Outsmart Your Brain Why Learning is Hard and How You Can Make It Easy

In this “ultimate guidebook for doing well in school, and the perfect gift for any student” (Jonathan Haidt, New York Times bestselling author), discover how to study more efficiently and effectively, shrug away exam stress, and most of all, enjoy learning.

When we study, we tend to focus on the tasks we can most easily control—such as highlighting and rereading—but these practices only give the illusion of mastery. As Dan Willingham, professor of psychology and bestselling author, explains, familiarity is not the same as comprehension.

“Highly informative and inspiring” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), Outsmart Your Brain provides real-world practices and the latest research on how to train your brain for better learning. Each chapter provides clear and specific strategies while also explaining why traditional study processes do not work. “Practical but backed by the latest science, Outsmart Your Brain is an onramp to the virtuous cycle of interest, confidence, and achievement” (Angela Duckworth, New York Times bestselling author).

Dan Willingham received his PhD from Harvard University in cognitive psychology and is now a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia. He is the author of several books, including Outsmart Your Brain and Raising Kids Who Read. A fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science, you can follow him on Twitter @DTWillingham.