Barbara Oakley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Barbara Oakley
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|---|---|
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| Born |
Barbara Ann Grim
November 24, 1955 |
| Alma mater | University of Washington Oakland University |
| Spouse(s) |
Philip Oakley (m. 1984)
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| Children | 4 |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Engineering, learning, altruism bias |
| Institutions | Oakland University McMaster University Coursera |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Service/ |
 United States Army |
| Years of service | 1974–1981 |
| Rank |  Captain |
Barbara Ann Oakley, born on November 24, 1955, is an American professor. She teaches engineering at Oakland University and McMaster University. Her online courses about learning are super popular! They are called massive open online courses. She studies many things, like how kids learn science and math (STEM) and how people learn in general.
Professor Oakley helped create and teaches Learning How To Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects. This is the most popular online course in the world. She also wrote a book called A Mind For Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (Even If You Flunked Algebra). This book shares ideas from her famous online course.
Oakley has written articles about learning for big newspapers like The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
Contents
Her Early Life and Army Days
Barbara Oakley was born in Lodi, California, in 1955. Her dad was a bomber pilot in the US Army during World War II. Because of his job, Barbara moved around a lot as a kid. By the time she was in tenth grade, she had lived in ten different places!
After high school, Oakley joined the U.S. Army. The Army sent her to study at the University of Washington. There, she earned a degree in Slavic languages and literature. She also learned a lot of Russian at the Defense Language Institute. After her studies, Oakley worked as a signal officer in Germany for four years. She became a Captain before leaving the Army.
A New Path: Engineering
After her time in the Army, Oakley wanted to try something new. She wondered if her brain, which was used to languages, could learn math and science. So, she decided to study engineering. She wanted to understand the communication equipment she had used in the Army better.
In 1986, Oakley earned another degree, this time in electrical engineering, from the University of Washington. While studying, she worked as a Russian translator on Soviet fishing boats in the Bering Sea. She even wrote a book about her adventures there called Hair of the Dog: Tales from Aboard a Russian Trawler.
Later, Oakley worked as a radio operator at the South Pole Station in Antarctica. This is where she met her husband, Philip. They got married on February 1, 1984. They have four children: two daughters and two adopted sons who were refugees from Kosovo.
In 1989, Oakley moved to Detroit with her family. She worked for Ford for a short time. Then, she started studying at Oakland University while also working as a consultant. She earned a master's degree in electrical and computer engineering in 1995. She kept studying and received her Ph.D. in systems engineering in 1998.
Her Work as a Professor
After getting her Ph.D. in 1998, Barbara Oakley became an engineering professor at Oakland University. She still works in the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department there.
Professor Oakley studies many different things. These include how to teach science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) better. She also researches how people learn, how online courses work, and how empathy and kindness affect us.
The World's Most Popular Learning Course
Oakley worked with Professor Terry Sejnowski, a brain scientist, to create an online course called Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects. This course is offered on Coursera. It first started in 2014 and quickly became very popular. By June 2025, more than 4 million students had signed up for the course!
Books by Barbara Oakley
Professor Oakley has written many helpful books. Here are some of them:
- Uncommon Sense Teaching: Practical Insights in Brain Science to Help Students Learn, written with Beth Rogowsky and Terrence J. Sejnowski (2021).
- Learning How to Learn: How to Succeed in School Without Spending All Your Time Studying; A Guide for Kids and Teens, written with Terry Sejnowski and Alistair McConville (2018).
- Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential (2017).
- A Mind for Numbers, which became a New York Times best-selling science book (2014).
- Practicing Sustainability, which she edited with others (2012).
- ... Altruism, which she edited with others (2012).
- Cold-Blooded Kindness (2011).
- Career Development in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, which she edited with others (2008).
- ... Genes: Why Rome Fell, Hitler Rose, Enron Failed, and My Sister Stole My Mother's Boyfriend (2007).
- Hair of the Dog: Tales from Aboard a Russian Trawler (1996).
See also
In Spanish: Barbara Oakley para niños
