Recently I started using Pomodoro technique to create a habit of regular studying. I must say it works surprisingly good in its simplicity.

I start by turning off the wifi on my phone and I close all unnecessary tabs in the web browser as well as other programs. Then I set the timer for 25 minutes and focus on a specific task without worrying if I manage to finish it or not. Sometimes it means to leave a lecture video half way paused or even unfinished line of code but that's okay. What matters in fighting the procrastination is the focus on the process not the results. I use the breaks for stretching away from the computer.

Other thing I do is to set up a day limit on a specific hour, just like Dr Barbara Oakley explains in her course. In my case it's 8pm, after that hour I stop studying even if I didn't do as many Pomodoro sessions as I planned.

After a while I've noticed that I look forward those studying sessions. :) I recommend it to anyone who struggles with procrastination. Go on and give it a try.

A fantastic insight into the functioning of the brain. Doing this helps you to identify bad habits and thoughts that will impede not only learning, but enjoying it. This course does a very good job mixing theoretical explanations with practical tips and advices to improve your learning. However, don't expect magic here, there are no shortcuts. You have to be willing to put the effort into the material you want to learn. The beginning of the course might seem a little bit simple, but the last weeks are really worthwhile. Specially if you are taking a degree of a very complex subject like Physics, Engineering or Math, where the focus mode of the brain is encouraged and the diffused mode is forgotten, albeit it is much needed too. Al thing considered, either if you are an unquiet person, who likes to learn constantly, or you simply want to learn how to improve your academic performance, this course will give you what you need. I feel that this should be taught in the first year of college.

I am a Learning Specialist who has been learning about learning for more than 20 years. I coach students in grades 9-12 to apply strategies that will maximize their learning in all subject areas, and I took this course in hopes that it would be a means to validate and enhance my teaching practice. The clever lectures did not disappoint! I learned several new ideas and strategies to bring to my practice, including an interesting test taking strategy linked to focused and diffuse modes of thinking, which I found fascinating and very applicable. I was able to link every lecture to previously learned content on memory, language acquisition, attention, and comprehension. I especially appreciated that the lectures were short and clear; the instructors are obviously well aware of what the research tells us about sustained attention - and they practice what they preach. The spiraling nature of the course was also very helpful; the brain loves spaced repetition! I am enthused for the new academic year to begin.

After just one week of learning with Dr. Barbara Oakley and Dr. Terrence Sejnowski, I feel that this is the ressource I have been looking for for a long time. Nowadays, the internet is full of material about personal development, about how to achieve miracles in fast learning, fast reading, fast calculating, in activating different parts of the brain, ...etc. Though I obviously do not much trust this kind of material, I have always been looking for reliable sources that answer so many questions about learning and about how the brain works during the learning process. Learning How to Learn offers all that anyone needs to know about how the learning process develops in the brain while at the same time learning so much about the secrets of the human brain and its potentialities from brain specialists and researchers. What makes the course more interesting is the reliable and rich resources and the well-grounded scientific research it uses to demonstrate the validity of the learning strategies suggested.

Excellent course! Even though I am myself a professor in an engineering discipline and very experienced at "learning", I discovered new things in this course and I also learned reasons behind some aspects of learning that I know from intuition and experience. It is very helpful to understand the neurological underpinnings for why certain methods of learning and studying are beneficial. The concept of "chunking" is very powerful. The rational behind metaphors, mnemonics, and memory palace is really interesting. The reasons that spaced repetition of concepts are effective, the function of the diffuse mode of the brain, and the simple "pomodoro" technique are all excellent concepts and incredibly useful in learning engineering concepts, languages, or anything in life. The instructors are excellent, the videos, illustrations and text are well thought out. Highly recommend this course for anyone at any level! I have recommended it to fellow professors, graduate and undergraduate students, and my children.

From different brain modes to research-proven learning techniques, this course not only covers how brain works but also what works for the brain. It is a constant reminder that the brain is a powerful tool that learners of all kind could benefit from knowing it a little better. Besides, this course give scientific backings to ideas such as changing your thoughts can really change how your brain work, and leisure activities are not just good for you, they are essential in stages of learnings etc. These are all powerful life-style suggestions that could help us live better, happier and more efficiently.Lastly, I found taking this course in itself is a power tool against procrastination. A few minutes a day of listening to the videos got myself start thinking about my learning methods, and I would usually go to with a productive day of trying to challenge myself according to the suggestions from the class videos. Thank you for such a great course. I only wish I could turn back clock and take it earlier.

