Week 1.

What is Learning

Welcome to the first week of Learning How to Learn! Since living brains are very
complex, we begin our course by using metaphor and analogy to help simplify
matters. In this module, you will discover several fundamentally different modes of
thinking, and how you can use these modes to improve your learning. You will also
be introduced to a tool for tackling procrastination, be given some practical
information about memory, and discover surprisingly useful insights about learning
and sleep.

Join the LHTL community: Learning with others is more fun, so please feel free
to share this course and these ideas with your friends and family. Sharing helps
build your own abilities! We've set up a Facebook page to let people know about
the MOOC, which gets updated with some goodies relating to the course and
learning! (We'd love it if you gave us a 'like', too!). You can find the official
Learning How To Learn Twitter account at @LHTL_MOOC - if you're on Twitter,
please follow us and say hi! We're tweeting often about learning related things
that you might find interesting, so do have a look and retweet anything you enjoy!
We also have a Twitter hashtag, #LH2L for you to connect with your fellow
students using Twitter.

Happy learning!

Barb Oakley, Terry Sejnowski, and the Learning How to Learn Team
Focused versus Diffuse Thinking

Video. Introduction: focused and difusse modes

Si entiendes un poco acerca de la información más básica de cómo funciona tu

cerebro, podrás aprender más fácilmente y con menos frustración.

Los investigadores han descubierto que tenemos dos modos de pensamiento:

 Enfocado (focused). Cuando nos concentramos intencionalmente en algo
específico que intentamos aprender o entender.
 Difuso (difusse). Estilo más relajado de pensamiento, relacionado con un
conjunto de estados de descanso neural.

Metáforas y analogías son útiles cuando intentamos aprender algo nuevo.

Resolver el problema que estás intentado solucionar o el concepto que estás

intentando entender, que está relacionado con algo que te es bastante familiar, es
como una carretera conocida. Se emplea el pensamiento enfocado.

Si es un problema que necesita nuevas ideas o enfoques, conceptos en los que no

has pensado antes, necesitas una nueva forma de pensar, representada por el
modo difuso. Aquí se pueden ver las cosas desde un punto de vista mucho más
amplio, puedes hacer nuevas conexiones neuronales que recorren nuevos caminos.

Tal como lo entienden los neurocientíficos hoy en día, solo puedes estar en el
modo enfocado o en el modo difuso. Parece que no puedes estar en ambos modos
de pensamiento al mismo tiempo.

Video: Terrence Sejnowski and Barbara Oakley--Introduction to the

Course Structure
Ya sean novatos o expertos, encontrarán nuevas herramientas para mejorar sus
habilidades y técnicas para aprender, especialmente relacionadas con las
matemáticas y la ciencia.
Este curso busca ayudarlos a transformar la manera cómo piensan acerca del
proceso de aprendizaje, para ayudarlos a reducir su frustración y aumentar su
entendimiento.
Verán que no pueden engañarse a sí mismos acerca de si realmente conocen el
material. Descubrirán formas de mantener la concentración e incrustar el material
más profunda y poderosamente en su mente.
Aprenderán a condensar ideas clave sobre las que estén aprendiendo, para que
puedan tenerlas a la mano más fácilmente.
Welcome and Course Information

Welcome to Learning How to Learn!

Learning How to Learn is for you—it’s meant to give

you practical insight on how to learn more deeply and
with less frustration. The lessons in this course can
help you in learning many different subjects and skills.
Whether you love language or math, music or physics,
psychology or history, you'll have a lot of fun, and learn
a LOT about how to learn!

To get started on the course, just dive right into the videos, which are immediately
after this page. If you want, you can jump back here at any time to explore more
specific information about the various areas below.
 A General Discussion Forum About the Course
 Grading: Assessment Weighting
 Course Objectives
 Course FAQs
 The Readings
 About Us
 Can you help with translating the course into your favorite language?
 Hall of Fame of Previous Projects for the Course

Supplementary Course Text

If you want to be extra prepared, the book A Mind for Numbers (which is not
required, but which formed the basis for this MOOC) is available worldwide.
There are also Russian (Думай как математик), Spanish (Abre Tu Mente a
los Numeros), Korean (제 목: 숫자감각), and Portuguese (Aprendendo a
Aprender) translations--more languages are coming soon. This book gives you a
chance to reinforce the great learning approaches from the course—you can write
in the margins or make an electronic note to help further “chunk” the ideas.

Don't be fooled by the book's title--A Mind for Numbers is actually a very general
book about learning that has climbed to the New York Times list of best-selling
science books. As the Library Journal just noted in their review: "VERDICT Superb
not only for those who are struggling or who are expert at math, but for readers
who wish to think and comprehend more efficiently.”

For Teachers and Professors

A discounted examination copy of A Mind for Numbers is available to US
teachers and professors for course adoption consideration through this link.

Join the Fun!

Learning with others is more fun, so please feel free to share this course and these
ideas with your friends and family. Sharing helps build your own abilities! We've
set up a Facebook page to let people know about the MOOC. Please feel free to go
to the page and share if you like it and the course, (and give us a "like")! We also
have a Twitter hashtag on the course, #LH2L (for "Learning How to Learn") and a
Twitter account. Come follow us on Twitter and say hi: you can find us
@LHTL_MOOC.

Grading: Assessment Weighting

Grade Calculations and Weighting of Assessments
When taking a MOOC, some folks prefer to lurk in the background, absorbing what
they like. You can do that quite nicely in Learning How to Learn, although we can't
help but encourage you to take the assessments and interact in the forums. (We
know that you'll learn even more deeply that way!) Other folks prefer to steer
themselves towards a more active role, jumping headfirst into forums and doing
their best with quizzes, exams, and the like. When being so active, it often feels
great to be recognized for your efforts. So here, we'll also delve more deeply into
what we mean by "assessments."

Assessments
So let’s look more carefully at what’s needed to get a Course Certificate.

Quizzes: Quizzes will be based on what you learn in the module's lectures. You
can attempt each quiz 2 times per day and the best score is what counts — but
notice that the questions will change! The quizzes will be based on the video
lectures (except the quizzes will not include questions related to the "bonus
material" videos, which are meant for you to enjoy as you build your
understanding of learning). You won’t be tested on any of the recommended
reading, although the book A Mind for Numbers was written especially for this
course and might be helpful in providing depth and context.

Final Exam: There will be a final exam which will be based on all the content
from the course.

Optional Peer Assignments: For each peer assignment, you will need to submit
your own work and evaluate at least 5 of your peers.

Weighting of Assessments
You must pass each required assessment in order to pass this course. Note that
you can take each quiz or the final two times in one twenty-four hour period. Only
your highest quiz score counts, so if you happen to retake the quiz and score
lower, it's okay, because your previous higher score is what will be retained.
Here is how we will weight and calculate each element of your grade:
MODULE: What is Learning?:
 What is Learning? (Quiz): 20% of final grade
MODULE: Chunking:
 Chunking (Quiz): 20% of final grade
MODULE: Procrastination and Memory:
 Procrastination and Memory (Quiz): 20% of final grade
MODULE: Renaissance Learning and Unlocking Your Potential:
 Final (Exam): 40% of final grade

NOTE:
As of March 10, 2015 peer-graded assignments (previously required to pass this
course) are optional. Your course completion status will be updated to reflect this
change. You may no longer see a grade for peer-graded assignments completed
prior to March 10.

