Don’t forget about Remember It!

Cheery Friday Greetings to our Learning How to Learners!

Book of the Month

We were very lucky to receive a pre-publication copy of 4-time US memory champion Nelson Dellis’s new book Remember It! The Names of People You Meet, All of Your Passwords, Where You Left Your Keys, and Everything Else You Tend to Forget. Nelson’s book will be coming out next week—it’s the best book on how to develop your memory we’ve ever read. What’s terrific about Nelson’s book is that doesn’t just give the usual information about how to remember lists or sequences of numbers. Dellis provides all sorts of side bits of important everyday tips—like how to remember something important that occurs to you when you wake up in the middle of the night, how to remember where you’re parked, and how not to forget objects, like a purse (forgetting her purse is the bane of Barb’s existence). We can’t recommend this book more strongly!
Barb in Madrid

Barb will be keynoting two virtually back-to-back conferences in Madrid:

• Learning with MOOCs Conference, Barb’s talk on creating great online materials will be in the second part of the Keynote 3 session on September 28, (12:30 – 2:00 pm).
• EnlightEd Conference–Barb’s talk on insights into learning will be on October 3rd (12:15-12:35 pm)

If you happen to be in Madrid for either talk, Barb would love to see you!

Improving procedural fluency in math

Most leading educators with an appreciation for findings from neuroscience are very aware that procedural fluency in mathematics is an important foundation for conceptual understanding.  Retired chemical engineer Michael Eiseman volunteer tutors disadvantaged students in math and science and saw the difficulties his students had in algebra because they did not get enough practice. For them, Michael created “Algebra By Hand” to give them the gift of what he calls advanced procedural fluency in algebra. You can see a 2-minute video about it here. The tool does very little to promote conceptual understanding for the average student. But because it releases the student from the arithmetic and bookkeeping manual algebra requires, it allows the motivated student to quickly develop several solution pathways to enable new conceptual connections.  Check it out!

SMS nudges can add up

This interesting article by the indefatigable Annabelle Timsit, of Quartz, explores the topic of how text messages are being used to nudge and tweak human behavior in positive ways.  This approach might also be useful to help nudge you towards your learning goals.

Podcast with Barb on Vital Corps Wellness

As lifestyle strategist and host Kara Martin Snyder observes: “In today’s episode we talk a lot about learning and MOOCs…. With all of Dr. Oakley’s credentials and professional experience, we also discuss some adjacent topics like how to hang-up your workaholic spurs, how to avoid task-list intimidation (yes, we touch on task lists!), and how we might leverage Imposter Syndrome for our advantage…. If a Swiss Army Knife came in human form, it would be called a Barbara Oakley, Ph.D. Like a Swiss Army Knife, there are a multitude of tools and ideas woven into this conversation which can be applied to what’s going on in your own life. Dr. Oakley contributes a wealth of knowledge and implementable inspiration.

Need a music coach?
We received a recommendation from LHTLer Carlos Chowell about learning coach Gregg Goodhart. Carlos writes “I am enrolled in your Learning How to Learn” course in Coursera, and it has been the first step of my learning path. I wanted to share with you that I found a Learning Coach for music who teaches how to practice what music instructors teach. His name is Gregg Goodhart, and he bases his teaching method on the research [of Learning How to Learn] and on the science of Peak, Flow, Fast Focus, and Mindset. He has helped me with my practice habits, taught me how to learn music effectively, and take advantage of every minute of my practice. He has been of great influence to me, and I am sure he will be for your audience in Coursera. I wanted to share his contact information.” Gregg Goodhart, e-mail learningcoach@ggoodhart.com, and his website is http://ggoodhart.com/.

Would you like to convert your handwritten notes to audio?  

Saqib Muhammad is currently working on Voicepods, a tool that converts text to human-like speech. Saqib writes “I remember back when I was in school, audio notes were just robotic and unbearable to listen to.” This could be a useful tool for students to convert written notes to audio, so you can listen to them at work or while walking or jogging, to be able to learn through several different modalities.  Here also is a special tool for educators.

Humor Signals Generosity

This short but insightful blogpost by Anupam captures our reasoning for making Learning How to Learn more fun.

Barb on Principal Center Radio

Take a listen to Barb’s insights into education and learning in this podcast with Justin Baeder from Principal Center Radio.

That’s all for this week. Have a happy week in Learning How to Learn!

Barb, Terry, and the entire Learning How to Learn team

 

• Get the course recommended text, A Mind for Numbers!
• And Learning How to Learn: How to Succeed in School Without Spending All Your Time Studying; A Guide for Kids and Teens. Great ideas for parents, too!
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