Book Review: How We Learn

 

Title: How We Learn

Author: Benedict Carey

Stars:  ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 1/2 (1 = hated it, 2 = didn’t like it, 3 = it was okay, 4 = I liked it, 5 = I loved it)

Review: How We Learn is a practical guide for any pursuit. Benedict Carey gives advice for how to use the research presented in learning something like a new instrument or language or practicing (for example) a new sports move in addition to suggesting ways to put them in practice in a school setting. That was definitely one of my favorite parts of the book. So often books like these focus on school kinds of learning (testing, etc.), but this one explained how to use the (more school minded) research in any kind of endeavor. Carey presented this book in very personable tone, in a way that really made me feel I knew him. He gave examples in his own life, how a habit or practice had helped or hurt him. He asked the reader to try some of the experiments done in the studies, to see if we got similar results. Doing that really gave me a better sense of how the study worked and what it showed. Overall, this was a very good book: clear, interesting and well thought out.