How We Learn

By: Monisha Pasupathi, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Monisha Pasupathi

Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

Learning is a lifelong adventure.

It starts in your mother's womb, accelerates to high speed in infancy and childhood, and continues through every age. Whether you're actively engaged in mastering a new skill, intuitively discovering an unfamiliar place, or even sleeping - which is fundamental to helping you consolidate and hold on to what you've learned - you are truly born to learn around the clock. But few of us know how we learn, which is the key to learning and studying more effectively.

This series of 24 vibrant and accessible lectures has been designed to change that. Designed by an award-winning psychology teacher and expert on how people of all ages master new skills and information, it sheds light on what's going on when we learn and dispels common myths about the subject.

Professor Pasupathi's many examples cover the modern history of research on learning, from behaviorist theory in the early 20th century to the most recent debates about whether IQ can be separated from achievement - and even whether a spectrum of different learning styles and multiple intelligences really exists.

The lectures are also a rich source of readily implemented tips on how to excel in many different learning situations, including mastering difficult material, motivating children to learn, and preserving learning aptitude as we grow older.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2012 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2012 The Great Courses

Great Lecture

Would you listen to How We Learn again? Why?

Yes, It has very valuable information about learning. We should know what they are and this lectures explains very well

What about Professor Monisha Pasupathi’s performance did you like?

She is a great teacher and she explains it so well

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I enjoyed listening

Any additional comments?

Those who have small kids should listen to these lectures. We can be better parents.

A Fine Course On Various Learning Processes...

I have been devouring the Great Courses series on mind and brain of late (see my other reviews of same), and I have found that they very often dovetail in remarkable ways and have a scientific and educational consistency which makes them highly recommendable. Monisha Pasupathi's set of lectures fits in nicely with the other lecture series I have covered on the mind, the brain, perception and how humans interact with the environment to maximize living. Pasupathi's lectures are broad in that they cover a wide range of theories about learning and give us lots of different angles from which to approach the idea of how we take on new information, sometimes consciously, sometimes unconsciously, how we adapt--and why we sometimes misadapt. A minor caveat might be that I find she sometimes invokes little semantic twists which, to my thinking, needlessly complicate the idea she is presenting. For example: when she is discussing one of her 10 "myths about learning" she tells us that "reward and punishment are not a foundation for learning--" when, of course, reward and punishment are VERY important to the process of learning, but her idea here seems to be that "the nails are not the house" sort of thing, that learning is something in and of itself and not simply a mechanic, robotic process for acquiring treats (true enough), but she presents it in such a way as it could be easily misconstrued as a rejection of aspects of behaviorism which are demonstrably true; another was "how smart you are does not affect how well you learn," after which she goes on to clarify that lots of previous knowledge helps to acquire new knowledge, leading one to ask, "but isn't 'having lots of previous knowledge' what 'smart' means in most cases (as opposed to "native intelligence," which I assume is she meant)?" But outside of these little things, this is still a fine university level course from which anyone can greatly benefit.

What we Know about Learning and How We Know It

Would you listen to How We Learn again? Why?

I started this course because after a long break after acquiring a psych BA I've been considering going back to grad school and wanted to make sure I knew how to use the best learning strategies. The information provided in this lecture series was mostly the findings of studies I had heard of before, but they were organized differently and presented clearer. I may listen to it again later on as it was a good refresher and probably slightly better than some of the original lectures I had taken in school.

What other book might you compare How We Learn to and why?

I had just finished The Great Courses: Practicing Mindfulness before starting this series. Both are performed by well-trained lecturers and organized in a similar manner to college-level courses. I am pleased by the quality of the material and how well it is conveyed to the listener.

Any additional comments?

Originally I thought the course would be more about effective learning strategies and less about an overview on the the psychology of learning. While she does give a few strategies that are proven to work, I was hoping she would provide more. I am pleased with the course overall, however.

Wow a great course should be an annual requirement for all teachers involved in direct education

I learned loads of new info that I can use to improve my one rate of learning. I only wish this was the first audio book I listened to to set me on the right learning direction from the start

Touched on all areas of interest to me

I appreciated this course because the instructor touched on all of the areas that I was considering when deciding to buy this course. I want to learn a second, third and other languages. I consider myself to be a lifelong learner. I was looking for some information on ways that I could improve my study habits specifically as it relates to learning a different language. I wanted to avoid some poor or less useful methods and understand some of the psychology that goes into learning as I get older. Lecture after lecture was engaging and relatable. I would recommend this course to anyone interested in developing a strategy to effectively learn a new subject.

Well done!

Interesting, organized, and sequential. The author has a very pleasant speaking voice and her anecdotes make the class even more interesting. Well worth the time effort and money.

Informative

It is very informative.but, it needs more tips how we can learn better. Thank you

Thought Provoking Learning Theories

Any additional comments?

Overall this was very interesting material, presented relatively well. First thing I noticed that bothered me was there were a number of weird pauses, and it sometimes felt as if the listener was not the target audience.I very much enjoyed hearing a number of new (to me) interesting studies, but they did not always seem to provide definitive support for the point being made. I also would have liked to have heard more on memory, and less on development.

Learn about how we learn

This lecture series by The Great Courses was about how we learn. The truth is you can teach old dogs new tricks. Ever notice that just before you have a breakthrough in learning that you get to place where things seem to become veriable before sliding into place. No one is born with a blank slate. The brain is prepared to learn at birth. Learning is a life-long activity.

I enjoyed this book and recommend it.

Learn what learning styles work for you.

Learn what learning styles work for your children.

Learn what learning styles work for your employees.

Never quit learning.

Great Lessons

I truly enjoyed listening to these lectures! Very informative, interesting and fun. Overall great experience