During his many years of teaching, Professor Dan Willingham realized that much of what students assume about learning is wrong and leads to ineffective studying. In fact, the brain is actually set up to make you believe you "know" more than you do. But if you understand how your brain works and its stumbling blocks, you can outsmart it. Offering a variety of techniques, each chapter in this valuable book is devoted to one element of learning-from listening to lectures to taking exams-and offers practical resources including: Four or five strategies in each chapter to help students master every aspect of the learning process, Scientific findings about how our brains respond to new information-and how to leverage this for better learning, More than ninety tips to make studying easier and more effective, Takeaways for educators, Outsmart Your Brain will turn students into independent learners, improving their test scores and grades, boosting their confidence, and providing lifelong skills for learning.