and help reinforce the ideas being taught in the primary lessons. I have to say that it wasn't easy taking this course - by Week 3 and 4 real life started creeping in and I found it difficult to keep to the schedule I had set for myself to "focus" on the material. But I dealt with it head on. The entire experience online and offline was worthwhile because this is how things are going to be for future courses I take.

This was a fantastic course.

The course was in small chunks, therefore, I found it easy to complete the weekly modules without it taking up much of my day or week.

I appreciated the mini-tests after the majority of the videos as this would help me gauge my understanding of that particular video.

Having tests at the end of the week also was helpful to my learning.

The interweaving of information also helped me recall information from previous weeks.

Great tips, techniques, advice on how to be a better learner - practical tips. So just doing the course and NOT enacting the advice won't be of much use to you, however, practice the techniques over a period of time IS.

It's stuff even as someone who has completed her bachelor degree believes anyone can find this useful. I actually also was able to relate some of the things I've learned on this course to how I would answer interview questions.

The pace was consistent.

The content was manageable.

The structure was well put together.

It's free. With options to pay, so if you don't feel like you benefited from this course (I doubt it) you haven't wasted your money.

I can not say enough positive things about this course.

CONS:

Taking so long to find this course. Wish I was able to find this course BEFORE I started my undergraduate degree. But I can not in all honesty fault this course.

I have learned a lot during the course. The process led me into a better understanding of what I have already known, besides strengthening other aspects of learning which I had not focused much. For me, the key ideas were crucial and I can now say that I learned how to learn! The course was a very beneficial one due to the importance of the material, the great lecturers and the practical methods that can be used frequently.

Here are some of the key methods:

-To-do list

-Distinguish between the focus mode and the diffuse mode, when to use them and what their advantages

-Learn effectively different subjects using a focused small period of time and taking sportives breaks so you can enter the diffuse mode and fresh your thinking

-get a better understanding of the memory, learning how to chunk an idea or method and learning material with a positive feeling and fun using metaphors.

-recall, memory palace, deliberate learning, outline ideas

I want to thanks Dr. Barbara Oakley for the great teaching and also to Dr. Terrence Sejnowski for the deep information and meaningful stories.

Last but not least.

I think you should try it! You can not know when you will need to use this material,

and more correct after taking this course you can not know when not to use it!

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Author: Itay Barok.

Fantastique :)

on a des enseignants extrêmement compétents, pédagogues et humains. On est invité à ouvrir sa curiosité d'apprendre, tel un enfant qui découvre le monde. Mais ce sont bien des cours très sérieux, pour adolescents et adultes, et qui nous apprennent les meilleures techniques pour mieux apprendre, bien apprendre, appuyées sur des faits et des études scientifiques. De l'essentiel en toute simplicité. Une richesse énorme avec les témoignages de vie et des conseils de personnes extraordinaires, en toute humilité. Ne négligez pas les interviews, ils sont l'image, le concret, la métaphore vivante de ce que les cours nous expliquent. Un très grand merci.

we have very highly competent teachers, pedagogues and humans. We're invited to open our curiosity to learn, like a child who discovers the world. But these courses are very serious, made for teenagers and adults, because they teach us the best techniques to learn better, to learn efficiently. Lessons are based on facts and scientific studies. Only the Essential. A tremendous quality and quantity of information given with testimonies of life and advices from extraordinary and humble people. Do have a look at the interviews, they are the image, the concrete, the living metaphor of what the courses explain. A very big thank you.

Learning How to Learn has rekindled my passion of teaching and preparing students for tests. As a teacher of Academic English and Test Preparation, motivating students and understanding which methods would work better for them have been quite a struggle. Thanks to this course, I now have more knowledge to share with my learners and also to apply in my own learning path.

This course starts with an explanation of the human brain and thinking patterns, without boring you, yet including the nitty-gritty of the foundations of learning. The analogies used in the videos and by the wonderful teachers in this course have helped me understand complex brain processes in a simplified, comprehensible manner.

The videos include the physiology of the brain and the relevance of sleeping and exercise in forming new learning opportunities for our brain. There are also tons of tips and suggestions in preparing for tests, acquiring new knowledge and retaining information. As the teachers explain, especially Ms. Barb Oakley, thinking you only have certain strengths and weaknesses leads you to thinking that way and not taking any measures to learn what you are not good at – which should be quite the opposite. The teachers guide you step by step through the ideal learning process.

This is an empowering course that helps you to think you too can get better at learning and mastering complex topics. Think that schools should have this course at the beginning of their curriculum at different stages - kindergarden, primary school, high school, college and other studies. In each new stage you should revise these concepts, to make sure you are always on the right track to effective learning.

The quality of some videos and interviews could be improved (some interviews end with an abrupt cut and subjects seem to be rambling in some parts). Gave it the highest rate because of the novelty and usefulness of content but think it can be improved in those aspects.