Course Objectives
By the end of the course, we expect you to be able to do the following:
 Explain the difference between focused and diffuse modes of thinking.
 Explain what a chunk is, and how and why you can and should enhance
your chunking skills.
 Explain how working memory and long term memory differ from one
another.
 Describe key techniques to help students learn most efficiently such as:
pomodoro, metaphor, story, visualization, deliberate practice, and
interleaving.
 Describe actions that hinder students from learning most effectively such as
procrastination, over-learning, Einstellung, choking, multi-tasking, illusions
of learning, and lack of sleep.
 Describe the most important aspects of proper test preparation.
 Explain the importance of “mindset” in learning.

Course FAQs
Learning How to Learn is meant to help you reframe how you think about learning,
to help reduce your frustration and increase the depth of your learning. We
approach things a little differently in this course. You're NOT expected to have an
in-depth background in any particular subject. Instead, you're expected to take
these ideas and apply them to whatever subject you are trying to learn or improve
in, to help you learn more deeply, effectively, and with less frustration. You'll hear
experts from a variety of different disciplines talking about their best tips for
learning more effectively.
There have been enormous strides from research in discovering how we learn
most effectively. Finding a way to simply and effectively share these ideas with you
has been an enormous undertaking, but we feel it's well worth doing---you'll see
that many of these ideas, although simple, are incredibly powerful.

You'll be able to get what YOU want from this material. The following information
will give you a good sense of how you can best do that.

How the class conveys the material

The class consists of three core areas.

The first are the course videos, which vary in what subjects they cover, but are
generally on the order of five minutes long for videos by the course instructors,
and fifteen to twenty minutes long for interviews from others. You'll gain insight
into how we learn by using a variety of different approaches, ranging from
personal stories, to insights from cognitive psychology, to an examination of deep
neuroscience.

The second core area are the activities. We've designed activities to help you
understand more deeply how to think about learning. These are low-stakes
activities that are easy to complete and which give a better sense of how you---
and others---grapple with critical issues related to learning, including
procrastination, grasping essential ideas, and preparing for tests. You'll have small
in-video quiz questions that help you to know whether you've grasped key ideas in
the videos. These in-video quiz questions aren't counted towards your grades.

There will be a quiz in each module and a final at the end of the course to help
you more fully grasp the material. There will also be two graded peer evaluated
exercises and two ungraded bonus peer evaluated exercises that will help you
apply the ideas in this course to learning areas that are important to you. The third
core area are the discussion forums where there is also an opportunity for you to
ask the questions that concern you. You'll be able to help others with your own
information and your own insights.

As of March 10, 2015 peer-graded assignments (previously required to pass this

course) are optional. Your course completion status will be updated to reflect this
change. You may no longer see a grade for peer-graded assignments completed
prior to March 10.
Use of Illustrations and Quoted Material from the Course or Book in the
Final Project
We're often asked whether it's okay to use illustrations or quoted material from the
course or book in your final project. It's perfectly possible to use illustrations from
the course or book, but please cite where you got them, with the copyright
information. If you quote anything from the video clips or the book A Mind for
Numbers, you'll put it in quotation marks and cite where you got it. If you
paraphrase information from the video clips or A Mind for Numbers--that is, you
put things in your own words--then there's no need to put in a reference, although
it would be nice to put some sort of general reference to the course or book if it
makes sense to do so.

Video Copyright information

The videos are copyrighted by Barbara Oakley, Terrence Sejnowski, and the
various bonus interview instructors. Naturally, you can watch the videos on
Coursera as much as you might like. If you would like to download the videos for
use within a classroom, or private viewing, that’s fine. But the videos are not
authorized for public posting on the web outside Coursera, or for commercial use.

Code of Conduct for the Forums

In the forums, you want to be careful when you are addressing other students'
ideas and thoughts. You don't want to be abusive. We'll be moderating posts, and
we'll want you to bring to our attention anyone who might be causing a problem
within the forums. There will be students from a wide variety of backgrounds in
this course, from those with doctorates to eighth graders. Despite their elegant
ability in their native language, some people will have only a basic understanding
of English. So everyone needs to interact with respect---to be supportive of one
another. We want our online classroom to be as warm and friendly as possible.

Reading
Welcome to the readings pages! In these pages, you'll find links to interesting
articles, and references to worthwhile books that can help enhance your
understanding of the material we're discussing. The recommended (not
mandatory) book A Mind for Numbers provides foundational reading and
additional exercises that can help you as you are grasping the materials in this
course.

Readings and Resources:

 10 Rules of Good and Bad Studying
 Module 1: Focused versus Diffuse Thinking
 Module 2: Chunking
 Module 3: Procrastination and Memory
 Module 4: Renaissance Learning and Unlocking Your Potential
 10 Regras para Estudar Bem (10 Rules of Studying in Portuguese)
 Summaries for Italian Students/Per gli studenti Italiani
 Summaries for French Students/pour les étudiants français
(We have to tell you this: All materials contained on this site are protected by
United States copyright law. You may download material from these articles only
for your own personal, non-commercial use. You may not otherwise copy,
reproduce, retransmit, distribute, publish, commercially exploit or otherwise
transfer any material, nor may you modify or create derivative works of the
material.)

Instructors
Terrence Sejnowski
Dr. Terrence Sejnowski is an Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical
Institute and is also the Francis Crick Professor at The Salk Institute for Biological
Studies, where he directs the Computational Neurobiology Laboratory. The goal of
Dr. Sejnowski’s research is to discover the principles linking brain mechanisms and
behavior. Terry’s laboratory uses both experimental and modeling techniques to
study the biophysical properties of synapses and neurons and the population
dynamics of large networks of neurons. New computational models and new
analytical tools have been developed to understand how the brain represents the
world and how new representations are formed through learning algorithms for
changing the synaptic strengths of connections between neurons.
A multidisciplinary expert, Dr. Sejnowski received his B.S. in physics in 1968 from
the Case Western Reserve University, an M.A. in physics from Princeton University
with John Archibald Wheeler, and a Ph.D. in physics from Princeton University in
1978 with John Hopfield. Dr. Sejnowski presently also holds appointments as
Professor of Biological Sciences and Adjunct Professor in the Departments of
Neurosciences, Psychology, Cognitive Science, and Computer Science and
Engineering at the University of California, San Diego, where he is Director of the
Institute for Neural Computation.
Terry is in a group of only ten living scientists to have been elected to all three of
the national academies: the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy
of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. In 2013
he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Barbara Oakley
Barbara Oakley, PhD, PE, is a professor of engineering in the Department of
Industrial and Systems Engineering at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan,
and writer of national acclaim. Her research focuses on the complex relationship
between neuroscience and social behavior. Dr. Oakley’s research has been
described as “revolutionary” in the Wall Street Journal—she has published in
outlets as varied as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and The
New York Times.
Barb’s books have been praised by many leading researchers and writers, including
Harvard’s Steven Pinker and E. O. Wilson, and National Book Award winner Joyce
Carol Oates. Her A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (Even If
You Flunked Algebra) (Penguin, 2014) is opening new doors on how to learn.
Prior to her academic career, Barb rose from private to captain in the U.S. Army,
during which time she was recognized as a Distinguished Military Scholar. She met
her husband, Philip, when she was working at the South Pole Station in Antarctica.
She also worked as a Russian translator on Soviet trawlers on the Bering Sea. Barb
was designated as an NSF New Century Scholar—she is also a recipient of the
Oakland University Teaching Excellence Award (2013) and the National Science
Foundation’s Frontiers in Engineering New Faculty Fellow Award. She is an elected
Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.
For more information about Barb, go to www.barbaraoakley.com.
How to Use Discussion Forums

The following are tips and tools for interacting in this course via the forums,
adapted from guidelines originally by The University of Illinois.

