The hottest Learning Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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2 Questions for You

The American Peasant • 2555 implied HN points • 01 Nov 24
🚌 Education Teaching Learning Skills Workshops Customer Relations
  1. Asking clear questions helps start conversations better. It allows you to understand what someone really needs right away.
  2. Understanding students' goals in classes helps tailor the teaching approach. This way, you can mix in production techniques or focus on traditional methods based on their interests.
  3. Using direct questions in any interaction makes communication smoother. It helps you get to the point without unnecessary details.

5 Ways to Stop AI Cheating

The Honest Broker • 34143 implied HN points • 28 May 25
🚌 Education Teaching Learning Cheating Technology Tradition
  1. AI cheating is a big problem in schools right now, and many believe it's worsening fast. Students often use AI tools to do their work instead of learning.
  2. An old-fashioned education style, like the one at Oxford, could help stop AI cheating. This system relies heavily on handwritten work and face-to-face discussions with teachers.
  3. The Oxford method is tough and demanding, encouraging real understanding and preventing cheating. If used more widely, it could ensure students truly learn and earn their degrees.

The Knowledge Illusion

In Bed With Social • 416 implied HN points • 27 Oct 24
🚌 Education Learning Knowledge Technology AI Critical Thinking
  1. AI can provide quick answers, but this doesn't lead to real understanding. It's important to engage in learning actively to truly grasp the knowledge.
  2. The value of knowledge is changing with technology. While access to information is easier now, it can lead to shallow thinking if we rely on AI too much.
  3. Learning should be about growth, not just getting answers. We should use AI to inspire deeper questions and foster our critical thinking instead.

AI-generated Anki cards are not to be trusted

De Novo • 121 implied HN points • 13 Jun 25
🚌 Education Learning Memory Technology AI Biology
  1. AI-generated Anki cards can have mistakes that may lead to learning incorrect information. It's important to double-check AI content, especially on complex topics.
  2. Relying on AI for learning new material may not be wise, as it could lead to errors that are not obvious at first glance.
  3. Even when asking different AI systems to review the same content, they can miss errors or indicate correct information as wrong. Human oversight is crucial.
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Against the hydraulic analogy

lcamtuf’s thing • 4081 implied HN points • 27 Dec 24
🕹 Technology Electronics Education Engineering Analogies Learning
  1. The hydraulic analogy, which compares electrical circuits to water systems, is often misleading. It can create confusion, especially when learning complex components like semiconductors.
  2. While analogies can aid in understanding, they need to remain accurate as you learn more advanced concepts. The hydraulic analogy can break down and lead to misunderstandings.
  3. When students encounter flaws in the hydraulic analogy, it may cause them to forget the basics and start over, making the learning process harder than it needs to be.

How I Write

Democratizing Automation • 395 implied HN points • 06 Jun 25
🕹 Technology AI Writing Communication Creativity Learning
  1. Writing improves with practice and prioritization. The more you write, the better you get at it.
  2. Finding your passion and voice is key to writing well. When you write about what you love, it becomes easier and more enjoyable.
  3. AI tools can support writing, but they also make it harder for new writers to learn. With auto-complete options, it takes more effort to become a good writer.

The Seminar Continues

In My Tribe • 182 implied HN points • 03 Jun 25
🚌 Education Psychology Personality Sociology Learning Communication
  1. Personality psychology helps us understand people better. It looks at how we predict and explain behaviors, which is important for our relationships.
  2. The Big Five model is a more reliable way to measure personality than older methods like Myers-Briggs. It uses continuous traits instead of strict categories.
  3. While personality traits can be stable over time, we can develop skills that help us function better, even if our core traits don't change much.

Adiós Duolingo, hello Anki

De Novo • 88 implied HN points • 05 Jun 25
🚌 Education Learning Technology AI Languages Methods
  1. Anki is a flashcard app that helps with memorization using spaced repetition. It's great for learning detailed information and can share decks for team learning.
  2. Using AI to make Anki cards can be helpful, but it's important to check for errors. It's best for reinforcing knowledge rather than learning completely new topics.
  3. After years of using Duolingo, switching to Anki seems more effective for real learning. You can create a system to track your progress similar to Duolingo's streaks.

Can You Really Learn the Humanities in 52 Weeks?

