A Mind for Numbers: Excel at Math & Science

“Beinggoodatscienceandmathematicsisn’tjustsomethingyouare;it’ssomethingyoubecome.This
users’guidetothebrainunmasksthemysteryaroundachievingsuccessinmathematicsandscience.Ihave
seenfartoomanystudentsoptoutwhentheyhitaroughpatch.Butnowthatlearnershaveahandyguide
for‘knowingbetter,’theywillalsobeableto‘dobetter.’”
—SHIRLEYMALCOM,HEADOFEDUCATIONANDHUMANRESOURCESPROGRAMS,AMERICAN
ASSOCIATIONFORTHEADVANCEMENTOFSCIENCE
“AMindforNumbersisanexcellentbookabouthowtoapproachmathematics,science,oranyrealm
whereproblemsolvingplaysaprominentrole.”
—J.MICHAELSHAUGHNESSY,PASTPRESIDENTOFTHENATIONALCOUNCILOFTEACHERSOF
MATHEMATICS
“Ihavenotbeenthisexcitedaboutabookinalongtime.Givingstudentsdeepknowledgeonhowto
learnwillleadtohigherretentionandstudentsuccessineveryfield.Itisagiftthatwilllastthema
lifetime.”
—ROBERTR.GAMACHE,PH.D.,ASSOCIATEVICEPRESIDENT,ACADEMICAFFAIRS,STUDENT
AFFAIRS,ANDINTERNATIONALRELATIONS,UNIVERSITYOFMASSACHUSETTS,LOWELL
“AMindforNumbershelpsputstudentsinthedriver’sseat—empoweringthemtolearnmoredeeplyand
easily.Thisoutstandingbookisalsoausefulresourceforinstructionalleaders.Giventheurgentneedfor
Americatoimproveitsscienceandmatheducationsoitcanstaycompetitive,AMindforNumbersisa
welcomefind.”
—GEOFFREYCANADA,PRESIDENT,HARLEMCHILDREN’SZONE
“Aningeniouslyaccessibleintroductiontothescienceofhumancognition—alongwithpracticaladviceon
howtothinkbetter.”
—JAMESTARANTO,THEWALLSTREETJOURNAL
“It’seasytosay‘worksmarter,notharder,’butBarbaraOakleyactuallyshowsyouhowtodojustthat,in
afast-pacedandaccessiblebookthatcollectstipsbasedonexperienceandsoundscience.Infact,I’m
goingtoincorporatesomeofthesetipsintomyownteaching.”
—GLENNHARLANREYNOLDS,BEAUCHAMPBROGANDISTINGUISHEDPROFESSOROFLAW,THE
UNIVERSITYOFTENNESSEE
“AMindforNumbersisasplendidresourceforhowtoapproachmathematicslearningand,infact,
learninginanyarea.BarbaraOakley’sauthoritativeguideisbasedonthelatestresearchinthecognitive
sciences,andprovidesaclear,concise,andentertainingroadmapforhowtogetthemostoutoflearning.
Thisisamust-readforanyonewhohasstruggledwithmathematicsandanyoneinterestedinenhancing
theirlearningexperience.”
—DAVIDC.GEARY,CURATORS’PROFESSOROFPSYCHOLOGICALSCIENCESAND
INTERDISCIPLINARYNEUROSCIENCE,UNIVERSITYOFMISSOURI
“Forstudentsafraidofmathandscienceandforthosewholovethesubjects,thisengagingbookprovides
guidanceinestablishingstudyhabitsthattakeadvantageofhowthebrainworks.”

—DEBORAHSCHIFTER,PRINCIPALRESEARCHSCIENTIST,SCIENCEANDMATHEMATICSPROGRAMS,
EDUCATIONDEVELOPMENTCENTER,INC.

J EREMYP.TARCHER/PENGU IN
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Oakley,BarbaraA.
Amindfornumbers:howtoexcelatmathandscience(evenifyouflunkedalgebra)/BarbaraOakley,Ph.D.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferecncesandindex.
ISBN978-1-101-62161-5
1.Mathanxiety.2.Mathematics—Studyandteaching—Psychologicalaspects.3.Educationalpsychology.I.Title.
QA11.2.O3320142014003665
501'.9—dc23
Version_1