Expectations
With the large number of students in this course, no one is expected to read every
post made within the discussion forums. Rather, read those that seem interesting
to you and reply when you can further the conversation. Above all, you are
expected to remain civil and treat all other students with respect. Failure to do so
will result in your removal from the course.

Helpful Tools
Upvoting Posts
When you enter the discussion forum for your course, you will see an Upvote
button under each post. We encourage you to upvote posts you find thoughtful,
interesting, or helpful. This is the best way to ensure that quality posts will be seen
by other learners in the course. Upvoting will also increase the likelihood that
important questions get addressed and answered.

Report Abuse
Coursera's Code of Conduct prohibits:
 Bullying or threatening other users
 Posting spam or promotional content
 Posting mature content
 Posting assignment solutions (or other violations of the Honor Code)
Please report any posts that infringe upon copyright or are abusive, offensive, or
that otherwise violate Coursera’s Honor Code by using the Report this option found
under the menu arrow to the right of each post.

Following
If you find a particular thread interesting, click the Follow button under the
original post of that thread page. When you follow a post, you will receive an email
notification anytime a new post is made.

Improving Your Posts

Course discussion forums are your chance to interact with thousands of like-
minded individuals around the world. Getting their attention is one way to do well
in this course. In any social interaction, certain rules of etiquette are expected and
contribute to more enjoyable and productive communication. The following are tips
for interacting in this course via the forums, adapted from guidelines originally
compiled by AHA! and Chuq Von Rospach & Gene Spafford:
1. Stay on topic in existing forums and threads. Off-topic posts make it hard
for other learners to find information they need. Post in the most
 appropriate forum for your topic, and do not post the same thing in multiple
forums.
2. Use the filters at the top of the forum page (Latest, Top, and Unanswered)
to find active, interesting content.
3. Upvote posts that are helpful and interesting.
4. Be civil. If you disagree, explain your position with respect and refrain from
any and all personal attacks.
5. Stay on topic. In particular, don’t change the subject in the middle of an
existing thread – just start a new topic.
6. Make sure you’re understood, even by non-native English speakers. Try to
write full sentences, and avoid text-message abbreviations or slang. Be
careful when you use humor and sarcasm as these messages are easy to
misinterpret.
7. If asking a question, provide as much information as possible, what you’ve
already considered, what you’ve already read, etc.
8. Cite appropriate references when using someone else’s ideas, thoughts, or
words.
9. Do not use a forum to promote your product, service, or business.
10. Conclude posts by inviting other learners to extend the discussion. For
example, you could say “I would love to understand what others think.”
11. Do not post personal information about other posters in the forum.
12. Ignore spammers and report them.

For more details, refer to Coursera's Forum Code of Conduct.

Video: Using the Focused and Diffuse Modes (Or, a Little Dalí Will Do
You)

Salvador Dalí – mente libre. Cuando se estaba durmiendo, la llave caía y lo

despertaba permitiéndole recoger esas conexiones e ideas difusas que estaban en
su mente. Después regresaba al modo de concentración, incorporando las
conexiones nuevas que había hecho mientras estaba en el modo difuso.

Thomas Edison. Se sentaba y relajaba, liberando sus pensamientos y su mente.

Cuando estás aprendiendo algo nuevo, especialmente algo que es un poco más
difícil, tu mente necesita poder ir de un modo de aprendizaje al otro. Esto te ayuda
a aprender de forma eficaz.

Para construir una estructura neuronal, hay que trabajar un poco cada día,
construyendo poco a poco un andamio de neuronas para ir colocando allí tus
pensamientos.

En resumen:
 Usar analogías es una técnica poderosa para el aprendizaje.
 Dos modos de pensamiento diferentes del cerebro.
 Aprender algo difícil puede tomar tiempo. Tu cerebro necesita alternar sus
formas de aprendizaje, mientras lucha con el material nuevo y lo asimila.
Video: What is learning

El cerebro pesa 3 libras, pero consume 10 veces más energía por peso que el resto
del cuerpo. Es el dispositivo más complejo que existe en el universo conocido.

Los cerebros evolucionaron para ayudarnos a navegar en ambientes complejos y la

mayor parte del trabajo pesado se realiza por debajo de nuestro nivel de
conciencia.

Red en modo automático o red por defecto. Áreas activas en estado de reposo.

Existen millones, billones de sinapsis en tu cerebro, donde se almacenan los

recuerdos.

La conectividad cerebral es dinámica y permanece así incluso después de que

madura. Hay una rotación constante de sinapsis a medida que unas se forman y
otras desaparecen. Esto establece un enigma, con tanta rotación, ¿cómo
permanecen estables los recuerdos durante tantos años?

La sinapsis tiene un diámetro de menos de un micrón.

Imagenología cerebral. Esta técnica nueva nos permite ver cómo el aprendizaje
cambia la estructura del cerebro con una resolución que es cercana al límite de la
microscopía de luz.

No eres la misma persona que eras antes de haber dormido toda la noche, ni
siquiera después de una siesta. Es decir, nos acostamos con un cerebro y nos
levantamos con uno actualizado.

Dormir para que sea más fácil aprender cosas nuevas y resolver problemas.

Sitio para aprender acerca del cerebro: brainfacts.org

Get to Know Your Classmates
The following are guidelines for interacting with fellow classmates via the forums
originally compiled by The University of Illinois.

Overview
Working well with your classmates is an important part of this online course. Thus,
at the beginning of this course, we would like you to take time to break the ice and
get to know each other. You may already know some of your classmates or have
just met them. Establishing personal interaction with other students will make your
online learning experience much more enjoyable and engaging. As such, we
encourage you to participate in this activity, though it is optional.

Meet and Greet

Tell everyone your story! Optionally, you are asked to provide a brief
introduction to your classmates. If you don't know what to include in your
introduction, you may want to provide information that you'd like to share with
your classmates by answering some of the following questions.

Suggested Topics
 Where are you from? If you wish to include this information in your post,
you can also include it below the body of your post in the "tags" area. For
example, include your state (if living within the United States) or country in
the tags section.
 Career and education? What is your educational background? What do
you currently do? Are you currently pursuing a change in careers and/or
more education?
 Hopes? Why did you decide to take this course? What are your
expectations of this course? What problem are you trying to solve? What do
you hope to put into place in your life the day this course is over?
 Other info? Share with us any other information that might help others in
the class find you when searching the forums. What common interests
might you share with your classmates? We have tens of thousands of
students enrolled in this course – put something in your post that will help
others who are like you to find you.