Dr. Oakley is one of my top three favorite professors of MOOC courses because the content is relevant and applicable. For reference, I have been taking online classes for over 20 years; I teach and also have an EdS and MPH. I have been in school most of my adult life, and it was a pleasure to take this class.

I learned a few tips to help my adult students learn better and retain the information longer. I have also found myself sharing this information with anyone trying to learn anything new and especially complex subjects.

The content builds each week with quizzes, lectures, and she provides in-depth references that allow you to dive into a subject deeper. There are also additional lectures, interviews, and content, making it a really in-depth course.

This subject will likely appeal to students, but any teacher, parent, or employer reading this should take the course as well. You will learn how to help others learn anything better. Highly recommend this course and Dr. Oakley's books!

Learning how to learn didn't start out as a course I thought I would be very interested in. I took it because I could audit it, it seemed like a kind of easy class, and I wanted to make sure I could handle taking a course online. But this course turned out to be great, and I would recommend it to anyone doing anything, but especially students in school. This course should be required for all high school and college students. It teaches you about which study methods are most effective, how your memory works, how procrastination works, how to reduce test anxiety, and much more. The videos aren't always so engaging, but that's because it's a lecture, and they're cut up into short pieces, so it's easier to focus on them for a limited amount of time rather than an hour long lecture. I'm really glad I took this course and I'm grateful to Dr. Oakley and Dr. Sejnowski for allowing people who aren't enrolled in their university to take it. If you're wondering whether to take the plunge, I say do it.

I always remain excited to learn new skills. I had my birthday exactly 10 days before today.I was just counting the new skills I learned in the previous year the list includes, volleyball, mandala, speed reading , journaling and etcetera. When I found my sister talking about this course it was like my dream come true .I was looking for a course of this kind for so long and the good ones are often expensive, but what coursera is providing is qualitative filtered material free of cost.

I have a list of skills I 'm about to learn this year and I know that the techniques like pomodoro, planning before sleeping, using two modes of thinking ,chunking , sleeping well ,exercising , memory PALACE will be of remarkable help.

The most astonishing idea that had just stuck in my mind is that you can change reality by changing your thoughts and perseverance is more important to be successful rather than only being smart.

THANKYOU so much Barb and Terry for teaching me things in simple and deep way .

This Course by Barb & Terry is amazing. It has opened many new thinking fronts. Or I can say developed an understanding about how to learn. How the mind works and, how one can overcome with the difficulties of learning new things or subjects. Before starting of the course, I am not confident of myself that I will be able to learn this course or any other course as earlier, I used to start a course and, then soon after starting, I never return on that course. But, with the help of Barb's easy instructions or I should say very simple teaching techinques, I started liking the course. And, then also practising their teaching on day to day life. It haven't changed me fully but yes now, I have changed so many things with the help of this course, that itself is a great thing. I must say one should take this course and, it's very helpful, easy, simply & beautifully taught by both the instructors. Thanks for their valuable inputs and, making changes in the many lives. Wonderful & great work.

I am learning to be a Software Engineer. My instructor advised us to complete this course because they said that we need to learn how to learn, and that a lot of study habits we learned growing up are actually ineffective. Barbara, the instructor of this course, taught me a lot about how bad my old habits are. I felt personally attacked at the fact that she so accurately pinpointed all of my bad study habits. I now have a better understanding on how I can be a more effective and productive learner and I cannot wait to see the difference in how much information I can retain. Also, Barbara mentioned it once, but download Anki! It works and a lot of medical program students rely on it to get them through their program. It is a flashcard system that uses spacial recognition, so you may not see a flashcard that you made for months or years if you know the material well enough. Anyways, I learned a lot of interesting things and I enjoyed Barbara's enthusiasm through the whole program.

When I started to do this course I really didn't know what to expect in terms of the course material. However, when the professors began to explain how our brains work to the various techniques to apply in learning I was very very happy even overjoyed.

I particularly loved the POMODORO TECHNIQUE and the various rewards which I began to attach to it which I learned in the portion of aloting yourself a set time for studying.

Who would think that "walking" is related to brain energy as Professor Terrence taught.

Then these modes of learning entitled Focused and Diffuse. And if I could explain it this way:Focused mode is for receiving and storing information and Diffuse is for retrieving said info but in a state of rest.

I would highly recommend this course to anyone who desires to have effective learning tools to implement while learning.

A very very heartiest "THANK YOU" Professors Barbara Oakley and Terrence Sejnowski and their team for creating and presenting such an awesome course.