The course helps to overcome the insecurity that arises when going to uncharted territory and to motivate you to learn things that you don't feel naturally talented to learn (favoring a growth mindset vs a fixed mindset) and so I think it is a fundamental tool in times where continuous learning is key.

Keep up the good work!

PS: really liked the interviews with the computer science and language learning hackers (so motivating to see that people can have that sort of motivation and discipline to learn on their own, and bring to light resources that are in most part available to everyone)

I had a discussion with a friend on how I chose the course as she's confused between the variety of courses out there. Here's what I said.

Reasons that I like the course:

: 1- It is quite practical and useful, very applicable in all sorts of areas. 2- Ir presents new information (and I'm not a stranger to the field) and evidence/sources. 3- It gives examples and demonstrations (esp. visual) to help clarify the concepts 4- Mixes between the personal aspect of having an instructor and the value/engagement of displaying images and such from the web.

Reasons that I chose the course to begin with:

The topic itself is very important, especially because it can optimize all your work (make it exponential, ya3ni if you learn faster by 2X for example, you'd have a very positive impact in your professional development and such). I was searching for the topic "learning how to learn" and this was one of the few courses with this title. Plus, the credibility of the instructors (e.g. Mcamaster university) and the fact that it has discussion forums

Weakness:

I have to say that their visual/audio effects are quite lame and it's a bit crude مشرتح but I don't care much for the aesthetic sides of things so it suits me well. The content is great.

Its ranking as the best course on MOOC is highly deserved! They really delivered on bringing visual aids and metaphors to the concept they were teaching - walking the walk, as well as talking the talk. As a perpetual student and an aspiring professor one-day, I really appreciated this amazing course that Barbara and Terrence have put together. I am taking away many practical lessons from this class: how to engage my diffuse mode thinking (Dali!), importance of flushing out metabolic brain toxin by sleeping, and how to keep away memory vampires by practice! Not to mention, I actually went and learned how to make animated video for the final assignment - something that I have been thinking for a while and kept putting away. This course finally provided the push and the confidence to start that project, and not only that, but I am now re-evaluating all the areas of learning that I pushed away thinking that I was simply better at other things - learning foreign languages or material science. Now I am off to find MOOCs in those areas with the knowledge that it will be worth my time and effort to learn them - even if I am not "naturally gifted" in them. All the love and best wishes for Dr. Barbara Oakley & Dr. Terrence from Mongolia!

Really useful course. It helps me review my works and study.

I come from Taiwan, currently as a MBA student studying in the UK.

As a non English native speaker, it is really stressful to learn new things in academic level in a foreign language. I used to force myself study for a very long time without a break, but the results were not good as I expected. I blamed this to my language barrier, I thought the difference between the other successful peers is I couldn't have an the chance as the others who had better educational environment and leant English on the early stage.

This class lets me understand the biggest challenge of my learning is procrastination. Hopefully, procrastination is nothing about being stupid or should feel shame about, it is a natural metal mechanism of our brain avoiding unpleasure things. And it can be overcome by methods and practices. Pomodoro Technique really helps my memory and extends the time I keep concentrate on one thing. With the practice my brain works more efficient and it brings better result.

I recommend this course for the other who is struling with the barrier on learning and who does not have confident for himself/ herself on working and leaning. This course may change your mind.

Hello:

I'm Keith Grimes and I just completed your course. I really enjoyed the course and feel that I've learned quite a bit about learning. I enrolled in the course simply because I felt it was time to take my love of "the idea of learning" and turn it into "the practice of actually learning something."

What I loved most about the course was Barbara Oakley herself and her inspiring story. I graduated from Oakland University with a bachelors degree in English. During those undergrad days, I often experienced the Impostor Syndrome. Discovering that there was an actual name for what I often felt, combined with the struggle to learn that Dr. Oakley experienced in her younger years, really connected with me. Thank you for sharing.

One other note... I recently had the opportunity to share many of these ideas and concepts with my son who is a sophomore at Michigan State University. As Dr. Sejnowski mentioned in the final video, the measure of really knowing if you've learned something is to teach it to someone else. Sharing what I learned with my son in order to help him along his journey as a student, was an invaluable experience.

Thanks again for offering this course.

Keith D. Grimes

https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithdgrimes

I loved it from the beginning till the end! It was perfectly structured (easily "chunkable":)), each video was really exciting and very easy to understand! I can only regret that I did not learn all of this back when I was studying at high school and the university. I'm sure I would have had more confidence and would have learned more deeply both several of the advanced mathematics subjects during my computer science studies at the university as well as in various other subjects earlier at school.

Among all of the great ideas presented in the course I would like to highlight the idea that you have just four or so short term memory slots available to your focused thinking as something that I think would be very motivating for anyone not to give up complex subjects. In case you don't understand something all you have to do is grow chunks of the concepts (i.e. grow some neuron connections) involved using the focused and diffuse mode and give them some time to form.