Go to the Meet and Greet forum and click the New Thread button to begin a
new thread. Use your name and a brief summary as the subject of your post. For
example, Robert Smith: Exploring Career Options. Read some your
classmates' postings. Pick at least 2 classmates' postings that are most interesting
to you and add your friendly comments.

Updating Your Profile

Optionally, please consider updating your profile, which can also be accessed by
clicking the Profile link in the menu that appears when you click on your name at
the top-right corner of this screen. When people find you in the forums, they can
click on your name to view your complete profile and get to know you more.

Time
This activity will take approximately 1 hour to complete.

Hi everyone, I’m Paty and I am from Mexico. I’m a psychologist and I have a
master degree on educational technology. I work on the training area for
administrative personal in a Government Institution. I have many years in that
office I’m really looking for a change, that’s why I’m interesting in learning more.
And that’s why I am in this course.
I’m really good reading in English, but I have problems with my writing, so I hope
to be clear with my thoughts.
Have a nice weekend.
 Procrastination, Memory, and Sleep

Video: A Procrastination Preview

Procrastinación: postergar tareas.

Cuando hay algo que en realidad prefieres no hacer, parece que activas las áreas
de tu cerebro que se asocian con el dolor (corteza insular). El cerebro de manera
natural, busca la forma de detener ese estímulo negativo cambiando tu atención
hacia algo diferente. Los investigadores han descubierto que poco después de que
la gente comienza a trabajar en lo que no les gusta, ese neuromalestar
desaparece. Entonces parece que lo que sucede cuando procrastinas o pierdes el
tiempo es algo así.

Útil y pequeña herramienta mental llamada el Pomodoro (tomate en italiano).

Fue inventada por Francesco Cirillo a principios de la década de 1980. Los relojes
de cocina frecuentemente se parecen a un tomate y, en realidad, es lo único que
hace falta para poner en práctica esta sencilla técnica. Todo lo que hacer es:
 Poner el reloj en 25 minutos.
 Apagar todas las interrupciones.
 Y enfocarse.
 Date una pequeña recompensa cuando termines (unos minutos para
navegar en internet, una taza de café o un pedazo de chocolate, incluso
sólo estirarse o conversar permitiendo que tu cerebro cambie gentilmente
su foco durante un tiempo).

Casi todo el mundo puede concentrarse durante 25 minutos.

Video: Practices Makes Permanent

Dificultad de las matemáticas debido a la naturaleza abstracta de las ideas. En las

ideas matemáticas, con frecuencia no hay nada análogo a lo que se pueda señalar
para relacionar.

Es importante practicar con ideas y conceptos que estés aprendiendo en

matemática y ciencia, tal como con cualquier otra cosa que estés aprendiendo,
para ayudarte a mejorar y fortalecer las conexiones neurales que estás haciendo
durante el proceso de aprendizaje.

Las neuronas se van uniendo a través del uso repetido. Mientras más abstracto es
algo, más importante es practicar para convertir esas ideas en realidad para ti.
Aunque las ideas sean abstractas, los patrones neuronales que estás creando son
reales y concretos.

Lo que se practica se vuelve permanente.

Cuando estás aprendiendo, lo que tienes que hacer es estudiar algo, estudiar duro
concentrándote con intención. Después, hacer una pausa, o al menos cambiar tu
foco hacia algo diferente por un rato. Durante este rato de aparente relax, el modo
difuso de tu cerebro tiene la oportunidad de trabajar en el fondo y ayudarte a
comprender conceptualmente.

Si tienes problemas de procrastinación o pérdida de tiempo, te conviene usar el

Pomodoro, el reloj de cocina.
Video: Introduction to Memory

Memoria a largo plazo, recuerdo de antaño. Al recordar cosas estoy intentando

mantener algunas ideas en mente para conectarlas juntas de modo de lograr
entender un concepto o resolver un problema, estoy utilizando mi memoria de
trabajo. A veces traigo cosas a colación de mi memoria a largo plazo a mi
memorita de trabajo, para poder pensar en eso. Así que los dos tipos de memoria
están relacionados.

La memoria de trabajo es la parte de la memoria que tiene que ver con lo que
estamos procesando inmediata y conscientemente en nuestra mente. Está
centrada en la corteza prefrontal, aunque tiene conexiones a otras partes de
nuestro cerebro, de modo que podamos tener acceso a los recuerdos a largo
plazo. Solo puede contener cerca de 4 fragmentos de información.

Tendemos a agrupar automáticamente los recuerdos en fragmentos, por lo que

pareciera que nuestra memoria de trabajo es mayor de lo que es en realidad.
Aunque es como pizarrón, no es uno muy bueno. Es necesario seguir repitiendo lo
que intentamos aprender para que se quede en nuestra memoria de trabajo.

La repetición es necesaria para que los vampiros metabólicos, es decir, los

procesos disipadores naturales, no hagan desaparecer esos recuerdos. Puedes por
ejemplo, cerrar los ojos para evitar que otros asuntos se entrometan en las
limitadas ranuras que hay en tu memoria de trabajo.

La memoria de largo plazo es como un almacén de depósito. Distribuido en una

gran área. Los diferentes tipos de recuerdos a largo plazo se almacenan en
diferentes regiones del cerebro.

Los investigadores dicen que para que un recuerdo de corto plazo, se convierta en
uno de largo, necesitamos volverlo a visitar al menor varias veces para aumentar
las probabilidades de que lo podamos encontrar después cuando lo necesitemos.

La capacidad de almacenaje de la memoria a largo plazo es inmensa, tiene espacio

para billones de asuntos. Puede tener tantos asuntos que se entierren unos a
otros, haciendo difícil encontrar la información, a menos que la practiques y la
repitas algunas veces.

En la memoria de largo plazo se almacenan los conceptos y técnicas

fundamentales que frecuentemente están involucrados en lo que sea que estemos
aprendiendo.

Cuando nos encontramos con algo nuevo, a menudo utilizamos nuestra memoria
de trabajo para manejarlo. Si deseamos mover esa información a nuestra memoria
a largo plazo, hace falta invertir tiempo y práctica. Para ayudar a este proceso,
usen la técnica llamada repetición espaciada. Está técnica involucra repetir lo
que estamos intentando retener, pero de manera espaciada.

La investigación ha demostrado que si intentamos pegar a cosas a nuestra

memoria repitiendo algo 20 veces en una noche, no se pegará tan bien como si
practicamos la misma cantidad de veces a lo largo de varios días.

Si no damos el tiempo que hace falta para que las conexiones sinópticas se formen
y se fortalezcan, no tendremos una estructura muy buena.
Video: The importance of sleep in learning
Solo estar despierto genera productos tóxicos en nuestro cerebro. ¿Cómo se
deshace de estos venenos? Cuando dormimos nuestras células cerebrales se
encogen, lo cual provoca un aumento en el espacio que hay entre nuestras células
cerebrales. Los fluidos puedes pasar entre las células y llevarse las toxinas.

Dormir es la forma en que nuestro cerebro se mantiene a si mismo limpio y

saludable.

Hacer un examen sin haber dormido suficiente quiere decir que estás operando
con un cerebro que tiene algunas toxinas metabólicas flotando a su alrededor. Los
venenos impiden que pensemos con claridad.

Dormir poco durante mucho tiempo se puede asociar a todo tipo de condiciones
perjudiciales, incluyendo dolores de cabeza, depresión, enfermedades cardiacas,
diabetes e incluso morir antes de tiempo.

