Why have almost two million students taken the Learning How to Learn course? Find out why it is successful.
Almost two million students from 200 countries have already taken the online course Learning How to Learn: Powerful Mental Tools with which you can master difficult topics (Learning How to Learn) on the Coursera platform, according to data cited by The New York Times. No other has reached that figure. Why? What is special about it?
Let’s get to the what and what for: this online course focuses on providing mental tools to help master difficult topics and, in some way, rewire the brain.
One of the teachers of the course, Barbara Oakley, tells her own experience of how changing her way of learning changed her life:
“We will learn how the brain uses two very different modes of learning and how it encapsulates (fragments) information. We’ll also talk about learning illusions, memory techniques, how to avoid procrastination, and best practices – as research shows – to help you master the most complicated topics,” says the course’s information page on learning techniques.
According to this page, students will learn about “invaluable learning techniques used by experts in art, music, literature, mathematics, science, sports, and many other disciplines.” All this, regardless of the profession, category or professional moment in which each student is. That is, in part, the key to its success: it is said that it is suitable for anyone, whether it is an expert – to whom the course will give new ideas and counterintuitive advice to make the most of the time they spend on tasks and problem-solving – or whether they are someone who is struggling or looking to improve in some area of learning.
Another reason for its success may have to do with its duration and the commitment required: only four hours of video, three hours of exercises and another three hours of additional material to learn how to learn. In addition to these reasons for its success, it is given by the average rating given by users who have already done it: 4.9 out of 5.
Course Structure on Coursera
The course has been designed by the University of California at San Diego (USA). USA) for Coursera. It is taught by three professors: Barbara Oakley, from McMaster University (Canada); Terrence Sejnowski, from the Institute of Biological Studies (USA) and Orlando Trejo, from the Simón Bolívar University (Colombia). It is divided into four modules, each taught over a week:
- The first is dedicated to showing different ways of thinking and how to use them to improve learning. It also addresses procrastination, memory practices, and “useful insights into learning and sleep.”
- The second focuses on the technique of fragmentation: dividing information into compact packets that the mind can easily access. Its management can help improve comprehension and creativity and to have a better performance in tests.
- The third delves into the interconnection between procrastination and memory. It also sets out best practices for accessing long-term memory systems.
- The fourth and final module focuses on ideas and techniques to improve the ability to learn and recognize one’s own strengths in order to exploit one’s full potential.