The Honest Broker • 7480 implied HN points • 02 Jan 25
🚌 Education Humanities Literature Arts Culture Learning
  1. You can learn the humanities in a year by following a structured plan with about 250 pages of reading each week. This makes it manageable and not overwhelming.
  2. The course covers a wide range of topics, including literature, art, and music, allowing you to explore human culture broadly.
  3. It's flexible; you can do it at your own pace and even join a reading group if you want to learn with others.

IPAKIANS UNITE! ALL-IPAK WEBINAR/CONFERENCE - "FIRELIGHT" - THIS SATURDAY 10/12 6PM - 10PM ET

Popular Rationalism • 158 implied HN points • 11 Oct 24
🚌 Education Learning Health Public Health Personal Development
  1. There's a webinar called 'Firelight' happening on October 12th from 6 PM to 10 PM ET. You can join either through a live audience on Zoom or watch it online.
  2. The event features various speakers who will discuss important topics around knowledge, critical thinking, and personal empowerment. It's aimed at those feeling disillusioned by traditional education.
  3. Attending could help you learn about holistic health, public health insights, and more, all while being part of a community that values truth and intellectual freedom.

25 Useful Ideas for 2025

The Prism • 877 implied HN points • 02 Jan 25
🚌 Education Learning Psychology Critical Thinking Personal Development Cognitive Science
  1. Being too focused on what we hate in politics makes us unhappy. Instead, we should think about what we stand for and what we can support positively.
  2. Markets and services can start off great for users but may turn worse as they become more focused on profits over their customers. We should be aware of this shift in priorities.
  3. To truly learn something well, we should try to teach it. Teaching others helps deepen our understanding and makes information stick better.

My School Experimented with ‘Education Equity.’ It Failed.

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 1381 implied HN points • 10 Dec 24
🚌 Education Equity Teaching Learning STEM
  1. Mixing high-achieving and low-performing students in the same classes didn't work as intended. It led to negative outcomes for students who were doing well.
  2. The idea behind the 'multilevel classrooms' was to help students transition easily between different levels of difficulty. However, it was challenging to teach when students had very different skill levels.
  3. Though the mixed-class approach had some success in certain subjects, it struggled in STEM and language classes where a strong foundation is needed. Teachers found it hard to meet everyone's needs.

My Next Decision Making Class is Launching on November 18th!

Thinking in Bets • 138 implied HN points • 11 Oct 24
🚌 Education Teaching Learning Courses Skills Workshops
  1. A decision-making class starts on November 18th and will run for three weeks with live zoom sessions. It’s designed to help people make better decisions using a structured process.
  2. You'll learn what makes decision-making hard, like cognitive biases, and how to work better as a team when making choices.
  3. The course includes interactive sessions and projects, and past students found it transformative and beneficial for both personal and career growth.

Resist Summary

The Map is Mostly Water • 2942 implied HN points • 31 Dec 24
🕹 Technology AI Learning Writing Cognition Philosophy
  1. We read too many summaries instead of diving deep into topics. This can make us miss the detailed understanding that comes from exploring original sources.
  2. Writing from your own experience and observations is important. It helps create richer and more interesting content than just summarizing others' ideas.
  3. Using AI for quick answers can simplify things, but it might prevent you from understanding complex ideas. Building a deeper understanding requires slow and careful thinking.

When life is a metaphor

SPARC '24 JC Blog • 199 implied HN points • 27 Aug 24
🚌 Education Learning Pedagogy Creativity Personal Growth Social Skills
  1. Stepping out of your comfort zone can lead to personal growth. Trying new activities and meeting different people helps you learn more about yourself.
  2. Learning can happen in unexpected ways. Sometimes, you realize you've grown just by reflecting on your experiences rather than actively studying something new.
  3. Creating a supportive social group can inspire creativity and curiosity. Surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals makes it easier to explore new ideas and develop your passions.

My Class About Causal Inference

By Reason Alone • 42 implied HN points • 13 Feb 25
🚌 Education Teaching Learning Causal Inference Social Sciences Mathematics
  1. Teaching causal inference helps students understand the relationship between cause and effect in social sciences. It's important to make complex ideas relatable to engage younger audiences.
  2. Using visual aids, like graphs, can enhance understanding of complicated topics, especially in a classroom setting. Students can connect better with the material when it’s presented visually.
  3. Recommended readings and real-world examples, like the draft lottery, can spark curiosity in students. Sharing interesting studies can help them see the relevance of these concepts in everyday life.