Dormir es parte importante del proceso de la memoria y del aprendizaje. Parece

que durante el sueño nuestro cerebro pone en orden las ideas y conceptos que
aprendemos. Borra las partes menos importantes de los recuerdos y al mismo
tiempo fortalece las áreas que necesitamos o deseamos recordar.

Durante el sueño, el cerebro también ensaya algunas de las partes más difíciles de
cualquier cosa que estemos intentando aprender, repitiendo y repitiendo los
patrones neurales para profundizarlos y fortalecelerlos.

También se ha demostrado que el sueño hace una gran diferencia en nuestra

capacidad para resolver problemas y para entender lo que estamos intentando
aprender.

Es como si la desactivación completa de nuestro yo consciente en la corteza

prefrontal del cerebro, ayudara a otras áreas del cerebro a empezar a hablar más
fácilmente entre sí, permitiéndoles generar una solución neural a nuestra tarea de
aprendizaje mientras estamos durmiendo. Por supuesto, debemos también plantar
la semilla de nuestro modo difuso trabajando en el modo concentrado o enfocado.
Si repites lo que estás aprendiendo justo antes de tomar una siesta o de dormir
por la noche, tienes una mayor probabilidad de soñar con eso. Si vas más allá y
mantienes en mente que quieres soñar con el material, pareciera que aumentas
más tus probabilidades de soñar con eso. Soñar con lo que estas estudiando puede
aumentar tu capacidad de entender. De alguna manera consolida tus recuerdos en
fragmentos más fáciles de captar.
Video: Interview with Dr. Terrence Sejnowski

La investigación pionera de Terrence en redes neurológicas y ciencia

computacional neurológica, lo han convertido en una leyenda viva. El objetivo final
de su investigación es construir principios que unan al cerebro con el
comportamiento usando modelos de computadora.

 El dr. cree en aprender haciendo y en aprender por ósmosis de personas

que son expertas.
 En una conferencia aburrida, no hay manera de fácil de hacerte prestar
atención en algo en lo que no estás interesado. Un truco es preguntar y la
interrupción conlleva a una discusión mucho más interesante. Esto sigue el
principio general de que aprendes más en una tarea activa que escuchando
pasivamente.
 Para pensar en modo difuso troto o me ejercito al aire libre, es un método
para desenganchar la mente del tren normal de pensamiento, así es posible
que aparezcan nuevos pensamientos, nuevas ideas que te van a ser útiles
más tarde. Tengo el problema de recordar todas esas grandiosas ideas, por
lo que trato de tener un pequeño cuaderno para tomar notas.
 Multitareas. Hay muchas cosas que te bombardean a diario y hay que
atenderlas, pero aprovecho las noches para disfrutar que disminuye. En
realidad no se pueden hacer dos cosas conscientemente al mismo tiempo,
porque se mezclan. Después de mucho entrenamiento se pueden hacer,
pero no las haces eficientemente. Multitareas es poder ir de una a otra,
cambiar de contexto, de un tópico al otro; algunas personas son mejor que
otras para eso.
 Rusty Gage descubrió que es una parte del cerebro que es importante para
el aprendizaje y la memoria, el hipocampo, nacen neuronas, incluso durante
la adultez. Juntos descubrimos que tener un ambiente enriquecido puede
ayudarte, incluso si eres un adulto, a que en el hipocampo las conexiones
entre neuronas sean más fuertes. Conviene estar rodeado de personas que
te estimulen y de eventos en los que puedas participar. En ausencia de ese
ambiente, el ejercicio también aumenta la cantidad de nuevas neuronas que
nacen y sobreviven.
 Estar en un ambiente creativo donde hay otras personas que son creativas,
es una manera de realzar tu propia creatividad, ayuda el tener otras
personas alrededor para explicarles las ideas propias.
 En los exámenes, no te paralices si no puedes responder una pregunta,
pasa a la siguiente, siempre puedes regresar.
 El éxito no se alcanza necesariamente si eres inteligente, hay que ser
apasionados y persistentes, seguir trabajando y nunca abandonar.
 Se pueden descubrir cosas cada día, solo tienes que ver con ojos nuevos y
una perspectiva diferente.
 Summary

Video: Summary for Module 1

 Las personas tienen 2 modos fundamentalmente diferentes de pensar:
enfocado y difuso.
 En el modo enfocado están más apretados, lo que parece ayudar a
mantener concentrados los pensamientos. En el modo difuso tienen más
espacio entre sí, lo que permite un rango más amplio de formas de pensar.
 El modo enfocado se centra más en la corteza prefrontal y a menudo parece
invlucrar pensamientos sobre cosas con las que estamos familiarizados. Si
estamos intentando resolver algo nuevo, a menudo se hacen necesarias las
perspectivas más amplias del modo difuso; este modo representa muchos
de los estados neurales de reposo del cerebro.
 Hace falta tomar un tiempo y dejar que las cosas se calmen para que
puedan suceder más procesos neurales, a menudo por debajo de la
conciencia, en el modo difuso. A menudo hace falta tiempo para que el
proceso neural se lleve a cabo e igualmente construir las nuevas estructuras
neurales que nos permiten aprender algo nuevo.
 Combatir la procrastinación. La forma más fácil es la técnica Pomodoro, ese
breve período de tiempo de 25 minutos de concentración enfocada, seguido
por una breve relajación mental.
 Es a través de la práctica y la repetición que podemos ayudar a impulsar y
fortalecer las estructuras que estamos construyendo cuando estamos
aprendiendo algo nuevo. Práctica y repetición son particularmente
importantes los temas abstractos.
 La memoria es un aspecto importante del aprendizaje. Existen 4 sectores o
ranuras en nuestra memoria de trabajo. Las cosas pueden salirse de esos
sectores a menor que las continuemos repitiendo para mantenerlas en la
mente. En ese sentido, la memoria de trabajo es como un pizarrón no muy
bueno.
 La memoria a largo plazo es un almacén. Si hemos practicado y repetido
algo lo suficientemente bien para que se vaya a la memoria de largo plazo,
de hecho lo podemos convocar después en caso de que lo necesitemos,
aunque podemos necesitar un poco de repetición ocasional para refrescar la
memoria.
 Nunca es buena idea atiborrar nuestro aprendizaje repitiendo las cosas
muchas veces en un mismo día, porque no da tiempo de que crezcan
estructuras sólidas.
 La importancia de dormir para eliminar las toxinas que se desarrollan
durante nuestras actividades del día. Hay que evitar hacer pruebas o
cualquier cosa difícil con poco sueño la noche anterior, porque es como
intentar pensar con veneno en el cerebro.
 El ejercicio es sorprendentemente valioso para ayudar a mejorar tanto
nuestra memoria como nuestra capacidad para aprender.
 Optional Further Readings

Assignment: Optional Video Project: Get to Know Your Classmates

Instructions
In this optional project, you will be able to browse and review the video
introductions of some of your thousands of Learning How to Learn classmates and,
if you choose, upload your own video to introduce yourself to the class.

How to Use Coursera Peer Reviewless

There are three tabs on the top of this page. This is the Instructions tab.

Click on the My Project tab to submit your own video or on the Review Peers tab
to browse and review the video submissions of your classmates.

