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Make It Stick
The Science of Successful Learning
Tired of forgetting what you learn? Many common study habits and practice routines, like re-reading and cramming, don’t work. This groundbreaking book, based on the latest research in cognitive science, offers powerful strategies to boost memory and learning. Make It Stick has helped millions of educators, students, and lifelong learners use proven approaches to learn better and remember longer.
NAME / JOB / TITLE
About the Authors
Peter C. Brown
Writer and former management consultant.
Henry L. Roediger III
James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Psychology at Washington University in St. Louis. Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Mark A. McDaniel
Professor of Psychology and Director of the Center for Integrative Research on Cognition, Learning, and Education (CIRCLE) at Washington University in St. Louis.
Henry Roediger and Mark McDaniel are cognitive scientists who have dedicated their careers to the study of learning. Peter Brown is a storyteller. They teamed up to explain how learning and memory work. This book arose from a large body of research and a 10-year collaboration among 11 cognitive scientists at six different universities who wanted to bridge the gap between learning science and education.
Tips for Learners
Since its publication 10 years ago, Make It Stick has launched a quiet revolution in learning. University leaders incorporate its methods. Teaching and learning centers recommend it to all incoming students. School districts press it into the hands of their faculty. A Cambridge grad student’s video about the book has been watched 5.1 million times. Students in high-stakes fields like medicine and Navy SEALs swear by its practical approach to learning and memory. Many people are so excited by what they learn in Make It Stick that they create videos and articles with tips from the book. We’ve gathered a few helpful examples here.
Big Ideas About Learning
Get it out to get it in
It’s retrieval from memory, not review, that deepens learning and makes it stick.
Some difficulties are desirable.
Difficulties that resemble real-world conditions, and require effort to overcome, deepen learning and improve later performance.
Intuition misleads us.
Many strategies that feel productive, like rereading and massed practice, are labor in vain.
It’s better to mix things up and space them out.
Interleaving topics and types of activities over time improves retention.
Get in Touch
We would love to hear how Make It Stick has helped your learning and teaching, and if you have any questions, please submit them below.
Media inquiries? Please email Harvard University Press at publicity_hup@harvard.edu.
For exam copies and bulk ordering discounts, please email hup_news@harvard.edu.
