Book SummaryLearn Like a Pro, by Barbara Oakley and Olav Schewe

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Learn Like a Pro

Learn Like a Pro by Barbara Oakley and Olav Schewe is a practical and user-friendly guide to improving your approach to learning. Learning can be frustrating. Many people struggle with achieving their learning goals, whether getting good grades in school, passing licensing exams, or mastering new skills. But Oakley and Schewe argue that you can become a better learner if you understand more about how your brain functions and adopt learning methods that work with your brain’s learning capabilities rather than against them.

The authors are confident anyone can improve their learning processes because they themselves once struggled with learning: Both Oakley and Schewe had difficulty getting decent grades in high school. They believed they were born unable to learn certain subjects. However, they each discovered that what was holding them back was their...

Learn Like a Pro Summary Why Memory Is Essential for Learning

You have two types of memory that work together to help you learn new information and skills—working memory and long-term memory. The authors explain that putting information into your long-term memory is the key to learning, and working memory plays a crucial role in this process.

(Shortform note: The science of memory and learning is complex, and there’s no absolute consensus among scientists and researchers about how memory and learning happen in the brain. Oakley and Schewe have drawn from several models and theories for this book. The one they emphasize for their theories of working memory and long-term memory is the Atkinson-Shiffrin Model, outlined in Make It Stick, which says that memory involves the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information and that there are different types of memory (such as short-term memory and long-term memory).)

Long-Term Memory Is the Key to Learning

Full, effective learning happens when information enters and stays in your long-term memory. This...

Learn Like a Pro Summary How to Foster Learning That Lasts

Knowledge moves from your working memory into your long-term memory through one of two ways: either the declarative learning system or the procedural learning system.

Understanding Memory: The Dual-Process Theory

Oakley and Schewe’s two “learning systems”—declarative and procedural—correlate with a more widely accepted and research-supported model of memory called the dual-process theory. This model suggests that two main systems are involved in information processing: an intuitive, automatic system (procedural) and an analytical, controlled system (declarative). The intuitive system quickly and effortlessly processes information, relying on past experiences and stored knowledge. The analytical system, on the other hand, is slower and more deliberate, using logic and reasoning to analyze information.

Outside the book, the terms declarative and procedural are more often used to describe subtypes of long-term memory, not the processes that help form...

Learn Like a Pro Summary How Different Modes of Attention Can Help You Learn

The authors explain that the brain has two modes of attention: focused and diffuse mode. By properly engaging both modes, you can better learn new concepts and skills, understand complex topics, and move past periods when you feel stuck and can’t seem to make progress in your learning.

Focused mode is when you deliberately concentrate on a task in front of you—for example, reading a chapter from your textbook or memorizing new information. This mode is best for strengthening your understanding of familiar topics or gaining new knowledge related to things you already know, such as learning new vocabulary in your native language. This is because focused mode uses neural connections that have already been formed in your brain.

Diffuse mode is when you’re not focusing on any one thing in particular but instead are letting thoughts flow through your mind naturally—as happens when you’re going through routine parts of your day like making breakfast or driving to work. As you’re doing these things, your brain works on problems and processes new information “in the background” by making novel connections (building new neural pathways) between ideas and knowledge that it...

Learn Like a Pro Summary Improve Learning by Boosting Motivation and Self-Discipline

Improving your motivation and self-discipline to tackle learning tasks can improve how effectively you learn. Motivation is how much effort you’re willing to put into achieving a goal, and self-discipline, or willpower, is your ability to make small sacrifices now to accomplish that goal in the future. The authors argue that when it comes to your self-discipline for learning, the best approach is not to cultivate more of it but instead to focus on strategies that reduce or eliminate your need to use it in the first place. Boosting your motivation is one of the best ways to bypass the need for self-discipline—when you’re motivated to learn, you don’t need to tap into your willpower to do it.

(Shortform note: Although the authors don’t focus on strategies to cultivate and strengthen self-discipline (but rather, to avoid the need to use it), many psychology experts offer techniques for increasing your willpower, including Kelly McGonigal in The Willpower Instinct. McGonigal explains that things like [stress, guilt, and not getting enough sleep and exercise deplete your...

Learn Like a Pro Summary How to Excel at Academic Learning

The authors offer tips and techniques for excelling at these key elements of academic learning, including how to actively engage with your materials as well as how to read, take notes, and memorize.

How to Learn Actively With Engaged Retrieval

The authors argue that the best way to learn is to actively engage with the material, as by doing so, you’ll absorb far more information than when you engage with materials more passively. This is because active learning helps build longer and stronger neural connections.

(Shortform note: A recent study has shown that AI technology can play a role in helping people learn actively. The researchers found that incorporating an AI-based virtual helper in the learning process can improve learning during hands-on activities. The virtual helper combines physical and virtual reality elements to create an immersive learning experience. They found that when the AI helper was turned on, it encouraged students to engage in critical thinking and discussions, resulting in more thorough learning. When the AI helper was turned off, the...

Shortform Exercise: Boost Your Motivation to Learn

Boosting your motivation for learning (which reduces the need to force yourself to complete essential learning tasks, like studying) is an important part of improving your learning process. The following exercise will help you apply the author’s learning motivation and willpower tips to your own life.

Think about a learning goal you want to achieve. What obstacles could deter you from achieving that goal? Are they external obstacles (like your work schedule) or personal habits and routines? Make a short list of them.