Barbara Oakley: How Neuroscience is changing what we know about teaching?

Co-creator of the #1 MOOC, “Learning how to learn” with neuroscientist, Terry Sejnowski, and Professor of Engineering at Oakland University, Barbara Oakley, teaches us how neuroscience influences the learning process. Barbara Oakley is a strong advocate of memorisation as a method of learning. One of the most effective ways to learn is by retrieving information or ideas in our own brain, as it allows for greater neural connection. The more something is practised, the stronger these connections become. She also discusses some of the things that can improve the learning process, including the importance of getting enough sleep, spacing out learning time, and eating a healthy diet combined with exercise. As a neuroscientist, she talks about how memory works and how it influences learning, alluding to two fundamental elements and the connection between them: working memory and long-term memory. The former is able to manipulate information temporarily (it does not store information) and the latter allows us to retain a large amount of information over a long period of time.