Information and digital literacy in education via the digital path

After winning the Nobel Prize, physicist Max Planck "went around Germany giving the same standard lecture on the new quantum mechanics. Over time, his chauffeur memorized the lecture and said, 'Would you mind, Professor Planck, because it’s so boring to stay in our routine, if I gave the lecture in Munich and you just sat in front wearing my chauffeur’s hat?' Planck said, 'Why not?' And the chauffeur got up and gave this long lecture on quantum mechanics. After which a physics professor stood up and asked a perfectly ghastly question. The speaker said, 'Well, I’m surprised that in an advanced city like Munich I get such an elementary question. I’m going to ask my chauffeur to reply.'""

For First-Generation Students, Studying Effectively Doesn’t Always Come Naturally. Instructors Can Help

Gail Horowitz noticed something peculiar about the first-generation students who were struggling in her chemistry classes. They studied as hard as their classmates. So why weren’t they doing as well?

That question led Horowitz, then a lecturer of chemistry at City University of New York Brooklyn College, to explore the challenges facing students who are the first in their families to go to college. They had drive and determination, she learned, but often lacked the skills needed to do well in rigorous courses.

Taking an online course for the first time? As a member of Coursera’s Teaching and Learning team, I’ve had the privilege to work with hundreds of educators to bring their courses to more than 48 million people around the world. Based on research and best practices from our community, here are eight, go-to study tips for learning online.

Teachers can guide students to avoid ineffective studying habits in favor of ones that will increase their learning outcomes.

Too often people imagine that long hours of studying are the best path to being a model, straight-A student. Yet research shows that highly successful students actually spend less time studying than their peers do—they just study more effectively.