The Science of Successful Learning

We all have an enormous capacity to learn, but—despite being engaged in learning throughout our lives—decades of cognitive research have shown that our intuitions are oftentimes exactly wrong, leading us to choose suboptimal learning strategies over more effective and efficient ones. Despite the temptation to make learning feel easy, research has proven that durable and flexible learning results when it is more effortful. The strategies that enhance learning—through engaging learners in more effortful and elaborative processes—are referred to as “desirable difficulties”.

In this seminar the presenter have covered not only what these strategies were, but also discussed why they promote deeper learning and how they may be incorporated into classroom instruction.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Veronica Yan (PhD, University of California, Los Angeles) is currently a postdoctoral researcher at UCLA and at the University of Southern California. Her research focuses on what the cognitive underpinnings of memory and the study and instructional strategies that lead to effective and efficient long-term learning. In particular, she studies "desirable difficulties" in learning, why they work, and the motivational mindsets required to appreciate them. She is a recipient of the UCLA Department of Psychology Distinguished Teaching Award, the winner of the UCLA Dissertation Launchpad, Chair of the Learning Advisory board for ScreenTimeSolutions, and she provides educational consultancy and training workshops for students, schoolteachers and college professors across the United States. Her own educational background has spanned three continents: She studied at an international school in Hong Kong, before heading to the University of Cambridge for undergraduate studies in England, and then finally landed in California for graduate school.