First Session Recording: here.
**Learner's notes**
@Fabio About supplements: https://www.cocoavia.com/ and https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/lions-mane-mushroom
Rabbi Bell: The concept map can help focus the students on what they need to retrieve.
@nielda I think that’s because of that (retrieval practice) that teaching another person about what we’ve learned feels so good. Every time I teach something I’ve studied I learn it better.
@natalieandrew2702707 What are the best/ your favorite ways to go about retrieval practice?
@sadiah2595423 When you teach it’s kind of retrieval practice for you too…you learn too …so dopamine is flying
@mica_mesina I learned this from an instructor. I have a handy notebook where I write concepts that I think I will forget from time to time. And I read it. 
Or when there’s a question I cannot answer, I write it down and try to make notes out of it
@Hamish Mica, as this recent study shows, it should be in that handy paper notebook, rather than on an iPad, phone etc Study shows stronger brain activity after writing on paper than on tablet or smartphone | The University of Tokyo
Berel Bell: “Is there any assessment for getting to know your working memory capacity we can use with students or we should just make a guess on it?”
Answer: Your formative assessments should give you feedback about whether your scaffolding is working for your group
Adena Schutzberg: Is it important for learners to know about the (relative) size of their working memory? That is, know if they are a hiker or race car? If so, should K-12 students? College students? Adult learners? Looking back I can see I was (am) a hiker and (somehow) found I just needed lots of practice. I still do!
@libertosiahaan555059 For adult with a need to learn multiple unrelated subjects, is it better to learn multiple subjects at the same time (longer time to learn, but better for retaining due to continuity) or to focus on one subject (faster comprehension, but when move to another subject the previous subject can be forgotten)?
@kellyparedes2228046 Thanks again for your insight Barb! It is is always so great to hear and be reminded that we are different learners. I am a slow learner and my teaching partner is a fast learner. And our opposites really help us, help students!
@conniehayek421589 I work with college students who often have had negative experiences in learning some subjects, especially math. What tips do you have for changing that mindset? I share Barb’s story of struggling with math and science in youth and going on to get degrees in Engineering. Any other tips for boosting students’ confidence in specific topics?
@sonal We had his exhibit at the MIT museum about Cajal! His hand drawn images were…
@heathersternshein Sonal, that exhibit travelled to Chapel Hill too - cajal’s drawings were gorgeous to see in person
@mdashrafuzzam2606431 from bangladesh. is the language a barrier to memorise anything in other language rather than mother tongue?
Kevin Ruse: i am a (train the trainer) Trainer and a technical trainer, I ask a tremendous amount of questions calling students by name. Quick retrieval questions. Is this an effective retrieval method?
@sonal For working memory nourishment —you recommend handwriting or typing?
@Fabio Retrieval practice tips: Focus on variety, using Flashcards (or digital versions such as Quizlet).
Adena Schutzberg: Challenge: While taking this course, think about learning things outside of academics. I’m thinking about how to teach/learn in other areas, specifically, learning my clarinet part for band and getting better at disc golf.
@Hamish I agree with asking a lot of questions. It always brings to mind Kipling’s poem ‘I Keep Six Honest Serving Men I Keep Six Honest Serving Men by Rudyard Kipling - Famous poems, famous poets. - All Poetry
@barboakley Learn Like a Pro (there you can find the assessment for short-term memory)
@sadiah2595423 I am a slow learner too and it serves me well. Every time I go over the material I discover something new I need to learn 
@nielda Powerful Teaching: Unleash the Science of Learning: Agarwal, Pooja K., Bain, Patrice M.: 9781119521846: Amazon.com: Books
@sadiah2595423 Another book that dr Oakley mentioned before is How we learn by Stanislas Dehaene
@conniehayek421589 I often recommend the memory palace and chaining to students.
@kellyparedes2228046 Love this, the teachers really do make a difference in STEM. I heard this quote a few years ago and I have it posted on my classroom wall : “SMART is something you CAN get!”
@sonal True, sometimes ignorant teachers may turn off students from learning! Teacher who believes in their student will empower their students.
@conniehayek421589 Love the “SMART is something you CAN get!” quote…definitely using that one!
Julie: There’s a debate in teaching reading at the primary level on how much to emphasize learning sight words, how to teach them, and at what age. Can you help apply these ideas about working memory to 4-6 yr olds learning sight words?
Jorge Urrea: Is it scaffolding memorizing things without understanding? For example, learn by repetition a table of declension? Or for example, apps like glossika (memorizing sentences without worrying about grammar? Thank you Barb for everything.
@hiroyosaito2663406 I think Barb said Beth’s working memory varies depending on the subject. But can your working memory change based on a subject or is your prior knowledge just helping your working memory?
Eriku: The advantage that I find in spending large chunks of time studying the same thing is that there is not the overhead cost of getting back to a subject after switching.
Nicolas Acevedo: What’s the best way to make tests that are consistent with the teaching in the classroom? For example, if you do recall and quizzes in the classrooms, and you want to do a more “practical” test (to test transfer)
@sonal How about those who can not see — are blind…often sighted teachers do not understand much about inclusive teaching with empathy …
Luis C Castellanos: Downloads - Barbara Oakley
@hiroyosaito2663406 Whenever I do a workshop on learning science and talk about retrieval practice, I always get this question, how about "deep thinking."I say that you want to preserve your working memory for the action of thinking by moving the fundamental knowledge and skills into the long-term memory. I also say that you get an aha moment when you make unexpected associations among existing elements. If you do not have any existing elements, you cannot have an ah moment.I also use the example of higher order questions like, compare and contrast American revolution and French revolution. Unless you have solid knowledge about each revolution, you cannot answer the compare and contrast question. But some of them are still not satisfied. Do you have a better way to answer this “deep thinking” question?
@conniehayek421589 Love the Pomodoro Technique. Learned about it in the LHTL MOOC and I now tell students, ‘if you do one thing to improve learning, do this!’.
@hiroyosaito2663406 Pomodoro cuts the time you waste thinking about what you need to do!
Eriku: As I have been self-studying for the past couple years of high school, I might be able to give a suggestion as well. What works well is to first quickly get an idea of what there is to learn (I watch lectures at 2x speed), then quickly get answering questions with rapid feedback. From the questions, you can easily see what you still need to learn, and then go back into the reading or lectures to learn that better.
Luis C Castellanos: https://kanbanflow.com/
Eriku: I use an approach similar to Scott Young, author of Ultralearning.
Kristina Hakansson: When I find I am procrastinating I set a short pomodoro for just 15 minutes rather than 25 because it is less daunting, but then when it finishes I usually prefer to keep working anyway and I don’t need a break for quite a while.
- I love the Ultralearning book too!
@barboakley Ultralearning is a great book, Kristina!
@conniehayek421589 Study Cycle is the 2nd thing I recommend after the Pomodoro. Sounds like what Barb talked about in looking at bold print, charts, graphs, etc.
Kristina Hakansson: I did my teacher training in the UK, we didn’t learn anything about how we learn. We just had pointless lectures at the uni and then learnt to teach from the other teachers in schools during placements.
@conniehayek421589 Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Announces $1.5 Million to Support Educator-Preparation Programs Committed to Learning Science - Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
That's it for today! See y'all soon.