Working memory: one of the most important things to understand about learning

The Bell Ringer • 519 implied HN points • 19 Jul 24
🚌 Education Learning Psychology Teaching Methods Cognitive Science Research
  1. Working memory is crucial for learning because it helps us hold and process information. Understanding how it works can improve teaching methods.
  2. Many teachers in the U.S. aren't trained on working memory, which limits their ability to support students effectively. Better training can help teachers use this knowledge in classrooms.
  3. Memorizing basic facts, like math facts, is important for building a strong foundation in learning. When students know these facts, they can focus on more complex problems.

Replay: What parents should know about the science of learning

The Bell Ringer • 339 implied HN points • 02 Aug 24
🚌 Education Learning Science School
  1. Understanding how children learn can help parents support their education better. It's important to know what methods work best for different types of learners.
  2. Staying involved in your child's education can make a big difference. Regular communication with teachers and participation in school activities can help children succeed.
  3. Encouraging a growth mindset in children is key. Teach them that making mistakes is part of learning and that effort leads to improvement.

Open Thread 353

Astral Codex Ten • 2821 implied HN points • 28 Oct 24
🎭️ Culture Community Discussion Events Social media Learning
  1. People are questioning the optimism around solar power's future, showing that not everyone agrees on its potential. This discussion is happening after a recent conference.
  2. There's a bootcamp for learning about quantitative trading happening soon, but it's not designed to make you rich or improve job prospects in that field. It's more for those who just want to learn out of interest.
  3. The host is planning to limit advertising for events unless they're really important. This is to keep things focused and avoid overwhelming everyone with promotions.

We do Math because it's hard

Kids Who Love Math • 335 implied HN points • 21 Dec 24
🚌 Education Math Learning Parenting Skills Development
  1. Math can be really hard to learn for everyone, at any age. It's normal for students to find math difficult as they progress in their education.
  2. Choosing challenges like math for kids can help them build perseverance. It's often easier to support their learning in a comfortable environment like home.
  3. It's important for kids to enjoy the challenge they're taking on. If they like math, they're more likely to stick with it and succeed.

Does Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) improve academic outcomes?

The Science of Learning • 219 implied HN points • 12 Aug 24
🚌 Education Learning Research Curriculum Instruction Assessment
  1. Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) helps students with their emotions and relationships but it's unclear if it boosts academic performance. Some studies show positive impacts, while others do not.
  2. Different schools use SEL in varied ways, making it tough to gauge its true effectiveness. This inconsistency leads to mixed results in research about SEL's benefits.
  3. There's no strong evidence that SEL reduces the achievement gap or promotes equity in education. More focused studies are needed to really understand SEL's long-term effects.

Learning in the Forest

Software Design: Tidy First? • 2032 implied HN points • 22 Nov 24
🕹 Technology Software Design Learning Engineering Productivity
  1. Learning should come before production. It's important to focus on what team members need to learn, even if it slows down work at first.
  2. Juniors are still learning, so we shouldn't rush them. It's better to allow them to choose tasks that will help them grow, and to support their learning through pairing with seniors.
  3. Investing time in learning pays off. Gaining skills and knowledge today will help create better projects and more capable engineers in the future.

School is Not Enough

The Map is Mostly Water • 2214 implied HN points • 27 Oct 24
🚌 Education Learning Child development Parenting Teaching Methods Skill acquisition
  1. Learning happens best when you actually do things, not just sit in school. Kids should have chances to explore and work on real tasks to gain skills.
  2. School can trap kids in a routine that doesn’t prepare them for the real world. It’s important to let children explore opportunities that help them learn outside the classroom.
  3. Parents play a big role in helping kids find meaningful activities. Encouraging children to dive into projects they are passionate about can build confidence and lead to mastery.

Things Worth Remembering: Winston Churchill’s Gracious Farewell

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 4340 implied HN points • 18 Feb 24
🚌 Education Public Speaking Speeches Learning Communication
  1. Listening to, reading, or watching great speeches of the past can help improve public speaking skills.
  2. Great speaking aims to persuade, charm, and move the audience.
  3. Studying rules of public speaking is important, but it's equally crucial to focus on the essence of persuasion, charm, and emotional impact.

