MADE BY LEARNERS, CURATED BY FUTURELEARN
The design of this guide is
Copyright © 2015 FutureLearn Ltd.
The copyright for tips within this guide remains with
the learners who submitted them.
Some tips have been edited for length,
sense or consistency.
Where a tip contains content from a third party,
for example a quote, we have, where possible,
attributed it to that party.
No copyright infringement is intended.
DESIGN TIP
Only read the words highlighted in yellow
for a summary of this guide.
Contents
04
INTRODUCTION
05
FOREWORD
09
WHY DO YOU LEARN?
17
HOW DO YOU ORGANISE YOUR LEARNING?
24
WHICH TECHNIQUES HELP YOU LEARN?
31
HOW DO YOU LEARN WITH OTHERS?
36
WHAT KEEPS YOU MOTIVATED TO LEARN?
41
WHAT MAKES YOU A FUTURELEARNER?
49
WHO CONTRIBUTED?
Introduction
In April 2015, FutureLearn invited people around
the world to share their top study tips with us, to
create The Crowdsourced Guide to Learning.
We asked them why they start and continue
to learn; how they organise their study and
remember what they’ve learnt; how they learn
from and with other people; and what role
learning plays in their lives.
We received hundreds of tips. Many were
motivational, many were organisational and some
were simply bizarre.
What we learnt is that while there are tried and
tested methods for learning effectively, everyone
has their own idiosyncrasies and habits that help
them achieve their goals. So in this guide, we try
to showcase both our favourite tips from learners
and expert advice from the academic and online
learning community.
Wherever you are on your learning journey, we
hope you’ll find something to inspire, inform or
surprise.
Happy learning!
Foreword
PROFESSOR MIKE SHARPLES, THE OPEN UNIVERSITY
We learn by making connections. At the biological
level, the connections are between neurons,
which grow stronger whenever we have a new
experience. At the mental level,...