Community Conversations: Sparking a curious mind - Learning how to learn in today's high-pressure world

Date Tuesday 13 May 2025
5.30pm - 6.30pm
LocationSheppard Wake, Main Block
Samuel Marsden Collegiate School, Marsden Avenue, Karori, Wellington 6012 


We invite you to hear from Professor Barbara Oakley, the instructor of Learning How to Learn, one of the world's most popular online courses with over four million students. 

In this session, she will share useful information on mastering new and difficult material.

  • See what the patterns of expertise look like in the brain, and learn how to build those patterns more quickly and with less frustration using active learning and learning strategies. 
  • Learn why it's perfectly normal to not understand something difficult the first time it's encountered.  
  • Discover simple tools to tackle procrastination. (You might be surprised to learn that even just thinking about something you don't like causes your brain to experience pain.)  
  • Learn how to handle interruptions in your learning, and why small periods of mindlessness can be so valuable in learning.  
  • Learn the surprising advantages of having a bad memory and sometimes being a slower learner. 

Led by:

Barbara Oakley, Professor of Engineering at Oakland University and a leading expert in neuroscience and learning.

Professor Oakley's book, A Mind for Numbers, is a New York Times and international best-seller translated into over a dozen languages. Her most recent book is the critically acclaimed Uncommon Sense Teaching: Practical Insights in Brain Science to Help Students Learn.


Event Details:

Date: Tuesday 13 May 2025

Time: 5.30pm–6.30pm

Venue: Sheppard Wake, Main Block, Marsden School

Parking: There is limited parking in the school grounds. We kindly request that you park on Marsden Avenue or Vera Street.


Any queries?

Please email our Community Events Facilitator, Katherine Priddle or phone (04) 476 8707 ext 876


Marsden's Community Conversations are open to students, parents, and the wider community and provide an opportunity to hear from inspiring speakers and engage in discussions on relevant and thought-provoking topics. There is no cost to attend.