I am a Civil Engineering Student currently in my final year of my bachelor's (4th year). I took this course in my first year since I was not receiving good grades. ( for instance, my grade point in the first semester was 8.1/10). Civil Engineering being a diverse discipline has in itself a lot to learn and has numerous concepts. This course helped me make a proper approach and effective to handle the difficult subjects in further semesters. My semester grade points too showed the result of the systematic study pattern I learned through this course. for instance, my semester grade points in further semesters 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th came as 9.38, 9.36, 9.02, 8.7, and 8.92. There was a significant improvement I saw in my grades as well as I feel mentally prepared for any subject, doesn't matter how difficult it will be. I would like to thank the instructors of this course for this amazing course. No doubt this course deserves more than 5 ratings !! Happy Learning! All the Best!

Top class course presented in a straight forward and practical way. They give you bit-size pieces of information that you can easily learn, apply learning methods to the real world (it does not get to theoretical) and they actually practice what they preach. For example, at the end of each part of the course they ask clear questions to secure you recall your key learnings. There are also short and simple practical tests at the end of each section which are supporting your own development and learning. The course has mandatory material and additional material which is of interest but not required, In addition, you have the opportunity to review short papers developed by fellow pupils. You can opt in or out for that but I opted in and found it very inspiring as people were very open and vunerable about their situations and learning opportunities. Great course! Would highly recommend! My own objective was to support my own learning as well as to learn tools for teaching others.

I took this course a starting place for my self learning journey. This is ultimately he best learning course I've ever taken. The material is easy to digest, presented in an engaging format and there is a lot of room to grow. While most first year teaching courses focus on teaching students theoretical applications of learning, this course is focused on teaching each participant how to identify their own learning strengths and how to work on their learning difficulties.Both of the presenters are engaging, although Barbara did a much better job of connecting with the audience than Terry. The featured guest talks should really be mandatory as the information presented by the guest helped to bolster the topics covered in the course.All in all I will definitely recommend this course to anyone who is learning anything ever! This not only allows you to learn about the theoretical applications but will give you the tools to understand why and how you as an individual learns. 5/5!

Highly informative course, very fun and concise deliverance of teachings which makes learning how to learn exceptionally easy. This course undoubtedly equips you with many highly effective tools to use in the pursuit of knowledge in any field. Highly impactful and greatly recommended to anyone at any age who is interested in gaining mastery in any field.The knowledge gained from this course goes beyond the realms of academic study and can easily be applied to many avenues of life. The skill of learning is essential and beneficial and this course not only provides knowledge on how the brain works, but gives key insights as to how to harness your brain to engage in deep learning and understanding of material. The interviews of persons who have displayed great prowess in learning and memory allowed captivation and motivation as to what is humanly possible. It was very impactful to know what has worked for persons and to be able to incorporate these methods into my learning.

A wonderful course that collects various important tidbits of information related to learning and an explanation of how these can be included in our daily routines to make ourselves more efficient and effective learners. The beauty of this course is that:

1. It's a collection of ideas, tools and techniques that you would normally need to scan several sources for. It collects them and presents them in a way that is most useful for learners.

2. The videos and short and easy to grasp. Rather than overloading students with information, it has been broken down into smaller 'chunks' (ha) that are easier to process.

This course should be mandatory for students across the world because even though our educational systems make outcomes quite clear, there is little explanation of what a good way to achieve those outcomes is. Great work by everyone involved. Highly, highly recommended course for anybody struggling with learning anything new or just wanting to become a better learner.

I really loved the course, I was looking forward to the classes, which are light, relaxed and packed with valuable information.

I can say that I went through a journey of great reflection, self-knowledge and retention of valuable information.

The course introduces various aspects of the learning process, from how your brain and memory work to tips for passing tests. In general, all the tips presented do not apply only to specific academic subjects, they apply to any aspect that we are trying to understand / know.

Class information is light, clear and objective. During the videos, and as new concepts are presented to us, old concepts are continually recalled, rooting the concepts learned in our memory. Tests are also of great value for fixing what has been learned.

I offer my most sincere thanks to Barbara Oakley and Terrence Sejnowski who were at the forefront of transmitting the content, but I also thank the entire team behind the production of this incredible course.

i would highly rate this course, as it gives learners of all types and abilities a multitude of strategies and tools by which we can think about how we learn and adapt our learning style with the theories and tools which the two professors present. it's a rich course with many voices adding to the texture of the learning fabric: there are many amazing interviews which really augment the ideas put forth; and even add to them with original ideas and strategies of the interviewed guests. it's a very good course, a very nice conversation between the professors Oakley and Sinewski and the audience, as well; so it's a pleasure to return to these lectures through video-memory, dissect the chunks of information made up from my personal impressions, and rethread the ideas presented into a tapestry of my own learning based on the long and carefully spun threads of information presented by these two professors. really a very nice experience to be had with this course.

