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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential by McMaster University

4.8
stars
12,784 ratings

About the Course

Mindshift is designed to help boost your career and life in today’s fast-paced learning environment. Whatever your age or stage, Mindshift teaches you essentials such as how to get the most out of online learning and MOOCs, how to seek out and work with mentors, the secrets to avoiding career ruts (and catastrophes) and general ruts in life, and insights such as the value of selective ignorance over general competence. We’ll provide practical insights from science about how to learn and change effectively even in maturity, and we’ll build on what you already know to take your life’s learning in fantastic new directions. This course is designed to show you how to look at what you’re learning, and your place in what’s unfolding in the society around you, so you can be what you want to be, given the real world constraints that life puts on us all. You’ll see that by using certain mental tools and insights, you can learn and do more—far more—than you might have ever dreamed! This course can be taken independent of, concurrent with, or subsequent to, its companion course, Learning How to Learn. (Mindshift is more career focused, and Learning How to Learn is more learning focused.)...

Top reviews

LV

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I enjoyed this MOOC. It is very well-done and clearly covers the topics of mindshifting along with career advancement. Also--good illustrations and visuals/sounds which assist in the learning process.

AH

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Thank you so McMaster University & the professors who carried out the course so very well. I hope the course will help me in my life taking important decisions. I learnt a lot through this course.

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26 - 50 of 3,663 Reviews for Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential

By Dinh D P

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Aug 14, 2021

A great course for learners to know more about how to learn and give them a fresh perspective about learning and being successful in life. A great sequel after the renowned MOOC Learning How to Learn.

By M .

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Aug 6, 2019

my first MOOC and was very helpful, the instructor is fun and present the material in an easy understandable way. I've also enjoyed the assignments and discussions. hope to see more courses from this instructor in the near future.

By Tomasz S

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May 3, 2023

Comprehensive overview of recent developments in cognitive science focused on education and retention of information. Recommended to everyone

By Albiser T

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Jul 5, 2019

Mindshift semble plutôt être une occasion pour ses deux créateurs de refaire un mooc après le succès de "learning to learn" sans rien à redire sur le sujet. Il n'y a que redite ou évidence, jamais de fondements scientifiques comme il pouvait y en avoir sur leur premier MOOC, mais uniquement l'exemple de la vie de madame Oakley illustré par 2-3 autres personnes qui semblent uniquement avoir été choisi pour confirmer ses propos. Très scientifique tout cela... Dr Sejnowski quant à lui est constamment à côté de la plaque et l'on ne comprend pas l'utilité de ses interventions....

Très déçu par ce MOOC qui n'a rien à voir avec le très bon "Learning to Learn", on est plus ici dans du développement personnel à deux balles qui fait insulte à la science.

Je ne saurais même pas dire ce que j'ai pu y apprendre.

By C. L R

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Sep 4, 2017

I am a long-time vipassana meditator. I lost interest with the course when teacher presented vipassana meditation very incorrectly - even mispronouncing the word! After that, I did not trust her qualifications to teach.

By Susan M M

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Jul 27, 2017

This is one of the best courses I have taken at Coursera. I would recommend this for anyone considering higher education in any area. The content is relevant, useful, and creative - I love out of the box views. The presentation is lively and makes learning easy and fun. Bravo... I will take any course taught by Barbara Oakley - even engineering (I have an MA in Psychology). I have taken the course on Learning and have read all the published works of Oakley that were at my library at the time. (Mindshift had not yet been published.) I found a good deal of the content being relatable to resilience and grit and positive psychology. I bought the book, Mindshift, and i am deep in reading now. I feel blessed that this material and this thinker is available online. Thank you Coursera.

By Laura I M G

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Jun 5, 2017

I really enjoyed this class!

It is very useful regardless of your expertise, background, or age. You can apply what you learn in every aspect of your life, and I feel that it will transform it if you follow the wise advice given in it.

I definitively recommend taking this course. It is very engaging, with multiple animations, and very valuable information. The professors have conducted a good amount of research to help you feel more secure about exploring new horizons, in terms of learning. After taking this class I feel much more motivated and I also feel a great desire to continue learning new things.

By Reagan E

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May 31, 2017

Insightful and life-changing.Cleverly fun way to learn the ability towards learning and understanding.This is something we should take to prepare yourself before starting a new course. It's a must before diving into other courses training or practice.It helps you to have an effective way of absorbing new information which speeds up your learning.It is good for all ages who wants change,in general.It is a sort of a lobby before you start stepping at new doors of exploration or opportunities. It is like the golden rule in learning,and these rules are the few ones that isn't meant to be broken.

By Swapnil D

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May 16, 2021

This course is probably _not_ an eye-opener for most people and it is not meant to drastically change your perspective about yourself or the others around you. Instead, it's an excellent pocket guide to help you rethink and reconsider you learn and approach your career and profession. The course does an excellent job of tying in some practical wisdom with scientific research. Hidden within this course is some great advice, tips and plenty of motivation that people from all walks of life will find extremely useful regardless of their age, cultural background or where they are in their career.

By Jamelah M

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Jun 8, 2017

I love how friendly Dr. Oakley appears to be. She is always so excited about the material, it automatically makes me more interested in what she has to say. I think sharing her background and struggles made her down-to-earth and made me feel like if she can do it I can do it too. Many professors act as if they are high and mighty and that you could never be as intelligent as they are. Dr. Oakley showed me through her personal story and her teaching material that if I use the tips and techniques I've learned through both of her courses I can truly learn ANYTHING!!!