I don't like ice-breakers

Soaring Twenties • 100 implied HN points • 15 Jan 25
🚌 Education Teaching Learning Social Skills Courses Personal Development
  1. Ice-breakers often feel pointless and waste time during meetings or courses. People usually don't get to know each other better through these activities.
  2. Sharing personal stories can be uncomfortable for many, especially if they're private. It might feel better to focus on course-related topics instead.
  3. Instead of typical ice-breakers, it might be better to discuss why everyone is there. This helps people connect meaningfully and saves time.

Seizing the moment

Becoming Noble • 2093 implied HN points • 19 Jan 24
🚌 Education Curriculum Reform System Learning
  1. The education system can be seen as a risk to freedom, as it conditions individuals to align with the state and managerial control.
  2. State-supported education aims to disconnect the young from traditional loyalties and mold them into supporters of the regime through certification.
  3. Challenging the current educational system's suppression of independent learning is crucial to combat bureaucratic expansion and foster self-governance.

Bringing the science of learning to parent night

The Bell Ringer • 79 implied HN points • 23 Aug 24
🚌 Education Parenting Teaching Learning Literacy Child development
  1. Many teachers believe that parents are not involved enough in their children's education. They feel that more engagement from families could lead to better support for students.
  2. Parents want to learn how to help their kids succeed in school, especially through understanding learning science. This can strengthen the partnership between parents and teachers.
  3. Schools are starting to share effective learning strategies with parents, like metacognition and retrieval practices, which can help kids study better and improve their overall learning experience.

The School Bell Rings: Time for Class

Musings on Markets • 1778 implied HN points • 11 Jan 24
🚌 Education Teaching Learning Finance Curriculum Professional development
  1. Learning finance can be accessible! You don’t need a fancy background, just some curiosity and a bit of effort.
  2. Understanding the basics, like how money flows in businesses and what financial terms mean, is super important. It sets you up for success in finance classes.
  3. There are different ways to learn. You can choose free online classes or paid ones, depending on what fits your time and budget best.

Cultivating a state of mind where new ideas are born

Escaping Flatland • 2889 implied HN points • 26 Jul 23
🚌 Education Creativity Curiosity Mentorship Solitude Learning
  1. Great ideas are fragile and can be easily killed by external influences like coworking spaces or groupthink.
  2. Solitude is crucial for creativity, allowing for the development of unique perspectives and groundbreaking work.
  3. Creative individuals are willing to linger in confusion, surfacing new questions rather than rushing to answers.

Tormented by an Urn

rachaelmeager • 535 implied HN points • 04 Jun 24
🚌 Education Teaching Learning Mathematics Statistics Philosophy
  1. The Polya urn model, though simple at first glance, reveals the complexity of statistics and emphasizes the importance of understanding problems deeply before attempting to solve them.
  2. Teaching and learning in math are not just about facts; they require creativity and passion to engage students, much like how poets perceive deeper meanings in their art.
  3. There is a strong connection between the arts and sciences, where both disciplines can benefit from understanding each other, and students should learn foundational concepts in both to grasp the complexities of the world.

Deep-research an article with me

The Novelleist • 445 implied HN points • 24 Jan 25
🚌 Education Workshops Research Writing Learning Collaboration
  1. There is a six-week workshop for writers where they can learn about researching articles in real time. It will involve weekly calls to discuss research processes.
  2. Participants can bring their own story ideas or topics to explore alongside the main research topic. This helps everyone stay engaged and learn together.
  3. The workshop is open to paid subscribers who want a more intimate learning experience and will have access to recordings if they miss a session.

The Topography of Thought Edition

Why is this interesting? • 965 implied HN points • 24 Oct 24
🚌 Education Writing Research Learning Cognition Creativity
  1. Your writing style can show how you think and might predict your success. It's not just about the words you use, but how you organize your ideas.
  2. Some people can express a lot of different ideas briefly, while others might take longer to get through them. This can affect how effectively they communicate their thoughts.
  3. Understanding how successful people manage their ideas can help us improve our own writing and storytelling skills. It’s useful to have data to back up what we believe about writing.