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A mind for numbers : how to excel at math and science (even if you flunked algebra) / Barbara Oakley, Ph.D.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, [2014]Description: xx, 316 pages : illustrations ; 23 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 039916524X (pbk.)
  • 9780399165245 (pbk.)
Subject(s):
Contents:
Open the door -- Easy does it : why trying too hard can sometimes be part of the problem -- Learning is creating : lessons from Thomas Edison's frying pan -- Chunking and avoiding illusions of competence : the keys to becoming an "equation whisperer" -- Preventing procrastination: enlisting your habits ("zombies") as helpers -- Zombies everywhere : digging deeper to understand the habit of procrastination -- Chunking versus choking : how to increase your expertise and reduce anxiety -- Tools, tips, and tricks -- Procrastination zombie wrap-up -- Enhancing your memory -- More memory tips -- Learning to appreciate your talent -- Sculpting your brain -- Developing the mind's eye through equation poems -- Renaissance learning -- Avoiding overconfidence : the power of teamwork -- Test taking -- Unlock your potential.
Summary: Engineering professor Barbara Oakley knows firsthand how it feels to struggle with math. In her book, she offers you the tools needed to get a better grasp of that intimidating but inescapable field.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Dr. James Carlson Library NonFiction 501.9 O11 Checked out 07/18/2024 33111007668722
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 501.9 O11 Available 33111007601863
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The companion book to COURSERA 's wildly popular massive open online course "Learning How to Learn"

Whether you are a student struggling to fulfill a math or science requirement, or you are embarking on a career change that requires a new skill set, A Mind for Numbers offers the tools you need to get a better grasp of that intimidating material. Engineering professor Barbara Oakley knows firsthand how it feels to struggle with math. She flunked her way through high school math and science courses, before enlisting in the army immediately after graduation. When she saw how her lack of mathematical and technical savvy severely limited her options-both to rise in the military and to explore other careers-she returned to school with a newfound determination to re-tool her brain to master the very subjects that had given her so much trouble throughout her entire life.

In A Mind for Numbers , Dr. Oakley lets us in on the secrets to learning effectively-secrets that even dedicated and successful students wish they'd known earlier. Contrary to popular belief, math requires creative, as well as analytical, thinking. Most people think that there's only one way to do a problem, when in actuality, there are often a number of different solutions-you just need the creativity to see them. For example, there are more than three hundred different known proofs of the Pythagorean Theorem. In short, studying a problem in a laser-focused way until you reach a solution is not an effective way to learn. Rather, it involves taking the time to step away from a problem and allow the more relaxed and creative part of the brain to take over. The learning strategies in this book apply not only to math and science, but to any subject in which we struggle. We all have what it takes to excel in areas that don't seem to come naturally to us at first, and learning them does not have to be as painful as we might think.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 291-302) and index.

Open the door -- Easy does it : why trying too hard can sometimes be part of the problem -- Learning is creating : lessons from Thomas Edison's frying pan -- Chunking and avoiding illusions of competence : the keys to becoming an "equation whisperer" -- Preventing procrastination: enlisting your habits ("zombies") as helpers -- Zombies everywhere : digging deeper to understand the habit of procrastination -- Chunking versus choking : how to increase your expertise and reduce anxiety -- Tools, tips, and tricks -- Procrastination zombie wrap-up -- Enhancing your memory -- More memory tips -- Learning to appreciate your talent -- Sculpting your brain -- Developing the mind's eye through equation poems -- Renaissance learning -- Avoiding overconfidence : the power of teamwork -- Test taking -- Unlock your potential.

Engineering professor Barbara Oakley knows firsthand how it feels to struggle with math. In her book, she offers you the tools needed to get a better grasp of that intimidating but inescapable field.

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