By Vicky L

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May 5, 2021

Another great course was written by Barbara - clear, to the point, and fun to watch. She does such a great job of making ideas easy to comprehend and in a way that sticks in your brain for a long time to come. She is a truly talented teacher; she shows us the dedication, work, and fun that goes into taking the time to really get the message across to students. Makes you wonder just how many sub-par teachers we've had in the past in school or college, don't you think?

By Lawrence S

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May 15, 2017

The gold standard for MOOCs. Barbara and her team successfully gives an excellent sequel to their first MOOC, Learning How to Learn. The course was designed to give practical insights about career and life enhancement in today’s information age. I can say that this course encouraged me to pursue a career in data science even though I have already started a career in engineering. If it turns out well, I will definitely look back at this course as my stepping stone.

By Lidia G

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Jun 14, 2017

Changing fields is possible. Obstacles and failure are the best thing that can happen to you. Your interests are a value, not just a waste of time. Women and sciences can go together.

The ideas this course offer are easy to understand and so true it's amazing noone ever put them all together and told us when we were younger. The speakers are clear and explain scientific studies and theories in a very clear and entertaining way, easy to remember.

By verna k

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Jul 23, 2017

Another wonderful course offered and presented. I enjoy the structure, the content, the workload for each week. I really felt it had opened up ideas to work towards getting back into the workforce post maternity leave. I also really enjoyed the idea of being a better learner and also looking at a mindshift within myself. I am not 100% there but I feel like this course has given me the motivation/inspiration to make actionable goals.

By Christiane G

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May 8, 2017

Helpful mix of practical advise and background to understand why some things work and others don't. Fun ! And one of the few courses that will have a practical impact on my life. Whatever the magic, great Job! I wish all the things I learned had such an adequate mix so that I could imediatly start applying what I learn without sometimes years going by before I actually understand what a theory or model is trying to explain.

By Oscar

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Jul 29, 2017

Muchas gracias a Coursera por esta maravillosa oportunidad de aprender de la mano de personas tan valiosas e importantes como lo son la Dra. Barbara Oakley y el Dr. Terrence Sejnowski.

Muchas gracias por permitirme tener el honor de acceder a conocimiento de calidad.

Dios permita que algún día toda la educación mundial pueda ser 100 % gratis, incluidos los programas especializados y certificados.

Hasta Pronto

By A M

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May 3, 2017

It is an amazing science based course (explained in a way that anyone can get it) about your mind and how you can make changes in your life through learning. It has very practical advice about many aspects that help you understand how your mind works and how to use it to better your life, no matter what you have experienced before. Thank you very much, again (for this course and for ‘Learning How to Learn’).

By Vivek

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May 2, 2017

Best MOOC of self development. Often we never discussed topics like how to change field specially when we grow older, reason is, proof less myth spreaded in the society about learning new things at old age. This MOOC debunked such myth and also give insightful coverage of different aspect of mindshift. If you are reading this review I would personally recommend to take this MOOC if you want mindshift.

By Dries G J

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Jul 30, 2017

Loved this course! It is a really great way to help me overcome the fear of being "stuck in a career" or thinking that the skills I have are "not relevant" in the future job market. This course gave me practical examples of the best ways to broaden my existing passions, know the benefits of doing simple things such as taking breaks, finding a mentor, reading more and discovering my hidden potential!

By Thomas S

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May 19, 2017

Very inspiring and motivating MOOC by Barbara Oakley and Terrence Sejnowski. They provide clean lessons in a structured and appealing way. I liked the quizzes, the integration of entries (essays) to the discussion forum. I learned a lot while having fun with this extraordinary course. Finally I want to mention the natural, but fundamental way both Barbara and Terrence teach the course.

By Julián J

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May 10, 2017

I loved this MOOC, although I had to travel to a place with no internet connection during more than half of it. Barb, thanks for your work. Next time, I'd love to learn more tips about how to TEACH. It happens that I find myself often in a teacher role, either formally or informally, and I need to learn how to make my teaching more impactful (without creating a MOOC for the matter).

By Nicole M

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Jul 7, 2017

I LOVED this course. Each week I learned something new. The insights and additional resources help jumpstart my motivation. The course started at an ideal point in my learning. Since taking the course I have seen improvement in my study habits and I have the tools and resources for when my motivation is at a low point. I can't wait to see a continuation for Mindshift

By Stephen G

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Jun 5, 2017

Another well presented MOOC by Barb. It exposes and breaks down learning difficulties that are personal, common and not generally given definitive answers and simplifies responses that capture complex concepts.

If you are looking to take on a MOOC on a foreign subject or subject that you are not that passionate about (yet), this would be a good MOOC to take first.

By Anel O

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May 1, 2017

Barbara and her team are amazing. I can relate so much to many examples given in this course from how we can feel when learning something new to how we can refrain a stressful feeling to keep going with a positive learning experience. I highly recommend this course to gain confidence in our abilities and keep our brains fresh to learn how to learn new skills.

By Lisardo P G

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May 6, 2017

Another outstanding MOOC by Dr. Barbara Oakley and Dr. Terrence Sejnowski. Very instructive, motivating and inspirational. The course is mainly composed by catchy videos that are succinct, really funny, and in most cases, helpful and revealing. The tasks to be done are easy and they do not take too much time to be completed.

Definitely recommended.