If you feel like you often sit down and study only to completely forget what you learn, you’re going to want to hear this.
Barb Oakley, a professor of engineering at Oakland University, has taught more than two million students on Coursera how to make the most of their study time.
Below, Barb details why we forget what we learn, how to stop that cycle and other tips and tricks for learning for the school year ahead.
The word sororal has appeared twice on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Oct. 3 in the magazine article “The Morality Wars” by Wesley Morris:
The civilized dinner party is probably over — even when you’re dining with friends. Everything means too much now. Everything. Our politics, obviously. But our genders, our food, our television. Our television. Last month, I was in a six-way conversation about HBO that narrowed into two people hung up on “Insecure,” a sitcom co-created by and starring Issa Rae about two best friends — Issa and Molly — in Los Angeles. It just ended its third season on HBO, and I’d describe my ongoing viewership as “exasperated fealty.”
Relationships — sororal, heterosexual, professional — occupy a lot of the show. But its best mode is as a shrewd, satirical consideration of how race pollutes the workplace. Molly is an attorney, first at a corporate firm and then at a smaller, ritzy black outfit that, because it’s black, is more stressfully protocol-ridden. Issa works at a nonprofit that strives to do nice stuff for black and Latino school kids between fits of self-congratulation and casual racism.
Argentina’s capital, , has a well-deserved reputation as the Paris of South America — it’s walkable, is full of broad boulevards, and has plenty of made-in-France but assembled-in-Argentina architecture, as well as old-fashioned corner cafes with comfortable wooden seats in which to while away the day.
Anxious about their future on a hotter planet and angry at world leaders for failing to arrest the crisis, masses of young people poured into the streets on every continent on Friday for a day of global climate protests. In this lesson, students learn more about these protests, and consider what constitutes success for this movement powered by young people.
Warm Up
Did you participate in the climate change protests on Friday? If not, did you hear about the protests from friends or watch footage on social media or TV? What did you see for yourself — or hear from others — about these protests?
Then, watch the video above and scroll through the photos embedded in the featured article. Respond in writing or discuss with your classmates:
What do you notice? Which images are most interesting or have the most impact and why?
What do you wonder? What questions do you have?
What story do these images tell? Write a catchy headline that captures the main idea of the photos.
Questions for Writing and Discussion
Read the article, then answer the following questions:
1. How many people are said to have participated worldwide in climate change protests on Friday? Does that number in and of itself indicate that the day was a success? Explain, in your own opinion, why or why not?
2. What must happen next, according to event organizers? How can the young people who demonstrated on Friday stay involved in the movement?
3. In what country does the article’s writer say no protests took place? Why is that absence “notable”?
4. What youth movements of the past are mentioned in the article? How, according to people who study protest movements, is the current youth climate movement different from the others? How might its attributes contribute to the movement having, perhaps, more impact than the others?
5. The articles concludes with the following paragraphs:
An early test of the student protests will come on Monday when world leaders assemble at United Nations headquarters to demonstrate what they are willing to do to avert a crisis. Their speeches are unlikely to assuage the youth strikers, but whether the youth protests will peter out or become more confrontational in the coming weeks and months remains to be seen.
“They’re going to call ‘BS,’” Ms. Fisher, the sociologist, said of the protesters. “It’s great for people at the United Nations summit to posture and say they care about this issue, but that’s not enough to stop the climate crisis. These kids are sophisticated enough to recognize that.”
Why do you think the reporter decided to end an article about youth protests with a statement about the United Nations? Do you agree that world leaders’ speeches about climate change are “unlikely to assuage the youth strikers?”
6. What is your prediction? Do you think youth protests about climate change will peter out or become more confrontational in the coming weeks, months and years? Why?
Going Further
Scroll through the related article “Meet 8 Youth Protest Leaders” and choose one youth leader to learn more about.Then, trace how she or he got involved with the climate movement; explain the environmental crises facing their country; and describe what they hope will be the result of their activism.
Then, put yourself in the shoes of a youth protest leader in your own community. What strategy would you recommend next? How could you get even more people involved to take action on climate change? What specific actions would you recommend young people to take — locally, nationally or globally?
By Arunav Sinha, Head of Global Communications at Coursera
September 24, 2019 – University educators are widely trusted as independent experts who inform conversations both in and out of the classroom. In a world that is increasingly polarized by extreme views and misinformation, academic experts bring a sense of balance and rigor that elevates the quality of news, trends, and debates. They are a go-to source for reporters around the world.
At Coursera, we have access to instructors from 170+ of the world’s top universities such as Yale, Columbia, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Michigan. Reporters from around the world frequently ask us to connect them to the world-renowned experts who teach courses on our platform. This inspired us to create a solution that provides our media colleagues an easy way to plug into this network of thought leaders.
