ML46: Barbara Oakley on Learning How To Learn, Retraining Your Brain and The Secrets Behind Great Online Education

Barbara Oakley is an educator and writer who’s empowering people all over the world to learn more effectively. Barb is best known for her role as the lead instructor on Coursera’s Learning How To Learn – the most popular online course in the world last year – and her bestselling book A Mind for Numbers.

For all the hours we spend in school it's remarkable that we're never taught how to learn. This is even more surprising when recent developments in cognitive psychology and neuroscience mean that we know more about the learning process than at any point in history.

Barb's work on the MOOC Learning How To Learn has brought this knowledge to the public domain, with remarkable results thanks to her engaging presentation style and ability to communicate complex ideas in a simple way.

In this conversation we discuss a range of topics including:

- Barb’s insights from learning in the military and retraining as an engineer at 26
- How to apply what cognitive science has established about the learning process
- The future of online education and the success of "Learning How To Learn"

So whether you're looking to upgrade your learning skills, find out more about how they pick up skills in the military or understand the secrets behind great online education, this episode will give you all that and more.

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Podcasts

🎙 ML52: Kalid Azad on How To Get Better at Math, the Key To a Good Explanation and the Art of Rapid Skill Acquisition
🎙 ML40: How To Learn A New Skill
🎙 ML20: Scott Young on Ultralearning Projects, the MIT Challenge and The Year Without English

Articles

📄 How To Redefine Learning for the 21st Century
📄 Zapping the Zeigarnik Effect: One Giant Leap for Productivity
📄 Why You’re Learning the Wrong Way and What To Do About It

Selected Resources

📖 A Mind for Numbers - Barbara Oakley
📖 Mindshift - Barbara Oakley
▶️ Learning How to Learn - Coursera Online Course
🖥 BarbaraOakley.com