Participating in this course was a high point on my weekly task lists! Barbara and Dr. Terry have incredible attitudes and are so motivating and encouraging, making it a delight to learn from their exceptional knowledge. They compile the information in a way that is easy to follow and understand and offer realistic and practical insights backed by a lot of science and empirical evidence. They even apply the tools and resources they recommend throughout the course, driving the ideas home through immediate practice. I found the course to be truly enjoyable and incredibly helpful! I have recommended it to friends and family throughout the time I have been taking it and will continue to do so! It is helpful for any age or demographic. Whether you are in the midst of your studies or need to warm your engine back up after some time away from learning, Barb and Terry remind you to take charge of your own learning and provide you the tools and kind motivation to do so!

After finishing that course I can say that it is quite useful. If you are not a biologist you can learn some new things about the structure of our brain and how it works. If you are a biologist, you can refresh that material :) Although I had known a lot of things that were mentioned in that course, I could look at them from the other side due to teacher's explanations and my own insides. Also that course helped me to structure all that mental tools and gave new knowledge. Moreover, I noticed that I began to really USE a big amount of the methods for better learning. The atmosphere is great there. I got a lot of possitive emotions. Teachers show you how to use different tools with examples. What's more, they use that tips to make their own videos. If you notice that, you have even more examples and you can feel how it actually works. So, I recommend you that course, especially, if you want to become a little bit better version of yourself.

Being some 44 years since formal education, and probably 20 since any work-based training, I primarily took this course to freshen up the grey cells prior to returning to work after an extended Covid furlough. It was also to give me some tips on latest thinking for assimilating new information which I was then going to apply to other online training materials, more specifically work related. But it became a fascinating project in its own right and I would love to spend more time looking into the further reading and possibly even tackling the Honours assignments. More likely for the To Do list for retirement, just for interest.It is fantastic that professionals in the business of teaching and research have given their time freely to produce such accessible and enlightening materials - thank you Dr Barbara Oakley and Dr Terrence Sejnowski. Being of the Star Trek generation, such sharing of knowledge does give hope that humanity is on the right track :)

There is a lot that can be said about this course. I will try to keep it short. This course, for me, was a refresher, in the sense that I needed to get back on track. Specifically, I needed to get back in the mindset that fosters learning. I enjoyed the course and would recommend it to anyone. It has given me the can-do attitude needed to continue assigning time to learn new and existing subjects. Moreover, it has opened my eyes to the notion that procrastination does not have to define you, and that with a little will-power, one can achieve anything.Full disclosure: there were times when I temporarily lost focus, became bored with the content, which was primarily due to the fact that I was not using the techniques discussed in the course, such as the Pomodoro technique, which would have helped me tackle the course with more mindful intent. To anyone that is interesting in the fundamentals of learning and best practices, this is the course for you.

Are you feeling that your memory is slipping and maybe you need to do something to keep on top of things? Or spending your time studying for courses but not feeling you're getting enough out of it as you could? Or perhaps you just want to understand a little bit more about how the brain works and how you can get more out of it? If so, Learning How to Learn is for you. This lecture-focused course offers many great insights and tips for studying more efficiently and learning more efficiently--whether you're still in school or long graduated. I really looked forward to the next week's lectures and often watched them more than once. I finished the course feeling like I learned new tools and was reminded of other things long forgotten. The weekly quizzes and challenges after each lecture help to ensure that you are understanding the finer points of each week. I decided to take this course before taking other MOOCs. Well worth the time and effort.

The course is 1 I recommend for those who are interested in the best way to learn any topic effectively & efficiently, struggling to grasp material, curious of ways to navigate through tricky exams, suffer from impostor syndrome, dyslexic, or wanting to know to recover from burnout, etc. Some of the videos' quality may seem like it's from the 20th century or aughties, however, the course definitely serves its purpose.

The Drs. in this course live up to their name & guide you through this journey without the complicated or boring jargon you'd expect with some professors. Other renown guests & professors appear in throughout the course with their expert advice & experience! Dr. Oakley's engaging personality (feat. Dr. Terry) made the lessons even more digestible. I am confident that the materials presented here can serve as a reference, guide or blueprint to strategies for achieving success in your academia, certification(s), and/or other studies.