Today, we’re excited to announce the Coursera | Expert Network, a free resource for reporters to quickly and easily access a diverse set of experts from top universities. These experts can speak to a range of topics, from timely political issues, technology trends, social debates, financial news, and current health issues to evergreen topics, like happiness and personal development.
Additionally, the Expert Network highlights those who can speak to the week’s trending news stories and showcases their perspectives on topical issues in short audio and video clips.
To give you a snapshot, here are the types of topics some experts speak to:
If reporters want to learn more, they can easily connect with experts by clicking the contact button.
For journalists looking for authoritative sources, the Expert Network is a seamless tool to find thought leaders quickly, hear their take on trending topics in the news, and request an interview—all in one place.
At Coursera, we strive to be a platform that provides anyone, anywhere equal access to life-transforming knowledge and learning. The Expert Network fits perfectly in that mission, connecting experts with reporters who seek to inform the world with deeply-researched articles and rich perspectives.
Ready to discover an expert source for your upcoming story? Visit experts.coursera.org today.
At Yale University, Kelly is deeply engaged with both sides of the education process. By day, she supports students and assists a professor with coursework and research. By night, she works to complete her online courses. Her academic environment has influenced her motivation to continue her own studies.
By studying the intersection of tech and education, she’s redefining what’s possible for her career with the Instructional Design MasterTrack™ Certificate from the University of Illinois on Coursera. In her own words, Kelly shares how she’s successfully navigated the world of online learning to reach her goals.
My professional background is pretty varied. I’ve been a retail department manager, an alumni relations director for a private K-12 school, an executive assistant, and an office manager at a hedge fund. Currently, I work as a special assistant to a professor at Yale School of Management.
I took a non-traditional path to earn my bachelor’s degree. I started out at a traditional four-year school, spent time at a community college, and then my studies took a long pause: about 16 years! I wanted to complete my degree but as many non-traditional students know, it gets more challenging as the years go by and our lives become busier with responsibilities and activities. One day, however, I decided to make it a priority. Ultimately, I determined that online programs were my best chance for success.
I had no intention of stopping my career, so I needed the flexibility of an online program that allowed me to work full-time. In 2016, I graduated with a Bachelor’s in General Studies, concentrating in social science.
Returning to higher education as an adult gave me a new perspective on the capacity of the mind.
While I worked to complete my undergraduate degree online, I took a few courses that really sparked my interest in learning theory. In particular, I wanted to apply my online learning experience to enhance teaching and learning.
After I graduated, I took some time off from academic work, but eventually began to search for a Master’s program. I knew I wanted to prepare for a transition to a new career. I also wanted to remain in higher education, so I knew that a master’s would be helpful.
It took longer than I anticipated to find a program. Some programs I considered were primarily technology-focused, while others focused on adult learning or higher education administration. Nothing really grabbed my attention. Last July, I got an email from Coursera advertising the new Instructional Design MasterTrack™ Certificate from the University of Illinois. It was just right in terms of subject matter, so I looked into the features of the program.
After experiencing major success with online learning, I was excited to enroll and try out degree courses without committing to the full program. My primary goal was to learn more about instructional design and determine whether it was something I wanted to pursue further.
“The decision was easy for me. The program was what I wanted to study and came from an excellent school. I could either take the MasterTrack™ courses for a standalone credential, or apply the credits to a full degree program if I was accepted. There was nothing to lose and plenty to gain.”
Before my MasterTrack™ courses, I didn’t have an appreciation for the actual process involved in the creation of a learning experience. Today, I see instructional design as both science and art.
Thanks to the Instructional Design MasterTrack™ Certificate, I finally found a Master’s program that will prepare me for the direction I want to take with my career. I was thrilled to receive my admissions decision letter a few weeks ago. I’m ready to start fall classes as an official Fighting Illini!
“I was really hoping the MasterTrack™ program would be a springboard into a full Master’s program — and it was. So, goal achieved!”
Or perhaps we’ll find alien life before that happens? Astronomers are now searching for flashes of lights that could be coming from other life.
Listen to Chris Impey, who teaches astronomy and astrobiology at the University of Arizona and on Coursera. Below, he dives into the likelihood of alien life and when he estimates humans will live in space (or at least visit Mars).
Bettina Apethker, a professor of feminist studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, shares her take on how pending legislation could impact women’s reproductive rights. She also covers if those bills are a precursor to overturning Roe vs. Wade and details what we can learn from famous reproductive rights activism of the past.
Recently, a study found it could still be 12 or more years before we can buy a self-driving car.
Listen to Jonathan Kelly, a professor at University of Toronto who specializes in autonomous vehicles, share his take. Below, Jonathan discusses if he agrees with that timeline prediction, the pros and cons of self-driving cars and the tech behind them that makes them work.
