MegaMaester

Learning How to Learn · Module 5

Learning Smarter

The first four modules covered how learning works, better-learner habits, deep mastery, and how to learn specific things. This module goes to the machinery and the obstacles: the brain and body behind learning, powerful techniques, and the real barriers that get in the way.

You will learn how the brain changes when you learn, memory techniques that work, how to protect deep focus, how to beat procrastination, how emotions shape learning, how sleep and exercise support it, and how to put it all together to learn smarter for life.

Lessons
7 lessons
Estimated time
~6-8 hours
Assessment
Module quiz included

Not started yet

Lessons

Lesson 1 · 16 min

How the Brain Learns

Lesson 2 · 16 min

Memory Techniques That Work

Lesson 3 · 16 min

Deep Focus in a Distracted World

Lesson 4 · 16 min

Beating Procrastination

Lesson 5 · 16 min

Learning and Your Emotions

Lesson 6 · 16 min

Sleep, Exercise, and the Learning Body

Lesson 7 · 16 min

Learning Smarter for Life

Check your understanding

Finish the lessons, then test yourself. Your best score is saved on this device. You can also open this quiz on its own page.

Learning Smarter — Module Assessment

14 questions · pass mark 75%

  1. 1.What best describes what happens in the brain when you build a lasting new skill?
  2. 2.Why is the London taxi driver research a strong example of neuroplasticity in adults?
  3. 3.Why is the method of loci especially effective for remembering ordered information like a speech or a list?
  4. 4.What did Joshua Foer conclude about memory champions in Moonwalking with Einstein?
  5. 5.According to Sophie Leroy's research, what is "attention residue"?
  6. 6.In Cal Newport's terms, why does shallow work tend to crowd out deep work?
  7. 7.Sirois and Pychyl argued that procrastination is best understood as which of the following?
  8. 8.Why does the technique of taking a very small first step help overcome procrastination?
  9. 9.A capable student performs poorly on a timed maths test despite knowing the material well. Based on this lesson, what is the most likely mechanism?
  10. 10.According to Csikszentmihalyi's account of flow, when is a person most likely to enter that absorbed state?
  11. 11.Why does pulling an all-nighter before an exam tend to backfire, according to this lesson?
  12. 12.What did the 2011 randomised trial by Erickson, Kramer, and colleagues demonstrate about aerobic exercise?
  13. 13.According to this capstone, why does an unsustainable but intense study method usually lose to a modest, consistent one?
  14. 14.Which two techniques did the 2013 Dunlosky and colleagues review rate as high utility?
Answer every question to submit.