Couldn't imagine better introduction into MOOCs and strongly believe this course should be included into formal education curriculum as obligatory and one of the most important ones. That's because it deals with the very basics of education - what learning is, how do the brain do it, what processes are involved and how to use them properly. Understanding this in the first place would make huge improvement to any further learning no matter the skill.

Course could be valuable either for those starting their education (giving them proper tools, changing perspective, etc.) and more advanced learners (backing some of their intuitions with scientific data, dealing with some misconceptions, consolidating and presenting knowledge in well structured way). It's all done in layman terms and thanks to dr. Oakley in a very kind, fun and supportive atmosphere.

Another good indicator that creators practice what they preach is the design of the course itself - videos served in digestible "chunks", funny and attention keeping quizzes, little reviews, etc. Overall - highly recommended.

Hello,

I am an NLP Master from France. I have developped differents skills in learning or life coaching ( Erickson Hypnosis, Neuro Semantics...) Your course is just a very good one. And for free ???? No excuse for anyone who wants to improve its skills about learning how to learn. If You are interested about the functionnal of the Brain that even the best scientist as never talked about until today, I strongly recommand you to read The Hidden Face Of The Brain written By Dominique AUBIER. You have never read something like that. I sware because she reveald what the Brain is for the Traditions and compare the Crown knowledge and the Scientist Knowledge reuniting those both approach that are usually describe as opposite. This books is probably the best TOP interleaving learning you have never read. Thank you so much for what you did. Maybe once a day we will meet. But if we don't you will shall say to all the people you know Cyrille BIKOUTA-MENGA aka WALLO11.37.04 has followed our course. THANK YOU SO MUCH Mrs OAKLEY. Keep going smiling and sharing all your knowledge.

An extraordinary course. I came here to acquire 20% of the most valuable tools to learn more efficient (which would give me 80% of the result). I've found exactly that and more! Each tool basically is explained via a similar framework, though not always in that order: a problem (e.g. hard to undestand math), a scientific explanation of a reason (e.g. math is abstract => less connections in the brain => harder to recognize patterns), a tested tool as a solution (e.g. find or create easier to grasp physical metaphors which will create required patterns via a "side door").

I've found more, because I have understood that without the consistency and focus no result can be achieved - both for work or learning, for the latter especially. Now I am actively integrating the knowledge from course to my life and can already see the improvements!

My advice - if you want to seriously grow, please take time and patience to REALLY understand the concepts and REALLY integrate them in your life. Basically you'd want to integrate all valuable tools as habits in your brain.

Good luck!

This is by far one of the most rewarding courses I have ever taken! As a psychology major, I really love the way how Dr. Barbara Oakley and Dr. Terrence Sejnowski not only discussed the many useful learning techniques but carefully explained how those methods work neurologically, and I believe understanding the underline neural networks could definitely help us make better use of what we have learned from this course.

My favorite part of this program were actually the optional interviews Dr. Oakley did with many other very accomplished scientists and learners. It was always inspiring getting to know how they learned and what they though would be the best way to learn effectively. Also, I have to admit that the way how this class was presented -- one several-minute video for one small topic -- was in effect quite convenient when I felt the need to review a few concepts. I could simply look at the title of video and recall the points involved in the lecture.

In short, this class was surprisingly rewarding, and I would recommend to anyone who wants to learn better.

This is a great course, I wish I had learned it before or during my university studies and not many years later.

When I started university I had a lot of misconceptions about how to learn in a smart way. High school was pretty easy for me so I never learned how to study hard material, and subsequently I struggled through my years in university. This course is for people who lack the correct learning techniques and habits. Not everyone can force their way through university by sheer brain power - some have more and some have less of it. Understanding how your brain works and how to feed it information the right way, when to give it a rest and which kind of rest, how to leverage your diffused mode of thinking and even how to approach an exam - these are all skills that will help you achieve more, while staying focused and energized.

Even if you're busy, this course is well worth your time, and pretty much all of it can be learned without even looking at the screen, so just download the course and listen to it during your commute or your jogging. Thanks Barbara!

I enjoyed the course very much!! Thank you. Highly applicable to my profession (teaching) and really useful. In a nutshell I learnt about - Learning, thinking, memory, chunking, avoiding procrastination, habits, testing, use of analogy and metaphors, and so much more - which I know will directly impact my ability to learn well and to advise my students on how to learn.The videos were short and not too much of a strain on students like me (working people)I enjoyed Dr. Barbara Oakley's way of presenting every topic - very clear, specific and ofcourse warm and friendly. It was like - she was talking to you!! Dr. Terrence Sejnowski tends to do one main video a week, detailing more on the anatomical aspect of the brain.There are plenty of interviews that you can watch, lots of reading material that was available (though I was selective about it). Its however in my list of 'to read'This course was a very rewarding one that I have taken.I highly recommend this course to all teachers, students and even parents who will understand how 'learning' can be improved.

