Learning How to Learn at Oakland University

Oakland University (OU) Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) Department to Offer “Learning How to Learn” Course This Fall 

“Learning How to Learn,” the massively popular course focused on giving students “powerful mental tools to master tough subjects” will be coming to an Oakland University classroom this fall. The course, which was developed by OU Professor Barbara Oakley, has been offered exclusively online since it was launched three years ago and has become the most popular Massive Open Online Course in the world, according to Online Course Report.

This fall marks the first time that students can experience the course in person. Dr. Oakley, a professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE), will teach the course at Oakland’s Rochester campus.

“This course gives you easy access to the invaluable learning techniques used by experts in art, music, literature, math, science, sports and many other disciplines,” Oakley said.

“We’ll learn about the how the brain uses two very different learning modes and how it encapsulates information. We’ll also cover illusions of learning, memory techniques, dealing with procrastination, and best practices shown by research to be most effective in helping you master tough subjects. Using these approaches, no matter what your skill levels in topics you would like to master, you can change your thinking and change your life.”

Oakley teaches the MOOC course with Terry Sejnowski, an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Francis Crick Professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California.

“The idea for the MOOC came because I enjoy watching and learning from video and online,” Oakley said.

With nearly two million students enrolled to date, “Learning How to Learn” has been featured in The New York Times and is the leading online course by enrollment in the world.

According to the ISE Department’s website, the course – ISE 1170 – satisfies the university’s general education requirement in the social science knowledge exploration area.

“It was natural for our department to offer this course,” said Robert Van Til, Pawley Professor of Lean Studies and Chair of the ISE Department. “ISE is the domain of engineering that is people-focused, and it’s important for industrial and systems engineers to get people to learn how the systems they work in behave in order for them to help improve system performance. “Learning How to Learn” is important to both industrial and systems engineers, as well as the people they work with.”

For more information about the course, visit Oakland.edu/ISE.

To learn more about Professor Oakley’s work, visit her website at www.barbaraoakley.com.