To Submit your own Introduction Videos:

1. Click the My Project tab to begin working on your own project. You will be
asked to upload a video. When you're finished working, click the Submit
button.
2. After you submit your video, it will be visible in the “Review Peers” tab for
your classmates. Your classmates will be able to see and review your
project as soon as you submit it, and you will receive an email notification
of each new review. Only you will be able to see the feedback you receive.
3. If you find someone’s review helpful, you will be able click the “This review
is helpful” button to thank the reviewer.
4. You will be able to take your submission down anytime by deleting it- if you
delete a submission, you are welcome to resubmit another one.

To Browse other Introduction Videos and/or Give feedback to your

Classmates:
1. Click the Review Peers tab to get started. You will see a gallery of videos
from your classmates around the world.
2. For each video submission, you will be able to simply “like” it or to provide
feedback by answering two or three short questions. You can browse
through all of the submitted projects, even if you don't plan to review each
one.
3. NOTE: To fully ‘complete’ this optional assignment, you will be asked to give
reviews to five of your classmates as well as to post your own video. Click
the like button if you think someone did a great job on their project.
4. NOTE: Unfortunately, most videos in this assignment will be submitted
through Youtube, meaning that learners who cannot access Youtube videos
will not be able to access many learner videos. This assignment is not
graded and not required to pass this class or to earn a Verified Certificate.
Assignmentless
In your 1-4 minute introductory video, please include the following:
1. Your First Name (if you’re comfortable sharing it)
2. Why you chose to take this course about Learning How to Learn
3. What you hope to learn in this course
4. What you plan on learning when you finish this course

Review Criterialess

Remember: This assignment is optional.

We want to give the you a chance to introduce yourself to the class and to get to
know your classmates. The primary goal of reviewing the work of your peers is to
broaden your perspective and deepen your own thinking. We hope engaging with
Coursera learners who come from around the world with a large range of
experiences and backgrounds will enrich your learning experience.

The questions that your classmates will use to review your submission are:
1. Did the learner upload a video between 1 and 4 minutes?
2. Did the learner explain why he or she chose to enroll in this course?
3. Did the learner describe what he or she hopes to learn in this course?
4. Did the learner describe at least one thing he or she plans to learn after
finishing the course?
5. Give any additional feedback to this learner. Please be courteous to your
classmates!

How to Record and Post Your Videoless

Below are some written instructions on how to record, upload and submit your
video. Note that if you’d like to keep your video private and visible only on the
Coursera site, follow these instructions carefully, paying special attention to steps 7
and 8.
1. Record your short video introduction using a computer camera, cell phone
camera or any other recording device that will allow you to save a digital
video to your computer.
2. Save your video to your computer.
3. Go to http://youtube.com and create an account, if you don't already have
one. If you do not wish to be identified, create a new account with a
pseudonym. (Note: for those users who cannot or do not wish to access
Youtube, there are a number of other video sites that will work for this
assignment, such as ToDou or Youku in China.) However, the rest of these
instructions are specific to Youtube.
4. Sign in, and then click on the Upload button at the top of the page.
 5. Click on the "Select files to upload" in the middle of the screen and then
locate and click on your video to upload it.
6. Go to your "Video Manager" page.
7. Select the video you want to make “unlisted”. Click the "Edit" button to
access the video's settings.
8. Go to the Privacy section of the page. There you'll see the option to mark
your video as "unlisted", "public", or "private." Select "unlisted". By
selecting "unlisted," your video will be hosted by Youtube but cannot be
found by searching on Youtube- however, it will be accessible on Coursera
once you embed a link. Selecting "private" settings will not allow your
classmates to see your video. Problems with setting your video as
"unlisted"? See YouTube's help page.
9. Click the "Save Changes" button. Once you've done this, your video will be
an "unlisted" video. This is available only to people in this class. Please
respect the privacy of others; do not share other people's URLs unless you
have their written permission!
10. Copy the URL from your video and paste it into the URL field of the
My Project section of the Peer Review.
11. Give your project a title and click on the Save or Preview button at the
bottom of the page.

Please remember, the assignment should be in English to make it easier for your
peer reviewer (who might be from any country in the world!) to grade.
Reading focused versus diffuse thinking

NOTE: All these readings are optional

Chapters 1-3 of A Mind for Numbers are especially helpful in providing helpful
information and additional exercises related to the materials of Module 1.

Worthwhile Additional Popular Works

 Scott Young, "I was wrong about speed reading: Here are the facts,"
January 2015. This excellent blog post nicely summarizes what is known in
relation to speed reading.
 John Dunlosky, "Strengthening the Student Toolbox: Study Strategies to
Boost Learning," American Educator, Fall, 2013. This excellent,
comprehensive article is written by one of the top researchers in learning.
 Michael Friedman, "Note-taking tools and tips," (October 15, 2014), Harvard
Initiative for Learning and Teaching. This article, and an article embedded
within it, ("Notes on Note-Taking: Review of Research and Insights for
Students and Instructors"), have very useful insights into how to improve
your note taking.
 John Hamilton. (October 17, 2013). "Brains Sweep Themselves Clean of
Toxins During Sleep." NPR All Things Considered.
 Mind Tools, "The Pomodoro Technique® Staying Focused Throughout the
Day."
 Anne Trafton. (July 21, 2014), "Try, try again? Study says no: Trying harder
makes it more difficult to learn some aspects of language, neuroscientists
find." Science Daily.
 Richard C. Mohs. "How Human Memory Works." How Stuff Works. Notice
that what Dr. Mohs calls "short term memory" in his excellent article is
almost the same as "working memory." Also, Dr. Mohs retains the "seven
slots" theory of working memory--researchers still differ in their
perspectives about this.
 James Morehead (June 19, 2012). "Stanford University’s Carol Dweck on the
Growth Mindset and Education." OneDublin.org.
 Gretchen Reynolds. (April 30, 2014). "Want to be More Creative? Take a
Walk." The New York Times.
 Ferris Jabr, (September 3, 2014). "Why Walking Helps Us Think." The New
Yorker.
 Brigid Schulte, (May 16, 2014). "For a more productive life, daydream." CNN
Opinion.
 Robert Wright, (April 21, 2012). "How to Break the Procrastination Habit"
The Atlantic. (Charles Duhigg's book,The Power of Habit, which is
mentioned in the article, is also great!)
 Daniel J. Levitin, (August 9, 2014), "Hit the Reset Button in Your Brain," The
New York Times.
  Charlie Tyson, (August 14, 2014), "Failure to Replicate," Inside Higher Ed.
This is a very interesting overview article about the state of affairs in
education research.
 Pam Harrison, (September 8, 2014), "Sleep on It: Sleep Consolidates
Memory of New Motor Task," Medscape. Although this article deals with
motor tasks, there are obvious implications related to the importance of
sleep in consolidating other areas in learning. (You'll need to join to read
the article, but it's free.)
 National Numeracy. A website by an independent charity that is devoted to
helping every person in the UK to reach a level of numeracy skills that allow
them to meet their full potential.

