Readers of Online Learning Success may already know I am a big fan of Learning How to Learn, an online course created by Barbara Oakley and Terrence Sejnowski. The same instructors are behind Mindshift, another encouraging course created to help people take the plunge into new careers.
I was excited in early December to discover Learning How to Learn for Youth, a new offering from Drs Oakley and Sejnowski, alongside Gregory Hammons. Motivational speaker is just one of Hammons’ talents, and his enthusiastic style fits in beautifully with the other presenters.
A Quick and Easy Course
I immediately enrolled and completed the first week of the three-week course, even though there was little free time in my December schedule. Last week, I returned to the course and easily finished the remaining material. Although the time commitment is low, there is a surprising amount of information and learning tips packed into the recommended three weeks.
Learning How to Learn for Youth is designed for young people. It is a companion course to the book Learning How to Learn: How to Succeed in School Without Spending All Your Time Studying: A Guide for Kids and Teens which was published in 2018.
This course was just about perfect, with an upbeat style aimed at young people that can also be enjoyed by adults of any age. Engaging videos, enjoyable exercises, and thoughtful discussion topics were excellently presented. It introduces young people to many helpful learning techniques that will continue to be useful throughout their lives.
I found one aspect of the course quite distracting, and in a course about learning, very irritating. The font used in the video slides had a combination of upper and lower case letters. For example, How to SuCCeeD in SChool Without SPenDing all YouR Time StuDying. It’s not quite this distracting because in the videos all the letters are the same height, but because D faces the opposite way to d, my left-handed brain had to take a second look many times. As a child, I had trouble distinguishing between b and d, 3 and E, and s and z. As for N, which way did it face?
This aspect was a huge disappointment for me. Young learners, particularly if they struggle with reading, need accurate course materials.
Excellent Videos
As I have come to expect from these course creators, the videos are concise and dynamic. I’ve seen too many “talking heads” in various MOOCs. The animations, highlighted keywords, and variety of camera shots in these videos bring the material to life.
Interesting Activities
Each week features some interactive activities such as sorting labels, true/false questions and ready-made flash cards.
Some of the Many Concepts Discussed
More and more people are discovering the benefits of using the Pomodoro Technique to reach their goals. This course discusses not only how to make the most of the Pomodoro Technique, but also why it works.
Don’t forget to try some of the memory-boosting techniques!
One really encouraging aspect of this course is the description of “race-car” brains and “hiker” brains. Many people wish they had a race-car brain to quickly understand everything. We learn, though, that a hiker brain also has some advantages. People with hiker brains are often more aware of details and are more likely to think things out without jumping to conclusions. Terms such as race-car and hiker brains demonstrate the metaphors featured throughout this course.
The course materials cover many learning concepts and techniques. While similar to those in the Learning How to Learn course, the approach here is refreshing and vibrant.
Downloadable Resources
Handy downloadable and printable resources include memory tips and a test-taking checklist, plus others.
A Final Thought
Despite the irritating font, if you know any young people, whether or not they are struggling at school, recommend this course to them.
By Pat Bowden, published January 29, 2019.
