Focus. Turn off all interrupting beeps and alarms on your phone and computer, and then turn on a timer for twenty-five minutes. Focus intently for those twenty-five minutes and try to work as diligently as you can. After the timer goes off, give yourself a small, fun reward. A few of these sessions in a day can really move your studies forward. Try to set up times and places where studying—not glancing at your computer or phone—is just something you naturally do. A Mind for Numbersis an excellent book about how to approach mathematics, science, or any realm where problem solving plays a prominent role.”

It’s easy to say ‘work smarter, not harder,’ but Barbara Oakley actually shows you how to do just that, in a fast-paced and accessible book that collects tips based on experience and sound science. In fact, I’m going to incorporate some of these tips into my own teaching.” The ability to combine chunks in novel ways underlies much of historical innovation. Reference the book, Where Good Ideas Come from by Steven Johnson. It’s misunderstood for the fact that some students do the SAME exact problem that requires the SAME solution again and again, hoping that this somehow increases their mastery. Dr. Barbara Oakley gives us insanely effective strategies that she used herself to become successful at Math in her book, A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel in Math and Science (Even if You’ve Flunked Algebra). [afflink]

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We all have a natural feel and flair for math and science. Basically, we just need to master the lingo and culture.” Oakley’s focus here is on developing positive mental habits. The four key components of habits are discussed: rewarding small bursts of work, cultivating diffuse-thinking mode, engaging in mental contrasting, and avoiding multitasking, which disrupts the learning process. Successful learners, according to Oakley, prioritize process over product.

Several recent studies have shown that regular exercise can make a substantive improvement in your memory and learning ability. Learning to Appreciate Your Talent As an example, suppose you make a habit of reading your text messages immediately upon receipt. Let’s break this habit down into its four components: Mathematics is not just about how fast you can accurately calculate something in your head. It’s a common misconception that students have. Getting good at math also means that you can use previously learned concepts to make rational, sequential, and analytical approaches to gain new insights for solving a problem. Can I become better at math? When you stop, reward yourself. Do something that’s very different from the task you were focusing on. Rest the area of the brain you were using to do the task. Work on only one task at a time when you’re doing Pomodoro. If you complete a task before the 25 minutes are up, you can start another task then. NO MULTITASKING. Multitasking does not work, you can only focus on one task at a time.Retrieval Practice, or simply Active Recall is a study technique that I talk about a LOT (I mean a LOT) in this blog. Oakley suggests that you can prevent bad habits from triggering by isolating yourself from their cues. For instance, if hearing a certain song while driving triggers you to habitually speed, remove this song from your driving playlist.