Outsmart Your Brain: Why Learning is Hard and How You Can Make It Easy
- Downloads：9051
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2023-01-22 03:19:35
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Daniel T. Willingham
- ISBN：B09JPJVSBK
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
In this revolutionary， comprehensive， and accessible guide on how the brain learns， discover how to study more efficiently and effectively， shrug away exam stress， and most of all， enjoy learning。
When we study， we tend to focus on the tasks we can most easily control—such as highlighting and rereading—but these practices only give the illusion of mastery。 As Dan Willingham， professor of psychology and bestselling author， explains， familiarity is not the same as comprehension。
Perfect for teachers and students of all ages， Outsmart Your Brain provides real-world practices and the latest research on how to train your brain for better learning。 Each chapter provides clear and specific strategies while also explaining why traditional study processes do not work。 Grounded in scientifically backed practical advice， this is the ultimate guide to improving grades and better understanding the power of our own brains。
When we study， we tend to focus on the tasks we can most easily control—such as highlighting and rereading—but these practices only give the illusion of mastery。 As Dan Willingham， professor of psychology and bestselling author， explains， familiarity is not the same as comprehension。
Perfect for teachers and students of all ages， Outsmart Your Brain provides real-world practices and the latest research on how to train your brain for better learning。 Each chapter provides clear and specific strategies while also explaining why traditional study processes do not work。 Grounded in scientifically backed practical advice， this is the ultimate guide to improving grades and better understanding the power of our own brains。
Reviews
Dione
，
Outsmart Your Brain is an amazing book！！ I only wish I had read the book while I was in high school and college。 It would have made lectures so much easier for me to listen to。 I would have been better prepared to take notes and learn what was important。 I always took tons of notes just to make sure that I was listening。 Daniel Willingham did a great job of expressing that listening is a very active， not passive， thing to do。 My plan is to use this book to prepare for any learning that I plan to Outsmart Your Brain is an amazing book！！ I only wish I had read the book while I was in high school and college。 It would have made lectures so much easier for me to listen to。 I would have been better prepared to take notes and learn what was important。 I always took tons of notes just to make sure that I was listening。 Daniel Willingham did a great job of expressing that listening is a very active， not passive， thing to do。 My plan is to use this book to prepare for any learning that I plan to do in the future。 If I go to a lecture， I will read the chapter about preparing for a lecture and how to take notes。 I hope to take a test in the future to judge horse shows - as I prepare I will use the chapters on organizing your notes and taking exams。 I will also be using the chapters in the future on how to plan your work， defeat procrastination and stay focused。 So even though I am a retired engineer it looks like I will be using every chapter of this book in the future。 I guess it is never too late to Outsmart Your Brain。 。。。more
Kathy
，
I wish this book （or one of its type） had been available to me when I was in high school and college and that I had the drive to find it。 The lessons it contains would have made my studying and note taking much more effective！There are many things to like about this book:- It's organization lets you read it straight through， or choose the chapters that you feel would be most beneficial to you。 This organization also makes the book a good reference tool。- Key points are highlighted。- The 94 tips I wish this book （or one of its type） had been available to me when I was in high school and college and that I had the drive to find it。 The lessons it contains would have made my studying and note taking much more effective！There are many things to like about this book:- It's organization lets you read it straight through， or choose the chapters that you feel would be most beneficial to you。 This organization also makes the book a good reference tool。- Key points are highlighted。- The 94 tips presented are practical and helpful。- The author doesn't just offer opinions， he backs them up with research。- Each section is summarized "In a sentence" which reinforces what you've just learned。- At the close of each Chapter， he has a section "For Instructors"。 In it， he clarifies the points that make learning difficult for students and gives them a plethora of ideas as to what they， as teachers， can do to help students get past these obstacles and get their material across in a more understandable manner。 To me， this is one of the most important and helpful things in the book， and make it an outstanding reference for educators。An excellent books for students and instructors alike， I rank this as 5 stars。My thanks to Gallery Books for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book through NetGalley。 The publication date is set for 1/24/23。 All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are freely given。 。。。more
Jed Walker
，
Simply the best book out there on practically leveraging your brain to maximize your studies and learning process。 Definitely one I will be returning to
Rebecca
，
