the new science of learning

Learning to learn is the key skill for tomorrow. This breakthrough book builds the foundation every student needs, from freshman orientation to graduate school Recent advances in brain science show that most students’ learning strategies are highly inefficient, ineffective or just plain wrong. While all learning requires effort, better learning does not require more effort, but rather effectively aligning how the brain naturally learns with the demands of your studies. This book shows you what is involved in learning new material, how the human brain processes new information, and what it takes for that information to stick with you even after the test. Taking a small amount of time to read and act upon the material in this book will prove to be one of the best decisions you can make as a learner. What you discover will change the way you learn in college and will be helpful in your personal and professional life. You live in a world where you will have to be a lifelong learner, constantly updating your skills and changing jobs to compete in the global marketplace. Most college students today will have as many as 1014 different jobs by age 38. Learning how to learn in harmony with your brain is crucial to your longterm success. This succinct book explains straightforward strategies for changing how you prepare to learn, engage with your course material, and set about improving recall of newly learned material whenever you need it. This is not another book about study skills and time management strategies, but instead an easytoread description of the research about how the human brain learns in a way that you can put into practice right away. Did you know neuroscientists have shown that memories are made while you sleep, and by studying right before sleeping you can make stronger memories for your information? In this book the authors explain the role that sleep, exercise and your senses play in learning; how memory works and what makes the brain pay attention; the importance of your mindset towards learning and pattern recognition; as well as new breakthroughs in brain science that can enhance your ability to learn new information and make later recall (for tests or everyday life) easier. This book will put you on the path to reaching your full learning potential.

[...]... result in learning Learning and remembering material requires work This work can involve cramming the night before the exam and then completely relearning the material at a later time Or, it can involve learning it correctly the first time and then having the material available to you later (perhaps at a new job) after a quick review Transference of Learning You can demonstrate learning by using new information... listener rather than an active participant What neuroscience researchers have made clear is that the one who does the work does the learning (Doyle, 2008) The more ways you engage with something that you are learning such as listening, talking, reading, writing, reviewing, or thinking about the material or skill the stronger the connections in your brain become and the more likely the new learning. .. when you learn something new, some of your brain cells establish connections with other brain cells to form new networks of cells, which represent the new learning that has taken place When frequently activated, these new networks have the potential to become long-term memories In fact, every time you use or practice the newly learned information or skill, the connections between the brain cells get stronger... see these two areas as so important that we have devoted chapters to each of them Chapter 2, “Sleep, Naps, and Breaks,” covers a wide range of vital information about the relationship of a good night’s rest to effective learning and the making of long-term memories, which are the key to college success Chapter 3, “Exercise and Learning, ” discusses the profound effect exercise has on improving learning. .. their teachers tell them what to learn and memorizing that information a day or two before the test The discomfort usually comes from being asked to do more work and to take a more active role in the classroom, rather than just listening to a lecture LCT does not do away with lecture, but rather it becomes one of many tools that can help students do the work of learning As you do more of the work of. .. exercise impacts human learning The book, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, reveals that when humans exercise, specific neurochemicals and proteins—messengers of the brain—are released in greater amounts These chemicals and proteins improve human ability to take in, process, and remember new information and skills This chapter will introduce you to some of the science behind exercise... and then “transfer” it to an almost identical scenario Real learning happens when you start to increase the distance of the transfer Your instructor is trying to help you to understand the math by seeing whether you can use the knowledge you have developed to solve new problems Life won’t give you the exact same problems all the time, and knowing how to apply information to solve new problems is the. .. worn out from learning, rest a bit and reflect on the fact that you are changing the neurochemistry in your brain That is pretty amazing Chapter Summary There is new understanding about how learning happens, and this new understanding contradicts what most students think happens when they learn Students need to know the new findings in order to maximize their learning abilities Following are the key ideas... from this chapter: 1 Neuroscience research shows that when you learn something new, there is a physical change in your brain Some of your brain cells establish connections with other brain cells to form new networks of cells, which represent the new learning that has taken place 2 Every time you use or practice newly learned information or skills, the connections between the brain cells get stronger... after learning new information affect how well we remember this information These findings suggest that students should engage in periods of wakeful rest, including daydreaming and thinking, following new learning The key aspects of this pause are to keep the eyes closed and to not be distracted or receive new information (Dewar et al., 2012) The findings of Dewar et al (2012) suggest, from a learning . For those of you who may not have the opportunity to see them present in person, The New Science of Learning: How to Learn in Harmony With Your Brain is a great way of gleaning some of their most. upstream in their learning. ” The New Science of Learning: How to Learn in Harmony With Your Brain highlights and summarizes some of the most recent and impactful insights regarding learning and.