This course ought to be given in Freshman year of High School and again in Freshman Year of College. Dr. Oakley is a wonderful conduit for this information. In week 4 the ADD brain is discussed with examples of what the world considers brilliant men. Amazing to learn why my learning as well as my daughter's has a "delay". I noticed her brain development when she was a baby. Day after day I'd try and teach her a new word or sign language or body shape in play. Days later after I thought okay, I'll wait and try something new, she'd do the thing I was teaching her days before. I did not understand this at all. For me now, I see how and why when information comes into my mind, it scatters and then days later, I feel a knowledge chunk forming. wow. This is something I wish I knew many years before. But it is good now that I learned so much about learning and how to feel positive about how best to use what I have to learn new things. Great course. I believe everyone should be required to take this course early in life... and then refresher later on.

Great compilation of tools and ideas to help people interested in honing how to learn better. I think if I had this class in my youth my educational future and career would have turned out very differently. I loved the interviews and Dr. Oakley having her and the interviewees' personal life tidbits from their lives and bringing what they know about learning to her course. That really kept me engaged and relaxed.

I loved how the course touched on human emotion, science, and health to teach us how to learn. I was aware and used some techniques- like Anki and the Pomodoro technique- but bringing everything together with other topics like interleaving and chunking made this class eye-opening.

As a student that relies heavily on MOOC and self-teaching, I realize I had a very shaken and insecure outlook on my learning because I have to depend so much on myself to get the info in my head. I'm so ready and confident to continue virtual learning in pretty much any subject including my terror subject: Math!

Thank you, Dr.Oakley and Learning How to Learn Team.

Gorgeous material, which is from my point of view extremely powerful, valuable, as well as very hands-on oriented. I have liked the way very much, how the material is presented and how nice the key ideas are educated in an easy to remember way. Already during the course I practiced a lot of it in real life, e.g. the memory palace technique to visually deposit items I want to remember. Btw and to be honest, w/o the examples in the videos I wouldn't even have dared to be that freaky, funny and evocative with my own memory images on such ;) The only pity thought coming up into my mind is, that I should have had this knowledge 20 years earlier ! Anyhow, happy event never comes too late. I now switch back to master tough subjects of AI Artificial Intelligence, which is currently part of my lifelong learning, and where I made a little step from to the Learning How to Learn course. I'm sure, I speed there up tremendously. Thanks so much to Barb Oakley, Terry Sejnowski, and the Learning How to Learn Team. Kei, Germany

A very good course!

It teaches a lot of techniques for studying and test taking as well as information about how we and our brains work. It talks about how we should be doing things to learn in a more "efficient" manner, how to be less anxious as well as some advice about decision making (don't cram, and have a good night's sleep).

Quite a bit of what is talked here I've seen before in other places. Things such as Anki, sleeping well before a test, good eating habits and exercising (doesn't mean i applied them to my life). But it was nice to have everything put into one place. It's a way to ratify that's what i should be doing.

And there indeed were a lot of valuables knowledge to be learned here. The Pomodoro technique is something I've never heard about before, and I loved and am currently applying it. There are some "pomodoro" apps out there, and the one I'm using makes me feel like I'm gamifying my learning. It's really fun to study that way.

It's a very good course for anyone that wants to become a better learner.

I first took this course when I was at the height of my frustration over learning Nihongo in Osaka. During that time, I had been studying almost everyday for 11 months. I was constantly reading, reviewing, and answering exercises. I often studied until I was too tired to study any more, and yet I could retain the information only for a while. The way I was studying wasn't working for me, and I wanted to know how I can study and learn more effectively. A month after I started taking this course and applying some of the techniques presented in it, I noticed that I was able to remember more of my Nihongo lessons. I actually spent less time studying, but I think that, with the techniques I was using, I was studying in a smarter, more effective, and more efficient way... I continue to apply these techniques in relevant situations in my life now. I also review this course every once in a while. Each time, I find that I still learn something from it. Thank you so much to everyone who came together to make this course possible!

I highly recommend this course to just about anyone as the concepts can be applicable to students, experienced professionals, instructors, researchers, etc. With today's rapid pace of technology advancement, I find it sometimes overwhelming to know where to even start to understand some new technologies and concepts that are outside of my profession. In fact, technology within my profession is rapidly changing owing to IoT, so I really want to understand these other technologies that are now working in tandem with my industry. I took this course in hopes that it would make approaching some of these new concepts easier. It greatly exceeded my expectations. Some are completely novel concepts, while others are things I've been doing for years, but didn't actually have a name for them (e.g. diffused mode of thinking). The course is very easy to follow and I really liked the professors. They seem to be genuinely nice people who want people to learn and succeed. I will end as I began. I HIGHLY recommend this course.

