It controls our every move and it houses our every thought… but how many of us understand how the brain works? Truthfully, there’s more that we don’t understand about the brain than we do understand. But that doesn’t mean we can’t capitalize on what we have been able to glean through neuroscience and psychological studies over the years. To help us do just that on the perpetual journey to becoming better learners (and educators), Lauren Waldman, the Learning Pirate joins this week’s episode.

As a learning science translator, Lauren’s life mission is to help others “join forces” with their brains. As a speaker and consultant, she ensures that anyone going about a learning journey understands the key scientific mechanisms behind learning and memory, encouraging a reflective and adaptive learning process. She also defends hopeful learners from disinformation and bad science online, calling out other proclaimed brain experts who utilize clickbait, oversimplifications, and bad-faith explanations.

Join us as we discuss:

• The importance of taking a critical approach to scientific claims we see online–especially in learning science!
• How much we REALLY know about the brain (and how fast we’re learning about it)
• Metacognition and its role in helping us grow as learners
• How emotions can impact learning, and some ideas for regulating them
• The nature of attention, motivation, and how focus impacts retention of information
• Some popular and resilient myths about the brain and brain science

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Episode Resources

Lauren Waldman on LinkedInLearning Pirate websitegetAbstract websitegetAbstract on LinkedIn

L&D In Action: Winning Strategies from Learning Leaders releases every other Tuesday, bringing you conversations from the best minds in Learning and Development.

Previous guests include: Simon Brown of Novartis, Ravin Jesuthasan of Mercer, Michael Lee Stallard of Connection Culture Group, Michelle Weise of Rise and Design and Dr. Nigel Paine of Learning Now TV.

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