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Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential

McMaster University

About this Course

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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.)

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Beginner Level

Approx. 11 hours to complete

English

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Skills you will gain

Learning To Learn
Lifelong Learning
Pomodoro Technique
Meta Learning

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Beginner Level

Approx. 11 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructors

Instructor rating

4.87/5 (3,197 Ratings)

Barbara Oakley

Professor of Engineering

Industrial & Systems Engineering, Oakland University

4,350,658 Learners

15 Courses

Dr. Terrence Sejnowski

Francis Crick Professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies

Computational Neurobiology Laboratory

4,331,689 Learners

13 Courses

Offered by

McMaster University

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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating98%(53,240 ratings)

Week

Week 1

3 hours to complete

Change IS possible

In today's world, change is the only constant. This means that whatever stage you are in life, you need to keep yourself open and able to change. How can you do this? In three ways: Learn more about your hidden capabilities and assets. Learn more about learning effectively. Learn about matching your assets with the opportunities that face you. In this week, we'll dive into these three important areas!

3 hours to complete

14 videos (Total 75 min), 1 reading, 2 quizzes

14 videos

1-1 Introduction – About Mindshift6m

1-2 The Value of Being a Slow Learner4m

1-3 From Passive to Active7m

1-4 The Value of Your Past6m

1-5 Mastery Learning6m

1-6 Focused Versus Diffuse – Furthering Your Understanding6m

1-7 Should You Listen to Music When You're Studying?1m

1-8 Learning Something Hard? The Coffee Shop Trick5m

1-9 Your environment affects who you are6m

1-10 The Changing World – Matching Aspirations with Opportunity6m

1-11 Natural Passions, Career Choice, and Gender4m

1-12 Week 1 Wrap Up2m

Optional Video: How to Integrate a Flashcard Retrieval Practice System into This Course4m

Optional Bonus Video: Nelson Dellis Memory Tips #16m

1 reading

Guidance in Applying for Continuing Education or Professional Development Credit10m

1 practice exercise

Week 130m

Week

Week 2

2 hours to complete

Getting Deeper into Happy Learning

Key to your ability to mindshift is being able to learn effectively. This week, we’ll dive deeper into this vital area. Getting yourself motivated to tackle procrastination can sometimes be a challenge in learning, so we’ll give you some important tips here. But we’ll also give insights into mental tricks to help you focus, relax, and reframe if stress intrudes. We’ll also show you how to avoid common learning pitfalls. Welcome and enjoy!

2 hours to complete

14 videos (Total 86 min)

14 videos

2-1 Week 2 Introduction1m

2-2 The Value of a Poor Memory6m

2-3 Meditation and Mindfulness – What to Look for4m

2-4 The Pomodoro Technique as Working Meditation7m

2-5 Getting Past Procrastination7m

2-6 The Value of Procedural Fluency and Deliberate Practice6m

2-7 Bad Grades and Barb's Hands – The Value of Mental Tricks3m

2-8 Learning to Reframe – Put a Label on It!8m

2-9 Integrate All Your Senses Into Learning – The Pitfalls of "Learning Styles"3m

2-10 Can You Try to Learn Too Much?3m

2-11 Your Social Brain5m

2-12 Week 2 Wrap Up4m

Optional Bonus Video: Interview with Singapore Entrepreneur Adam Khoo20m

Optional Bonus Video: Nelson Dellis Memory Tips #24m

1 practice exercise

Week 230m

Week

Week 3

3 hours to complete

Learning and Careers

This week, we’ll be talking about how your own career can develop and change through your life. Your own internal feelings about what you want to do can play a critical role in your long-term happiness. But society and culture can also have a dramatic effect on your career choices and decisions—as can your parents, family, and friends. We’ll talk about second-skilling yourself, and developing a talent stack of average talents that can combine into a formidable asset. We’ll also talk about various tactics and techniques to help you survive career changes and upheavals. Welcome and enjoy!

3 hours to complete

13 videos (Total 65 min)

13 videos

3-1 Week 3 Introduction59s

3-2 Passion and Work Part 13m

3-3 Passion and Work Part 25m

3-4 Passion and Work Part 36m

3-5 Mindshifting – What to Do in the Face of Opposition6m

3-6 General Competence versus Selective Ignorance2m

3-7 The Value of Feeling Like an Imposter2m

3-8 Avoiding Career Ruts and Surviving Career Catastrophes4m

3-9 Bad Traits as Best Traits3m

3-10 The Intelligence of Emotions6m

3-11 Week 3 Wrap Up3m

Optional Bonus Video: Nelson Dellis Memory Tips #39m

Optional Bonus Video: Nelson Dellis Memory Tips #4 Remembering Names & Faces9m

1 practice exercise

Week 330m

Week

Week 4

2 hours to complete

Adopting a Learning Lifestyle

In this final week of the course, we'll be exploring how and why to keep yourself in "mindshift" mode. We'll give you all sorts of insider tips on how to pick out the best online learning with materials that are right for you. And we'll also talk about other ways of learning—ways that can make you "the smartest person in the room." Disruption lies ahead in the world—this week, we'll help you seize the advantage. Off we go for our final week of Mindshift!

2 hours to complete

13 videos (Total 72 min), 1 reading, 1 quiz

13 videos

4-1 Week 4 Introduction56s

4-2 Why Should You Keep Learning?5m

4-3 MOOC Tips Part 1 – How to Get the Most from MOOCs3m

4-4 Dirty Little Secrets of Traditional vs Massive Online Teaching4m

4-5 A Visit to Barb's Basement: The Secret Sauce of Learning How to Learn5m

4-6 MOOC Tips Part 2 – Looking More Deeply Into Quality Learning4m

4-7 Mentors in Your Life5m

4-8 Read, Read, Read3m

4-9 Surviving in the New Information Economy5m

4-10 Week 4 Wrap Up3m

4-11 Finale: Discovering Your Hidden Potential4m

Optional Bonus Video: Nelson Dellis Memory Tips #5 Language Learning11m

Memory Tips: Nelson Dellis on How to Memorize a Speech or a Script13m

1 reading

Please Rate this Course on Class Central5m

1 practice exercise

Final Examination30m

Reviews

4.8

3542 reviews

5 stars
83.90%
4 stars
13.49%
3 stars
1.81%
2 stars
0.30%
1 star
0.47%

TOP REVIEWS FROM MINDSHIFT: BREAK THROUGH OBSTACLES TO LEARNING AND DISCOVER YOUR HIDDEN POTENTIAL

by DPAug 13, 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 MGJun 4, 2017

Great course, motivated me to think of what I want to do, and I actually got an idea just before completing the course, which I am putting into action now! I am motivated to learn more, thank you!

by DIOct 30, 2020

Great course! This is a lot more general than Learning about Learning but is also useful nonetheless. I like the focus on keeping positive and being confident in your potential despite our weaknesses.

by SVDec 21, 2020

This course has amazingly shift my perspective in life. I love how effectivity of the delivery of the topics or concepts. All my time spent on this course has been all worth it. Thank You so much...

View all reviews

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?
When you purchase a Certificate you get access to all course materials, including graded assignments. Upon completing the course, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.
How can I receive an Honors certificate?
If you would like to take it up to the next level, you can receive an Honors Certificate upon successful course completion. Simply complete the two extra Honors assignments that you will find in Week 1 and Week 3. You can complete these extra assignments at any time, even if you have already received a regular certificate. If you have any questions, please post them in the General Discussion forum.

More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.

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Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential

Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential

About this Course

Skills you will gain