A simple but very effective way to learn how to teach (and how to learn too!). Practical insights that will resonate with every teacher who longs to make a lasting impact in a teaching career.

lovely course for all teachers and parents.This course gave me an insight about why I follow certain methods of teaching and how ithis course will help to do better teaching learning process.

Clear explanation of why we should use what we know of neuroscience to help people learn. Although this course was geared towards school children and teachers, I find that the directed instruction and active learning techniques are equally applicable to adult learning. Pointing to the evidence was extremely useful in debunking some of the common myths esp. around student-centred learning that is so prevalent in adult education these days. Another great take-away was acknowledging the difficulty of learning secondary cognitive materials. It was refreshing to hear and completely new to me. Now I know why everyone who is a native English speaker can pronounce my name correctly ;) Thank you Terry, Barb and Beth for a delightful course. I learnt it, linked it and did it! ...and hope to extend it.

Of most of the devices we use, we have a pretty good view of what is at the heart of their functioning. Cars have combustion or electrical engines, computers have chips and a CPU, our heating system burns fuel. We even use our own body as a metaphor. But what about our brain’s learning system? Remember the movie ‘Memento’, where this guy uses his skin as a long term memory? (Or any other movie about a person having amnesia, like 50 First Dates or Dory in Finding Nemo) The amnesia is explained by a problem with working- or short-term memory.. well, actually, it is not.  The working memory is doing fine. The transfer to long term memory is the problem, probably because of a damaged hippocampus. And if you know where the problem is, it is pretty unrealistic that tattoos are going to help. Wrong but strong. Why? Because we do not know how memory or learning works.. and that would be ok, if we were not involved in learning at all. But we are.. actually, all of us..  Enter ’Uncommon Sense Teaching’. An uncommonly interesting course for teachers, looking at the inside of learning. Great explanations, solid universal insights, presented in a fun way. Not only interesting for teachers but also for people that want to have more insight in their learning process. A strong follow-up on ‘Learning How to Learn’. And this is only part 1. And the timing is perfect. In these uncertain times, teachers are slowly turning back to the new normal, to the regular classrooms, if possible. Some have enriched themselves with online teaching experience, others with a few online deceptions, most with a foggy mind and tired of the constant uncertainty and fear of what the next year will bring. All are looking forward to a bit of guidance. Before I dived in the course, I was afraid that this course was just the mirror image of ‘Learning How to Learn’, the same thing but from a teacher perspective. But this is a much richer course and with an even stronger basis. And it is necessary. How can we teach, without knowing how learning works? Looking forward to the next episodes of this specialization, where the social aspect is deepened further!

I couldn't get enough of this course! Watching the videos and thinking about how I can incorporate the principles into my teaching, made my days exciting and hopeful. The visuals helped me understand better and the teaching had so much useful information.

For the next videos, maybe the camera could be a bit higher with Beth. I always had the feeling I was looking up her nose!

The quizzes were interesting and the answers included visuals and encouraging feedback, which reinforced my learning.

I am considering offering a Zoom session at the beginning of the school year for teaching the most important principles to parents. And, I'll need to prepare a simple explanation for my students, so they will better understand why I am insistent about daily practice. Thanks to your Power Point slides, I don't have to reinvent the wheel.

Thank you so much for this work. I am so happy that I found the series and hope I stumble onto the next ones.

This is 100% percent better than the course I took "Learning how to learn" and that course was excellent. Also there is a lot of more information in this course to learn. I recommend all teachers to take this course. I read the book first, but the course is a must for several reasons. The course helps retain the concepts in the book and visual presentations bring the book to life and puts emphasis on the concepts being taught in the book. Highly recommend this book for everybody that wants to learn and wants to know about how the brain learns. I recommend both the Book and the course.

Kudos to Prof Barbara, Beth, and Terrence for walking the talk to make this course so informative, insightful and easy to understand; the skills taught has helped learners to better understand and appreciate the concepts behind neuroscience and cognitive psychology to support effective implementation of teaching and learning to students of diverse learning needs.

This course is exceptionally well crafted and is entertaining as well as productive. It includes fresh visions on how we learn and many neuroscientifical tips to help students make the most of lessons. If you can just take one MOOC this year, make sure it is this one.

Another teaching masterpiece from Barb and Terry . Beth seems to be as enthusiastic as Barb . I am not a teacher but using these courses to update teaching methods for myself . Time well spent!!!

