“Tomorrow’s illiterate will not be the man who can’t read; he will be the man who has not learned how to learn.” — Alvin Toffler
Here are some resources for learning that I think might be interesting to consider. They are more META than specifically teaching math. In 2018 I was really interested in learning how to learn.
Written by a lady who majored in Russian in university and then went back to school and got her PhD in Physics several years later. She considered herself a largely non-math person prior to going back and starting again with Physics.
The book isn't the greatest page turner but I love the meta concepts and principles it includes. Things like:
- Chunking
- Focused vs. Diffuse Thinking (you need both)
- Spaced Repetition
If you're not a big reader, she actually offers a free online course based on this book and its ideas. Just search Barbara Oakley a mind for numbers. You can probably find some great online summaries of the book, so maybe you don't even need to read it.
2. Two wildcard books / summaries you could check out are:
- How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why It Happens
- Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career
I have both books but haven't read them. But both are highly recommended.
3. For work, I do sales and I really think sales is a lot like teaching. For me, when I'm talking with potential customers, I need to communicate in a way that whatever I say, it "sticks" in their brain, even after I've pitched.
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die --> this is a book I think a lot about while selling. How do I make ideas sticky. You don't need to read the book. This video does a good job summarizing.
There are some very useful concepts in it too. Probably most useful for when selling / teaching is that of "the curse of knowledge"
4. The Feynman Technique --> the best way to learn anything
Written: September 27, 2020 (originally in email for Lea)