Self-help · Book club
Learn Like a Pro book club questions
Here are 11 book club questions for Learn Like a Pro by Barbara Oakley and Olav Schewe, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. Copy them, print them, or bring them up one at a time.
Learn Like a Pro is a concise, evidence-based guide to studying more effectively, written by Barbara Oakley — the engineer-turned-neuroscientist best known for A Mind for Numbers and the Coursera course "Learning How to Learn" — and Olav Schewe, a student learning consultant.
Barbara Oakley and Olav Schewe · 2021 · 3h 0m
Full summary and key takeaways →The 11 questions
- 1.
The book argues that the study methods most people use — rereading, highlighting — are ineffective. When you learned this, did it match your experience, or did it feel implausible?
- 2.
Retrieval practice is the most evidence-supported technique in the book. How often do you actually test yourself rather than re-expose yourself to material?
- 3.
Have you experienced the difference between cramming and spaced practice in your own learning? Which produced more durable memory?
- 4.
The book identifies an 'illusion of fluency' from rereading — thinking you know material because you can recognize it. Where has this fooled you?
- 5.
What subjects or skills in your current life would benefit from a more deliberate learning approach? What would you do differently?
- 6.
The Pomodoro Technique is presented as a procrastination tool. Have you tried it? Does the constraint help or frustrate you?
- 7.
Oakley came to mathematics and engineering as an adult after initially failing at them. Does knowing that affect how you think about your own learning limits?
- 8.
Interleaving feels harder and slower than blocked practice, but it produces better results. Are you willing to accept the short-term discomfort of a more effective method?
- 9.
The book is short and direct. Did you find that useful, or did you want more depth on any particular topic?
- 10.
If you had to implement exactly one technique from this book starting this week, which would it be and why?
- 11.
Sleep, exercise, and diet are mentioned as significant factors in learning. How seriously do you take them as learning tools rather than health tools?
How to run the discussion
- Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
- Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
- Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
- Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.
Themes worth steering toward
If the conversation stalls, these are the threads that usually restart it.
Common questions
What are good book club questions for Learn Like a Pro?
Here are 11 book club questions for Learn Like a Pro by Barbara Oakley and Olav Schewe, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. The strongest openers ask what each reader noticed rather than what they concluded, and the discussion usually turns on learning, memory, study skills.
How long should a book club discussion of Learn Like a Pro last?
Most groups run 60 to 90 minutes of actual discussion. That is roughly six to eight questions, not all of them, so pick the ones that suit your group rather than working down the list in order.
What are the main themes in Learn Like a Pro?
Learning, Memory, Study skills, Cognitive science, Productivity. Those are the threads most likely to divide a room, which makes them the useful places to steer a discussion that has gone quiet.
Picking the next one? See books like Learn Like a Pro or questions for other book club picks.