Lots of great information for anyone who works in any educational setting。 As a teacher， I find it helpful to teach my students how their brains work so they can worker smarter and not harder。 This book gave me some new insight to pass along to them。 Thanks to Netgalley， the publisher， and the author for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review。
Catisha Scavairello
，
4。5 starsThis book has the best advice about learning。 Great examples。 Any high school/college student would benefit from this book。 It took a while for me to read through it， but it was totally worth it。
Meyka
，
I received this as a Goodreads Giveaway。I so wish that this book had been available to me years ago！ I can still outsmart my brain！ Thank you！
Brandon Westlake
，
I have always been a fan of Willingham's work。 His book Why Don't Children Like School？ changed my teaching （for the better） in a profound way in which no other book or professional development has， so I credit him with helping me improve my teaching。 His other books are also great reads and have their merits。 I was excited to hear about his new book， but was cautious as to what it might contain- would it be， I wondered， more of Why Don't。。。dressed up in a new package？ The answer is a definite " I have always been a fan of Willingham's work。 His book Why Don't Children Like School？ changed my teaching （for the better） in a profound way in which no other book or professional development has， so I credit him with helping me improve my teaching。 His other books are also great reads and have their merits。 I was excited to hear about his new book， but was cautious as to what it might contain- would it be， I wondered， more of Why Don't。。。dressed up in a new package？ The answer is a definite "no"。 Outsmart Your Brain is primarily geared towards college students， and there's the distinction a） college level learning， and b） students。 That being said， I think that teachers should read this; it will help them view education from the standpoint of the learner， not the teacher。 Yes， there is some overlap with Willingham's work， but this book extends this to send many important messages directly towards the student。 I can't really say there was anything that stood out to me as above any other section， but I think he does a great job of breaking down myths and giving great suggestions on what to do instead （learning styles: bogus; particular forms of note-taking over others: not necessary; tech: a distraction）。 The good teacher will read and suggest students read， or will add to the syllabus。 The great teacher will read this and make adjustments in their instruction based on what Willingham has to say here。 。。。more
Kate
，
This book is really fantastic！！ I really wish it was around when I was in school！ Willingham is a professor and an excellent writer。 His insights from that perspective are so informative and very helpful to read from a student's perspective。 He also provides guidance for his fellow instructors。 The advice he gives throughout the book is both engaging and very helpful。 While much of it isn't necessarily new， the additional insights and his unique framing make them resonate more。 He tries to help This book is really fantastic！！ I really wish it was around when I was in school！ Willingham is a professor and an excellent writer。 His insights from that perspective are so informative and very helpful to read from a student's perspective。 He also provides guidance for his fellow instructors。 The advice he gives throughout the book is both engaging and very helpful。 While much of it isn't necessarily new， the additional insights and his unique framing make them resonate more。 He tries to help all kinds of students and is also up to date on relevant research of the tips he provides。 As organization and planning is a large emphasis in the book， I unsurprisingly found that the book was also organized very well and intuitively， in a manner that actually makes it easier to remember the information learned throughout。 While I do enjoy reading this genre immensely，I found Willingham's book to be hard to put down as it maintains interesting content in a manner that keeps the reader constantly engaged。 Fantastic book and especially great for students！ 。。。more
Anna
，
If you think this is just another “how-to” book， you would be wrong。 Too bad this book wasn’t around when I was a struggling student of any age。 I could have benefited from Tip 50--If you can’t remember a fact， such as listing the names of animals， try using themes， such as animals on a farm， in Australia， circus animals。 Or Tip 23--Consider note taking to be a team sport。 Working with a group of students or even just one other person can keep you on track， expand on ideas， pick up things you le If you think this is just another “how-to” book， you would be wrong。 Too bad this book wasn’t around when I was a struggling student of any age。 I could have benefited from Tip 50--If you can’t remember a fact， such as listing the names of animals， try using themes， such as animals on a farm， in Australia， circus animals。 Or Tip 23--Consider note taking to be a team sport。 Working with a group of students or even just one other person can keep you on track， expand on ideas， pick up things you left out。 I found Chapter 8， How to Take Tests， a chapter I could have used in my day and Chapter 9， How to Learn from Past Exams， a definite help。 There may be some tips and discussions you may have heard before but it only helps to hear them again and again and in new ways。 The author expands on all his topics and tips which adds a great deal to understanding his suggestions。 Wonderful book to use in any learning situation。 。。。more
LenaMarie
，