Before you begin to learn something new, perhaps you should first consider, learning how to learn.
This past year I took a course entitled “Learning How To Learn” from Coursera. I discovered the course by listening to the Knowledge Project Podcast, where the host, Shane Parrish interviews Dr. Barbara Oakely. The 90-minute interview is worth listening to if you don’t want to take the course but want to learn the basics.
The instructors, Dr. Barbara Oakely and Dr. Terrence Sejnowski, are kind of quirky, but their authenticity and quality information shared through videos will keep you coming back for the next lesson. The course guideline says it takes 16 hours to complete, but that is only if you do all the optional activities.
You will thoroughly enjoy the information you learn as Barbara shares unique analogies and metaphors to help you grasp the concepts. There are even Zombies!
“Learning How To Learn” is the most popular MOOC course of all time!
With over ONE MILLION total enrollments, this course is the most popular Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) of all time! You can check out the list of the top 50 MOOC’s of all time.
Five key points that I learned from the “Learning How to Learn” course:
Chunking – learn specific concepts, but also learn how that concept fits into the overall context of the subject.
Pomodoro Technique – Learn for 25 minutes and take a break for 5 minutes. Use that 5-minute break as a reward – get a snack, listen to some music, etc.
Do it yourself – learn some material but immediately apply what you’ve learned with different examples.
Recall – after you have learned something, spend some time trying to recall the information. Imagine explaining it to a beginner.
Interleaving – once you have learned several concepts, make sure to jump back and forth between concepts, practicing what you have learned.
Below is a great video describing Interleaving:
Learning how to learn is a great place to start but it is just the beginning.
Upskill Create is all about creating a lifestyle of continuous learning and then applying what you have learned to secure your future and create a life you love. Our mantra is Learn. Create. Share. Repeat!
We offer an engaging private community of fellow “Upskillers” to provide an environment where we can learn, collaborate and encourage each other in this journey. You can request an invitation to join this FREE community at the bottom of this post.
I hope you will join me,
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