Heavier Duty References

Video: Introduction to the Focused and Diffuse Modes
 Andrews-Hanna, J.R. "The Brain's Default Network and Its Adaptive Role in
Internal Mentation." Neuroscientist 18, no. 3 (Jun 2012): 251-70.
 Immordino-Yang, M. H., J. A. Christodoulou, and V. Singh. "Rest Is Not
Idleness: Implications of the Brain's Default Mode for Human Development
and Education." Perspectives on Psychological Science 7, no. 4 (2012): 352-
64.
 Moussa MN, Steen MR, Laurienti PJ, Hayasaka S (2012) “Consistency of
Network Modules in Resting-State fMRI Connectome Data.” PLoS ONE 7(8):
e44428. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0044428.
 Raichle, Marcus E, and Abraham Z Snyder. "A Default Mode of Brain
Function: A Brief History of an Evolving Idea." NeuroImage 37, no. 4
(2007): 1083-90.

Video: Using the Focused and Diffuse Modes: (Or, a little Dalí will do ya)
 Dali, Salvador. Fifty Secrets of Magic Craftsmanship. Dover, 1948 (reprint
1992).
 Root-Bernstein, Robert S., and Michelle M. Root-Bernstein. Sparks of
Genius. NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1999.
 Takeuchi, H., Y. Taki, H. Hashizume, Y. Sassa, T. Nagase, R. Nouchi, and R.
Kawashima. "The Association between Resting Functional Connectivity and
Creativity." Cerebral Cortex 22, no. 12 (Jan 10 2012): 2921-29.

Video: What is Learning?

 Michael D. Fox and Michael Greicius, Clinical applications of resting state
functional connectivity , Front. Syst. Neurosci., 16 June 2010.
 Fox, M. D., Corbetta, M., Snyder, A. Z., Vincent, J. L., and Raichle, M. E.
(2006a). Spontaneous neuronal activity distinguishes human dorsal and
ventral attention systems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
U.S.A.103, 10046–10051.
  Fox M. D., Snyder A. Z., Vincent J. L., Corbetta M., Van Essen D. C., Raichle
M. E. (2005). The human brain is intrinsically organized into dynamic,
anticorrelated functional networks. Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences U.S.A. 102, 9673–967810.1073/pnas.0504136102.
 Guang Yang et al. Sleep promotes branch-specific formation of dendritic
spines after learning, Science 344, 1173 (2014).

Video: A Procrastination Preview

 Boice, Robert. Procrastination and Blocking. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1996.
 Lyons, I.M., and S.L. Beilock. "When Math Hurts: Math Anxiety Predicts Pain
Network Activation in Anticipation of Doing Math." PLoS ONE 7, no. 10
(2012): e48076.
 Steel, Piers. The Procrastination Equation. NY: Random House, 2010.
 Steel, Piers. "The Nature of Procrastination: A Meta-Analytic and Theoretical
Review of Quintessential Self-Regulatory Failure." Psychological Bulletin 133,
no. 1 (Jan 2007): 65-94.
 Tuckman, Bruce W., and Henri C. Schouwenburg. "Behavioral Interventions
for Reducing Procrastination among University Students." In Counseling the
Procrastinator in Academic Settings, edited by H.C. Schouwenburg, CH Lay,
TA Pychyl and JR Ferrari Washington, DC: American Psychological
Association, 2004.

Video: Practice Makes Permanent

 Brown, J.S., A. Collins, and P. Duguid."Situated Cognition and the Culture of
Learning." Educational Researcher 18, no. 1 (1989): 32-42.
 Dunlosky, John, Katherine A Rawson, Elizabeth J Marsh, Mitchell J Nathan,
and Daniel T Willingham. "Improving Students’ Learning with Effective
Learning Techniques: Promising Directions from Cognitive and Educational
Psychology." Psychological Science in the Public Interest 14, no. 1 (2013):
4-58.
 Ericsson, Karl Anders. Development of Professional Expertise. NY:
Cambridge University Press, 2009.
 Geary, David C. The Origin of Mind. Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association, 2005.
 Geary, David C, A Wade Boykin, Susan Embretson, Valerie Reyna, Robert
Siegler, Daniel B Berch, and J Graban. "Task Group Reports of the National
Mathematics Advisory Panel; Chapter 4: Report of the Task Group on
Learning Processes." In, (2008): 2008.
http://www2.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/mathpanel/report/learning-
processes.pdf.
 Guida, A., F. Gobet, H. Tardieu, and S. Nicolas. "How Chunks, Long-Term
Working Memory and Templates Offer a Cognitive Explanation for
Neuroimaging Data on Expertise Acquisition: A Two-Stage Framework."
Brain and Cognition 79, no. 3 (Aug 2012): 221-44.
 Karpicke, Jeffrey D. "Retrieval-Based Learning Active Retrieval Promotes
Meaningful Learning." Current Directions in Psychological Science 21, no. 3
(2012): 157-63.
 Karpicke, Jeffrey D, and Phillip J Grimaldi. "Retrieval-Based Learning: A
Perspective for Enhancing Meaningful Learning." Educational Psychology
Review 24, no. 3 (2012): 401-18.
 Karpicke, Jeffrey D, and Henry L Roediger. "The Critical Importance of
Retrieval for Learning." Science 319, no. 5865 (2008): 966-68.
 Karpicke, Jeffrey D, Andrew C Butler, and Henry L Roediger III.
"Metacognitive Strategies in Student Learning: Do Students Practice
Retrieval When They Study on Their Own?". Memory 17, no. 4 (2009): 471-
79.
 Karpicke, J. D., and J. R. Blunt. "Retrieval Practice Produces More Learning
Than Elaborative Studying with Concept Mapping." Science 331, no. 6018
(Feb 11 2011): 772-5.
 Karpicke, J.D., and J.R. Blunt. "Response to Comment on 'Retrieval Practice
Produces More Learning Than Elaborative Studying with Concept Mapping'."
Science 334, no. 6055 (2011): 453-53.
 Kornell, Nate, Matthew Jensen Hays, and Robert A Bjork. "Unsuccessful
Retrieval Attempts Enhance Subsequent Learning." Journal of Experimental
Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 35, no. 4 (2009): 989.
 Kornell, N., A. D. Castel, T. S. Eich, and R. A. Bjork. "Spacing as the Friend
of Both Memory and Induction in Young and Older Adults." Psychology and
Aging 25, no. 2 (Jun 2010): 498-503.
 McDaniel, M. A., and A. A. Callender. "Cognition, Memory, and Education."
In Cognitive Psychology of Memory, Vol 2 of Learning and Memory , edited
by Henry L Roediger. 819-43. Oxford, UK: Elsevier, 2008.
 Roediger, Henry L., and Mary A. Pyc. "Inexpensive Techniques to Improve
Education: Applying Cognitive Psychology to Enhance Educational Practice."
Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition 1, no. 4 (2012): 242-
48.
 Roediger, Henry L, and Andrew C Butler. "The Critical Role of Retrieval
Practice in Long-Term Retention." Trends in Cognitive Sciences 15, no. 1
(2011): 20-27.
 Roediger, Henry L, and Jeffrey D Karpicke. "The Power of Testing Memory:
Basic Research and Implications for Educational Practice." Perspectives on
Psychological Science 1, no. 3 (2006): 181-210.
 Rohrer, Doug, and Harold Pashler. "Increasing Retention without Increasing
Study Time." Current Directions in Psychological Science 16, no. 4 (2007):
183-86.
 Taylor, Kelli, and Doug Rohrer. "The Effects of Interleaved Practice." Applied
Cognitive Psychology 24, no. 6 (2010): 837-48.
 See also extensive endnote references and discussions in Chapters 2 and 3,
A Mind for Numbers, Barbara Oakley, Penguin, 2014.
Video: Introduction to Memory
 Baddeley, A., Eysenck, M. W., & Anderson, M. C. (2009). Memory. NY:
Psychology Press.
 Carpenter, S. K., Cepeda, N. J., Rohrer, D., Kang, S. H. K., & Pashler, H.
(2012). Using spacing to enhance diverse forms of learning: Review of
recent research and implications for instruction. Educational Psychology
Review, 24(3), 369-378. doi: 10.1007/s10648-012-9205-z
 Cowan, N. (2001). The magical number 4 in short-term memory: A
reconsideration of mental storage capacity. Behavioral and Brain Sciences,
24(1), 87-114.
 Dudai, Y. (2004). The neurobiology of consolidations, or, how stable is the
engram? Annual Review of Psychology, 55, 51-86.
 Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T.
(2013). Improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques:
Promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology.
Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4-58.
 Guida, A., Gobet, F., Tardieu, H., & Nicolas, S. (2012). How chunks, long-
term working memory and templates offer a cognitive explanation for
neuroimaging data on expertise acquisition: A two-stage framework. Brain
and Cognition, 79(3), 221-244. doi: 10.1016/j.bandc.2012.01.010
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Video: The Importance of Sleep in Learning