I have to get it translated to Latvian and popularize it here somehow. I think that could be one of the most efficient ways how to both increase the number of people who study the sciences as well as raise the average level of education at least a bit.

This course has opened my eyes to learning and provided me with a solid foundation to rebuild my own learning methods and strategies. I have gained tremendous insight about various forces at play that need to work like a well orchestrated symphony if I am to tackle complex subjects and master learning.

The course is structured very well with short video lectures and sprinkled with quizzes to help you retain invaluable information. Also, there is opportunity for supplemental work to further cement one's newly discovered strengths. The optional reading sections and interviews with various people has further augmented my understanding and sparked ideas for novel applications of learning.

By applying the techniques, I have already started to retain and recall more information than I have ever done before. I have also stopped wasting my time by re-reading material endlessly or writing things down. Instead after learning something new, I pause after each key idea and test myself if I can recall the gist of it and see how it fits with the rest of knowledge mass. This technique alone has unlocked my potential.

I highly recommend this course to anybody. I am super excited for finding something that actually works.

One of the most useful courses I took! Each of the modules provides unique tips to overcome difficulties in learning, such as procrastination, taking exams and revision, etc. I found that the short videos provided by Dr Oakley are very convincing! You can read more as a reference list is provided at the end of the video as well. The coverage of the material is also broad, I think everybody can try to practice these techniques mentioned when they are studying as well.

I also appreciate the optional content embedded in the course as well. They include interviews (one from professor Keith Devlin, the instructor of “Introduction to Mathematical Thinking” as well!), and 2 further writing peer-reviewed assignment. I think these contents are what made the course so good, it provides you with a chance to produce a project (a poster, a presentation, or even a song!) to showcase and summarize what you had learnt during the 4-week course. During the production of the project, I feel like the values taught in the class is more thoroughly embedded in my mind.

Overall, I highly recommend this course to people who struggle at learning sometimes (just like me), I am sure you will learn a lot by watching the videos!

Superb. This is the first MOOC I managed to finish, and now I'm actively exploring all the extra resources and videos from the course.

I originally enrolled looking for tips on how to make my courses more accessible for my students (I'm a college instructor), and also to help me hone my learning skills, since I'm starting to delve on different fields of study. Not only did I achieve those goals, but I'm also very excited to explore new MOOCs and online study possibilities.

The only downside, if one could say such, is that this course sets quite a high bar in how a MOOC should be: one can easily percieve that everything about its format -- from the weekly newsletter to the videos' length and visuals to the structure and syllabus -- is made with careful consideration of the context of online learning, and of the fundamentals of neuroscience the course shares with the students. Many (good!) MOOCs aren't as well tailored as this one.

I absolutely recommend it to anyone who is interested (even if frustrated!) with learning, be it independently, online or in a traditional classroom environment. Congratulations and warm thank yous to Dr. Oakley, Dr. Sejnowski, and the Learning How to Learn Team!

This course is 4 weeks long; Why Do something new for30 days; do this course.

If you've always wanted t be a much better learner , then nows the time: think about it, you've always wanted to add to your learnings in life , advent you? Invest in Meta learning - Learning about learning - for the next 30 days.

30 days is a great time span, it's just about the right amount of time to add this new habit , Learning how to learn, to your life.

Get a hold of the coming month, (theres a course starting right now on 22 march2016), and you can find instead of t 2016 flying by, forgotten, the time invested in March/ April will make everything in 2016 and beyond much more memorable. Your self-confidence as a Learner par excellence will grow exponentially.!

if you really want to be a superlative learner badly enough, you can certainly do this course with dedication & commitment for 30 days.When you make small, sustainable changes, things you keep doing, they are more likely to stick.

So here's my question to you: What are you waiting for? the next 30 days are going to pass anyhow, so why not Choose To be A Skilful Learner, something you have always wanted to do and give it a shot!

I think this is one of the best courses I have attended. I wish concepts taught in this class are taught to every student right from the early age. I am 39 years old and as I look for a job (I was laid off a while back), I feel educating myself by getting certifications would be a good idea to enhance my prospects of exposing myself to better opportunities and with this course I have the self confidence that yes I can learn and get good grades in my certifications.

I was getting bogged down by procrastination to a very large extent in my life and this course helped me deal with the procrastination zombies using pomodoro, this feels so empowering and I am glad I did not choose depression or bad habits. After incorporating the pomodoro technique I have also significantly reduced my 10+ year smoking habit and I am confident I will get rid of it like a champ.

Listening to professors from such esteemed colleges and universities help break the dogma/belief in my head that people are born genius. With hard work, dedication and self-belief anything is possible.

Lastly, I want to thank Barbara Oakley and Terry Sejnowski from the bottom of my heart, Thank you for teaching me about learning.