A truly outstanding course. The material is both very useful and interesting.

Without any intention to brag about, I've always considered myself as a decent learner, but when people asked me about it, I couldn't articulate why. Turns out I was already using some of the technics and approached taught about in this course. Doesn't mean it wasn't useful for me - I still learn a lot, and now I have an understanding *why* I was/am more successful in learning than some of my peers.

The teaching staff is pleasent to listen to. Video editing has some of that "early 2000s Windows Movie Maker" style, but it has its charm and works our pretty well in combination with Barbara's narration. The only technical fault is that some interviews have unequal audio levels (but that's not such a big deal, also the interviews are just a bonus).

Also the course is completely free, which is nice (you only need to pay to get a certificate, but this is the kind of course where a certificate is not that needed imo).

All in all, totally recommend.

I had an amazing experience with this online course. Firstly, the course has a great structure making it easy to follow Dr. Oakley and Dr. Sejnowki! Moreover, the ideas and exercises are easily applicable in daily life, no matter if you are a student or already working. The techniques discussed will help with every new project you try to tackle. Mostly, they emphasize the benefits of learning, having fun acquiring new knowledge and shows you how you can motivate yourself to learn. However, they also reassure you to not be too hard on yourself, to keep practising with the beneficial methods and of course being real with yourself about your progress. It was a refreshing perspective into an academic world that is sadly and to our detriment still more focused on achievement than on acquiring deep and meaningful knowledge. Therefore I really have to say: Great job!! I am so happy this course exists. It is giving us the reality check, we so desperately need to understand what really matters when learning! Thank you!

While this course isn't very deep the ideas you learn about learning are practical, actionable and at least for me something I've been able to incorporate into my daily life that has actually had results. Professor Oakley has a very light hearted and fun way of presenting her ideas and she interviews a lot of really interesting people that give insights into tackling difficult subjects, learning and self improvement overall. Dr Sanojwski (hopefully I spelled that right!) gives an introductory or everyday explanation into the neurobiology of learning and taking together with professor Oakley's lessons they gave a good mental picture of what's happening in the brain when we are trying to learn new things and how we can set ourselves up for success in learning.

This course is most likely aimed at high school and beginning college students but I feel that it could really be for anyone who is interested in improving their lives and learning something new. After all everyone could benefit from learning how to learn!

Thank you Coursera for allowing me to enroll this course for free.

Barbara Oakley Ph.D and Dr. Sejnowski, thank you for your excellent instruction.

This course has taught me a lot of useful things, include:

- Having a thorough understanding of how the brain works to learn faster and understand subjects more deeply.

- How to perform well on tests and overcome some mental obstacles when taking tests.

- Effective memorization techniques.

- Against procrastination.

The instructors teach professionally. The knowledge and skills are given in a style that is simple to comprehend, useful, and revelant to practice. The quizzes accurately represent the course material, which helps students remember well. There is a forum with a large number of students. Peers review assignments quickly and give polite feedback.

This course and the instructors are the best examples of what they taught.

I will come back to these lessons again and time again.

I am glad to share what I have learned and experienced in this course.

Sincerely thank you!

If you are reading this and you haven't taken this course already, PLEASE DO! This course was a game-changer for me. I didn’t have any clear goals or plans for my future, but this course inspired me to start learning new things. I’m currently learning digital marketing and loving it. Barbara, the instructor, was amazing. She was so kind, humble, and helpful. She explained everything in a simple and engaging way, using great examples, stories, and visuals. The course content was well-designed and relevant. I learned a lot about myself and how I learn best. For example, I found out that I have a short working memory, but that also makes me more creative. I also learned some practical tips and tricks to overcome procrastination, improve memory, switch between different modes of learning, and more. I think this course should be taught in schools to make learning more fun and effective. I have already recommended this course to my friends. It was a wonderful experience and I’m very happy and satisfied with it.

Recently I started using Pomodoro technique to create a habit of regular studying. I must say it works surprisingly good in its simplicity.

I start by turning off the wifi on my phone and I close all unnecessary tabs in the web browser as well as other programs. Then I set the timer for 25 minutes and focus on a specific task without worrying if I manage to finish it or not. Sometimes it means to leave a lecture video half way paused or even unfinished line of code but that's okay. What matters in fighting the procrastination is the focus on the process not the results. I use the breaks for stretching away from the computer.

