Authors: Peter Brown, Henry Roediger III, Mark McDaniel

I am always on the hunt for better methods of teaching, especially those based on research and not circumstance. While I try to be careful about the books I choose in this category, as many fall into the cheerleader/self-help category with all flash and no substance, this one did not disappoint. There was enough solid advice in here to pass along to my students and use for myself.

Actually, if you consider yourself a lifelong learner, you would do well to pick up this book.

During my first year of University, my professor told the class to throw away our highlighters when reading. In college, my instructor told us to not cram the night before and instead, go out and relax (the implicit suggestion is you would study in chunks leading up to the test or exam). This book explains why they were right.

The traditional study methods we often resort to (reading or watching something repeatedly) are ineffective and don’t stick. At best, it’s like reciting a phone number in your head over and over until you make the call.

Instead, the authors actually take you through the book using the methods they are advocating based on cognitive science (brain based research). While the first seven chapters of the book can feel like padding to the payoff in chapter eight (actionable steps), it’s because the concepts are sticking that the final chapter makes perfect sense.

Some of the concepts in here were already familiar to me, including the flash card method (Leitner box or Anki app) and the memory palace technique, but the suggestions for applying them shed some new light on how I go about teaching and learning. Let’s just say my students might not be too happy with me in September when they start getting more quizzes, but they might start to appreciate it by December when they see improvement.

This is a great book to read for any teacher or learner and even if you only get a nugget of usefulness, it will be a highly useful nugget.