Amazing course. I have learned many ways of versatile teaching strategies. It opened up a whole new prospect in my mind, how to strategies my lessons and make my students independent learners.

An exceptional and memorable course. I truly believe that I can now create learning materials for all types of learners

Thank you so much for a fantastic course! I have learned so much that I can now implement in the training that I present.

In particular I'd like to comment on the Honours assignments - these really are active learning in action! I thought I knew the content (sound familiar?) only to discover that there were still some details that I needed to pin down.

I've had some positive feedback from my learners too about the recall exercises - they were similarly able to identify gaps in their knowledge when they had to write down what they could remember about the topics they'd just been trained on.

I hope the next series is on the way soon - I can't wait!

The course has so many valuable facts on how the brain works and how to use this knowledge to help our students, and oursleves, learn better, remember better, and be "smarter". It shows us the differentways we remember and how to use this to our advantage. I have already incorporated this information into my class and my students (grade 6) have enbraced more routine practice, retrieval, and seem happier and more excited for new learning and building on what they already know. I encoiurage all my colleagues to take this course, packed full of valuable info and full of fantastic diagrams, images, to learn it, link it, and do it!

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the course. I am experienced teacher and see the value and truth in what these educators say. I have shared so much of what I have learned from Barbara and Terry with my students and they are grateful too. Having Beth join and talk about how this applies to younger students is a great addition. I wish all of my colleagues would take this course. I do believe there needs to be a stronger connection between cognitive science and education. It's unconscionable that there is not. It's like becoming a doctor without studying biology and chemistry. Thank you Beth, Barb, and Terry!!

The curriculum is well-structured, breaking down complex concepts into digestible modules that progressively build on one another. This allows for a deep dive into the topic, providing not just surface-level information but also nuanced insights backed by scholarly research and empirical data. Academic rigor is evident throughout, with each lesson meticulously designed to engage students on multiple cognitive levels. This can be particularly valuable for individuals, like educators or researchers, who need a robust understanding of the subject for their professional development.

Such a great team !! I completed the course Learning How to Learn before Uncommon Sense Teaching. Here again, Barbara Oakley and Terrence Sejnowski manage to pass on the information very effectively, even when complex neuronal processes are involved. Beth Rogowsky provides powerful insights about effective teaching methods and strategies. As a teacher myself, I am totally convinced by the arguments in favour of direct instruction, and I am confident that applying the skills and knowledge from this course will help me improve my teaching by helping students learn effectively.

This all-star team of instructors provide great information and resources for teachers and learners. I strongly recommend this to educators, although, you don't need to be an educator to gain a lot from this course. The videos are engaging and packed with valuable information. The supplemental reading materials provide additional information on research and reading materials that compliment the course content. I'm especially pleased that there are links to make the extra resources easy to access.

I have learned a lot of things. It has helped me evaluate my teaching methods, encouraged me to keep on working to become better at what I do, and taught me new strategies that I can use in class. I am very much interested in the next part of the entire course; I am just not sure if I can handle it with the new semester coming up soon.

Wouah !!! This has been the best class I've taken so far. That will change forever the way I deliver cybersecurity training. Lively, fun ad in depth, this class is higly recommended. Can't wait for the second and third part of the series. Thank you so much for putting this together.

An excellent course that provides an invaluable framework to ensure students suceed. I haven't read the book yet, as it hadn't arrived by the time the course started, but I am really looking forward to reading that too. Thanks so much to everyone in the team that put this together.

It's a wonderful course, made with enthusiasm, with love for the material and with great expertise. I highly recommend it for everyone who wants to learn more about how we learn and how we can teach effectively. It's worth every minute you invest.

A great course for teachers to know how to give lessons effectively. After the course, I am able to gain more knowledge about the effective ways to teach and study for myself. I am really looking forward to the next courses in the series.

The combination of neuroscience and practical teaching experience provides enjoyable learning and eye-opening insights. Valuable for teachers and others whose work includes teaching others (coaches, corporate trainers, etc.).

I highly recommend this course to those interested in the world of teaching-parents included.

Thank you to all the team for your insight on teaching with common sense in a world full of diversity.

Excellent. My only regret is that it was too short and not at a more advanced level. I have learned an immeasurable amount of new techniques and insights that I will apply to me teaching.