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A Posting about Anxiety, Depression and PTSD from a Learner in
Learning How to Learn

I know these are topics that many might not want to talk about. My family and
friends certainly do not want to talk about these topics with me.

I am dealing with trauma and suffer from severe depression, anxiety and PTSD.
Until recently I was working full time (currently I am on sick leave) and by many I
was considered to be completely healthy and high functioning and in a sense, from
certain perspectives, I was. In social contexts, peer and manager reviews at work
and family gatherings I did everything that everyone expected of me and what I
understood as being ‘successful’ in the eyes of the corporate and academic world.
I excelled in university, a top performer at my job and also my friends would ALL
describe me as fun and outgoing and smart and a hard worker. But I have suffered
from these major afflictions for much of my adult life and have just never really
been able to make strong headway despite all the investigation, doctors,
medication, self awareness programs, years of meditation, research studies and
experiments I have tried on myself and undertaken.

Now, through Barbara Oakley and Terrence Sejnowski's course, I have learned
that procrastination is strongly tied to my afflictions. Procrastination for me is
linked to ‘experiential avoidance’ and a strong internal critic that is at many times
not quite capable of being flexible or kind when faced with product outcomes. To
say I am a perfectionist is an understatement, and perfectionism is a label that
unfortunately does not do its human companions justice. The word ‘perfectionist’
in my opinion is too easily applauded by some and too often considered ‘cute and
neurotic’ by others. In my case perfectionism is a label that covers up a deep
underlying need for safety, understanding and avoidance of shame and
uncomfortable experiences.

Through this course I have found the information on habits, focus on process vs
product, using willpower ONLY to overcome the first bit of response to the cue,
Pomodoro technique, rewards, diffuse mode, and importance of sleep, to name
just a few concepts explored in Learning How to Learn, so immensely useful and
applicable to my symptoms. Each of these concepts keep me grounded to a theory
that avoids mental health labels and instead values accessible work process steps.
I have cancelled several commitments since this course has started so that I could
stay home and take notes on video lectures and do my Pomodoros (on my to do
list I write down the number of Pomodoros I am going to apply on each topic
instead of a length of minutes or hours, I just like writing '2 pomodoros' ;) And I
feel fantastic! Really, there is nothing that has helped my mood, sleep, eating,
anxiety, feelings of guilt/shame etc than making small 'process oriented' to do lists
for myself and accomplishing them without focus on the actual product. After
doing two Pomodoros with a break in-between I feel like I can just keep going,
bring it on, bring on more (okay, well it took a few days to get to that level of
excitement, but I got there).

Depression/anxiety/trauma/PTSD (I am not comparing them or putting them in

one group, its just easier to write them like that) greatly affect one’s ability to
concentrate, read, focus and keep things in memory. The fact I am retaining and
understanding and making links through my work in this course is simply blowing
me away. It is a testament to the evidence and facts presented via this course and
the techniques that are advocated.

One of the key reasons this course and the information presented has had such an
impact on me and touched me so deeply where other books/group therapy etc
could not is that Dr. Oakley has a very gentle, smiling, kind demeanor to her that I
felt extremely safe with. Meaning I literally found it a pleasure to listen to her voice
and watch her and see her presence in the videos. I felt like I was working with a
kind teacher and, for me, it took me back to grade school days where I felt like I
could do anything and the teachers really believed in me and I was not afraid of
them. Dr. Oakley’s voice tone, facial expressions and body gestures all helped
contribute to a sense of safety and authenticity I valued and believed as I listened
to and watched her video lectures.

I have learned in this course various ideas about how habit, pain avoidance,
procrastination have all made my depression and anxiety worse. Yes I knew these
things 'intuitively' but to have them presented by a professor from a major
institution working in a non-mental health domain while simultaneously providing
us links to numerous research articles and doing this all with a gentle and
encouraging voice and approach has made all the difference to me. (I also do not
underestimate the value of 'good timing', meaning the timing/occasion of coming
across this course and its approach to learning strategies in this stage of my life is
fortunate.) Knowing that Dr. Oakley was faced with her own challenges and
discomfort when learning math to which she applied self compassion and kindness
alongside science and theory makes the messages and concepts taught in her
lectures quite believable. Dr. Oakley actually comes across as though she practices
what she preaches and that makes a huge difference in the eyes of individuals
who have tried a whole gamut of techniques and in some ways feel they are
always being sold the ‘next bill of goods’.

I am so moved by this course and the way the material was presented. The
additional lectures/interviews with third parties and other professors at other
institutions has further made me trust Dr. Oakley and Dr. Sejnowski and believe in
the material and therefore really apply it to my own life. To be willing to summon
up the 'will power' to make a different choice when the cue is presented is very
challenging when battling major depression etc, but it is not impossible and I am
so thankful to the instructors, TA's and everyone participating in this course.
(I am of course posting this anonymously because of the stigma around the topics.
Hey, if my own family and friends don't want to talk about it, you can pretty much
understand what stigma is capable of doing. So please forgive me for having to
post anonymously. I am sure there are other people in the same boat as me and I
do not wish to disrespect them by posting Anon. I hope they will understand.)

So for me, this course is life changing in a very fundamental way. I will never look
at the diagnosis of 'depression, anxiety, PTSD’ the same again. I am seeing and
feeling in myself all sorts of links between experiential avoidance, pain tolerance
and reaction to cues and I am wondering how many others like me are battling the
medical system and mental health care system and we just haven't come across
the message in a way that has made sense to us. I feel there are many of us that
can benefit from a course like this focused on habits, concentration modes,
memory, response to cue, pain tolerance etc from a 'general learning' standpoint
rather than a 'mental health' standpoint, in order to understand and make links to
our own experience. Getting these messages presented in a different way, a
different context has hit home for me. THANK YOU, more than I can articulate in
this post.
Optional Interviews