Tom Stafford is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Cognitive Science at the University of Sheffield.

He’s also the author of the book Mindhacks, a book featuring 100 DIY mind experiments you can try at home, and he runs the excellent MindHacks blog dedicated to psychology and neuroscience news & views.

Tom has done some fascinating research into skill acquisition by studying the process of playing computer games he's drawn out some useful general insights that you can apply to any skill you’re learning.

In this conversation we discuss a range of topics including:

- What Tom has discovered about the learning process through his research in cognitive science
- The tradeoff between trying new things (exploration) and doing what works (exploitation)
- The keys to teaching effectively and improving the classroom experience for students

So whether you’re looking for some cutting edge insights from cognitive science to apply to your learning or are curious about how it can improve the classroom experience, this episode has you covered.

Resources

🖥 Mind Hacks - Tom's Blog on Neuroscience & Psychology News & Views

▶️ Mind Matters x Pint of Science Sheffield: Optimal Learning in Games

📖 Mind Hacks - Tom Stafford

📄 The Exploration-Exploitation Trade-Off

🐦 @tomstafford