Revolutionary speaker to discuss ‘Change Your Brain: Learning How to Learn’

The Wall Street Journal has described Barbara Oakley’s research as revolutionary. A best-selling author, educator and engineer, Oakley will share the secrets of neuroscience to unlock the brain’s power for maximum learning during a UNC Charlotte presentation for faculty, staff and students.

“Change Your Brain: Learning How to Learn” begins at 10 a.m., Wednesday, Nov. 28, in Cone University Center, McKnight Hall.

Oakley, a professor of engineering at Oakland University and the Ramón y Cajal Distinguished Scholar of Global Digital Learning, McMaster University, is the author of the New York Times best-seller “A Mind for Numbers,” which offers strategies and insights on how to learn.

During her UNC Charlotte presentation, sponsored by the College of Computing and Informatics, Cato College of Education and the Center for Teaching and Learning, Oakley will address why letting one’s mind wander is an important part of the learning process, how to avoid “rut think” to think outside the box, why having a poor memory can be a good thing and why procrastination is the enemy of problem solving.

Oakley has won numerous teaching awards, including the American Society of Engineering Education’s Chester Carlson Award for technical innovation in engineering education and the Theo Pilkington Award for Biomedical Engineering Education. In the U.S. Army, she rose through the ranks from private to captain, and during her service, she was recognized as a Distinguished Military Scholar. She also worked as a communications expert at the South Pole Station in Antarctica and has served as a Russian translator on board Soviet trawlers on the Bering Sea.

Prior to Oakley’s presentation, there will be a coffee reception at 9:30 a.m. in the lobby of McKnight Hall.

Afterward, starting at 11 a.m., Joan Lorden, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs; Fatma Mili, dean of the College of Computing and Informatics; and Ellen McIntyre, dean of the Cato College of Education; will join Oakley to give their insights on topics related to learning, critical thinking and helping students optimize their potential.

Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to RSVP for this free event.