Outsmart Your Brain by Daniel T. Willingham

OUTSMART YOUR BRAIN by Daniel T. Willingham is subtitled “Why Learning is Hard and How You Can Make It Easy” so he is primarily gearing this to young people and their teachers although any age could benefit from this advice. Willingham is a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia and has spoken previously at school Institute Days for professional development. In his latest work, he writes in a conversational tone that seems relevant and appropriate for teens and young adults. There is a section, for example, called Learning by Listening where he offers several tips (e.g., verbal and non-verbal clues about organization; or getting over reluctance to ask questions) to help capture and retain the deeper meaning of a lecture. That is a skill which high school and even college students often have difficulty mastering without frequent cues and practice. Each chapter also has a portion devoted to instructors with a bullet pointed summary (e.g., talk more slowly; signal when something should be written down). Other chapters deal with preparing for and taking exams, defeating procrastination, gaining self-confidence and coping with anxiety. Willingham stresses that “truly independent learners maintain a state of intellectual openness and curiosity …. which ultimately brings interest, enjoyment, and satisfaction.” Slightly less than ten percent of the book is devoted to bibliography.  Several unaffiliated workbooks already exist for this title, perhaps highlighting a need for the inclusion of some practical exercises and topic summaries for students. OUTSMART YOUR BRAIN received a starred review from Kirkus.