Rating:  Summary: Practical and fun to read Review: Marcia is obviously extraordinarily experienced at designing ways for people to become naturally adept learners but what makes this book exceptional is she makes it seem so fun and, well easy. Pick a friend or work mate and go through the steps together as it is bound to enrich your relationship
Rating:  Summary: Practical and fun to read Review: Marcia is obviously extraordinarily experienced at designing ways for people to become naturally adept learners but what makes this book exceptional is she makes it seem so fun and, well easy. Pick a friend or work mate and go through the steps together as it is bound to enrich your relationship
Rating:  Summary: More is Less. Review: This book is superficial and is more about enumerating countless dimensions vaguely associated with training than learning itself. The author mentions six different dimensions related to learning. Only one of them is meaningful: Learning Style [Visual, Audio, Kinesthetic]. The five others are trivial. However, by throwing so many dimensions at you that are not so relevant, she dilutes her message immensely. These six different dimensions actually result in 432 possible styles of learning. This is just absurd, and renders her whole learning framework unusable. She gets through this maze by only touching the surface of each dimension, and never addressing a specific learning type across more than one dimension at a time. For instance, using her language how would a Goal-oriented, Visual, Global, Space-Oriented, Small Group, Think to Talk learning style person best learn. How would such a specific learner best take notes, prepare for a test, learn a new discipline. You will never know because this is one of the 432 learning types you can come up with. She will just share vague recommendations about how a Visual learner learns, or a Goal-oriented learner learns. So, you get these disconnected and superficial pieces of information. And, it is up to you to connect the dots. Good luck.The author gets wrong the one single relevant learning dimension she mentions. She subdivides Learning Style along three sensory subgroups, when it should be four. Kinesthetic and Tactile are two different subgroups. Also, the test she gives in the book is way too short, and vague to give an accurate assessment of your own Learning Style. Occasionally, her writing style is really boring. In one chapter, she emphasizes the learning power of practicing. She then lists about 10 insights on the subject. But, they were all saying exactly the same thing that practice takes time and is important. Fortunately, there is a much better book on this subject: "How to Learn Anything Quickly" by Ricki Linksman. This book is everything the other book is not. It is relevant, and effective. It tests your learning style along two effective axes: Learning Style (Visual, Audio, Kinesthetic, and Tactile), and Brain Dominance (Left-brain, Right-brain). Thus, the author's framework includes a very manageable eight different specific learning style. The author devotes an entire chapter on each of these styles. By reading the one relevant to you [i.e. Visual Left-Brain], you will learn a lot about how to better absorb information, acquire knowledge and expertise in any field, get ready for a test. The author gets into practical details such as what style of note-taking will work best for you, or what kind of writing or project outline will help you out. In other words, this book really teaches you how to learn; unlike "Learn More Now." If you want to study this subject further, I recommend all the excellent books by Howard Gardner, and Tony Buzan. Gardner is the developer of the Multiple Intelligence Theory. Buzan is the inventor of the Mind Mapping technique, a really amazing and fun learning tool. Michael Gelb has also written excellent books on this subject, including "How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci."
Rating:  Summary: More is Less. Review: This book is superficial and is more about enumerating countless dimensions vaguely associated with training than learning itself. The author mentions six different dimensions related to learning. Only one of them is meaningful: Learning Style [Visual, Audio, Kinesthetic]. The five others are trivial. However, by throwing so many dimensions at you that are not so relevant, she dilutes her message immensely. These six different dimensions actually result in 432 possible styles of learning. This is just absurd, and renders her whole learning framework unusable. She gets through this maze by only touching the surface of each dimension, and never addressing a specific learning type across more than one dimension at a time. For instance, using her language how would a Goal-oriented, Visual, Global, Space-Oriented, Small Group, Think to Talk learning style person best learn. How would such a specific learner best take notes, prepare for a test, learn a new discipline. You will never know because this is one of the 432 learning types you can come up with. She will just share vague recommendations about how a Visual learner learns, or a Goal-oriented learner learns. So, you get these disconnected and superficial pieces of information. And, it is up to you to connect the dots. Good luck. The author gets wrong the one single relevant learning dimension she mentions. She subdivides Learning Style along three sensory subgroups, when it should be four. Kinesthetic and Tactile are two different subgroups. Also, the test she gives in the book is way too short, and vague to give an accurate assessment of your own Learning Style. Occasionally, her writing style is really boring. In one chapter, she emphasizes the learning power of practicing. She then lists about 10 insights on the subject. But, they were all saying exactly the same thing that practice takes time and is important. Fortunately, there is a much better book on this subject: "How to Learn Anything Quickly" by Ricki Linksman. This book is everything the other book is not. It is relevant, and effective. It tests your learning style along two effective axes: Learning Style (Visual, Audio, Kinesthetic, and Tactile), and Brain Dominance (Left-brain, Right-brain). Thus, the author's framework includes a very manageable eight different specific learning style. The author devotes an entire chapter on each of these styles. By reading the one relevant to you [i.e. Visual Left-Brain], you will learn a lot about how to better absorb information, acquire knowledge and expertise in any field, get ready for a test. The author gets into practical details such as what style of note-taking will work best for you, or what kind of writing or project outline will help you out. In other words, this book really teaches you how to learn; unlike "Learn More Now." If you want to study this subject further, I recommend all the excellent books by Howard Gardner, and Tony Buzan. Gardner is the developer of the Multiple Intelligence Theory. Buzan is the inventor of the Mind Mapping technique, a really amazing and fun learning tool. Michael Gelb has also written excellent books on this subject, including "How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci."
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