Other thing I do is to set up a day limit on a specific hour, just like Dr Barbara Oakley explains in her course. In my case it's 8pm, after that hour I stop studying even if I didn't do as many Pomodoro sessions as I planned.

After a while I've noticed that I look forward those studying sessions. :) I recommend it to anyone who struggles with procrastination. Go on and give it a try.

A fantastic insight into the functioning of the brain. Doing this helps you to identify bad habits and thoughts that will impede not only learning, but enjoying it. This course does a very good job mixing theoretical explanations with practical tips and advices to improve your learning. However, don't expect magic here, there are no shortcuts. You have to be willing to put the effort into the material you want to learn. The beginning of the course might seem a little bit simple, but the last weeks are really worthwhile. Specially if you are taking a degree of a very complex subject like Physics, Engineering or Math, where the focus mode of the brain is encouraged and the diffused mode is forgotten, albeit it is much needed too. Al thing considered, either if you are an unquiet person, who likes to learn constantly, or you simply want to learn how to improve your academic performance, this course will give you what you need. I feel that this should be taught in the first year of college.

I am a Learning Specialist who has been learning about learning for more than 20 years. I coach students in grades 9-12 to apply strategies that will maximize their learning in all subject areas, and I took this course in hopes that it would be a means to validate and enhance my teaching practice. The clever lectures did not disappoint! I learned several new ideas and strategies to bring to my practice, including an interesting test taking strategy linked to focused and diffuse modes of thinking, which I found fascinating and very applicable. I was able to link every lecture to previously learned content on memory, language acquisition, attention, and comprehension. I especially appreciated that the lectures were short and clear; the instructors are obviously well aware of what the research tells us about sustained attention - and they practice what they preach. The spiraling nature of the course was also very helpful; the brain loves spaced repetition! I am enthused for the new academic year to begin.

After just one week of learning with Dr. Barbara Oakley and Dr. Terrence Sejnowski, I feel that this is the ressource I have been looking for for a long time. Nowadays, the internet is full of material about personal development, about how to achieve miracles in fast learning, fast reading, fast calculating, in activating different parts of the brain, ...etc. Though I obviously do not much trust this kind of material, I have always been looking for reliable sources that answer so many questions about learning and about how the brain works during the learning process. Learning How to Learn offers all that anyone needs to know about how the learning process develops in the brain while at the same time learning so much about the secrets of the human brain and its potentialities from brain specialists and researchers. What makes the course more interesting is the reliable and rich resources and the well-grounded scientific research it uses to demonstrate the validity of the learning strategies suggested.

Excellent course! Even though I am myself a professor in an engineering discipline and very experienced at "learning", I discovered new things in this course and I also learned reasons behind some aspects of learning that I know from intuition and experience. It is very helpful to understand the neurological underpinnings for why certain methods of learning and studying are beneficial. The concept of "chunking" is very powerful. The rational behind metaphors, mnemonics, and memory palace is really interesting. The reasons that spaced repetition of concepts are effective, the function of the diffuse mode of the brain, and the simple "pomodoro" technique are all excellent concepts and incredibly useful in learning engineering concepts, languages, or anything in life. The instructors are excellent, the videos, illustrations and text are well thought out. Highly recommend this course for anyone at any level! I have recommended it to fellow professors, graduate and undergraduate students, and my children.

From different brain modes to research-proven learning techniques, this course not only covers how brain works but also what works for the brain. It is a constant reminder that the brain is a powerful tool that learners of all kind could benefit from knowing it a little better. Besides, this course give scientific backings to ideas such as changing your thoughts can really change how your brain work, and leisure activities are not just good for you, they are essential in stages of learnings etc. These are all powerful life-style suggestions that could help us live better, happier and more efficiently.Lastly, I found taking this course in itself is a power tool against procrastination. A few minutes a day of listening to the videos got myself start thinking about my learning methods, and I would usually go to with a productive day of trying to challenge myself according to the suggestions from the class videos. Thank you for such a great course. I only wish I could turn back clock and take it earlier.

Dr. Oakley is one of my top three favorite professors of MOOC courses because the content is relevant and applicable. For reference, I have been taking online classes for over 20 years; I teach and also have an EdS and MPH. I have been in school most of my adult life, and it was a pleasure to take this class.

I learned a few tips to help my adult students learn better and retain the information longer. I have also found myself sharing this information with anyone trying to learn anything new and especially complex subjects.

The content builds each week with quizzes, lectures, and she provides in-depth references that allow you to dive into a subject deeper. There are also additional lectures, interviews, and content, making it a really in-depth course.

This subject will likely appeal to students, but any teacher, parent, or employer reading this should take the course as well. You will learn how to help others learn anything better. Highly recommend this course and Dr. Oakley's books!