Product Description

The success you achieve in life depends on the knowledge you possess. But today, with vast amounts of information pouring in every minute from hundreds of sources, acquiring the knowledge you need has become a major challenge. Peak Learning presents a clear, practical, thorough program to help you learn anything better, easier, faster--and to help you master the skills of absorbing, retaining and using knowledge more effectively.
-Discover your own personal learning style--how and when you learn best.
-Master eight techniques to break through learning blocks.
-Learn how to enter the state of FLOW LEARNING, where your mind and body work together to enhance your learning skills.
-Tap into the vast resources of THE INVISIBLE UNIVERSITY--the global network of learning opportunities that surrounds you.
-Learn new brain-friendly memory and note-taking skills.
Peak Learning includes an interactive 32-page guidebook packed with specific exercises designed to help you make the most of this unique program.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #142402 in Books
• Published on: 1999-04-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780874779578
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
I was one of those people who was bored and restless through most of school. I found this book my sophomore year of college-and wished I'd had it years before. Peak Learning teaches self-directed learning. What that means is you learn at your own pace in the order and style that fits you. This book shows you how to identify and sharpen your learning style, and how to design your own learning projects. Applying these techniques put a whole new spin on college. It improved my regular courses, and inspired me to design an independent study program my senior year. Plus, it turned me on to a whole world of resources and people dedicated to learning as an everyday experience-way beyond any classroom desk. -- From The WomanSource Catalog & Review: Tools for Connecting the Community for Women; review by Susan Sato

About the Author
Ron Gross is the bestselling author of over 15 books, including Peak Learning and The Lifelong Learner. He co-chairs the University Seminar on Innovation at Columbia University and is president of Gross and Gross Associates, which serves the learning needs of leading corporations, universities, foundations, associations and government agencies.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
The idea of covering the subject was invented by teachers and those who supervise teachers as a way of measuring whether or not they were doing a complete job. It rarely has relevance for the individual adult learner. Moreover, in many subjects and skills, you can learn 80 percent of what you want or need to know in the first twenty hours of study.

Flow is that state in which learning and happiness are most completely merged....Flow happens in every activity. In sports, it's that moment of reaching the zone where your ability and performance excel....In dancing, painting, surgery, and even writing, there's a sense of control, a profound focus on what you're doing that leaves no room to worry about what anyone will think of your work.

Customer Reviews

A life-centering guide for lifelong learning.
For decades Ronald Gross has been bearing the torch for lifelong learning with unrelenting enthusiasm. I'll never forget many years ago discovering the first edition of his book, "The Independent Scholar's Handbook." It gave me the confidence I needed at the time to take self-education seriously. What I would have given to have had a book like "Peak Learning" when I began my journey of lifelong learning.

My philosophy of autodidactic learning is to think of an education not as something you get but as something you take. The new edition of "Peak Learning" shows you how to proceed on such a journey for yourself. Ronald Gross gives practical advice that seems like common sense, except that traditional education in America is far too focused on predetermined outcomes and spoon-fed knowledge. Many people who think themselves to be highly educated have little sense of their own strengths and learning styles. The result is a life of frustration and often a haunting feeling of inadequacy because they have never truly experienced the exhilaration of discovery based upon quenching their own thirst for knowledge.

In "Peak Learning," Ronald Gross shows you how to gain the kind of confidence that will allow you to take charge of your education and dramatically change your life. Highly recommended

A must-have text for the adult learner
This book is essential for any adult returning to school or to learning. Gross discusses the reasons for continuing our learning as well as the ways we can maximize our learning potential.

Gross begins be talking about the necessity and science of learning. At first, I thought this was not essential to book, but it does provide a rationale for learning as well as help the reader build confidence in his or her ability to learn as an adult. This had a positive effect on students in my class.

Throughout the book are many exercises readers can use to discover what kind of learners they are, such as top-down or bottom-up. This allows them to structure their study more effectively and to recognize the different pitfalls that could discourage them. Knowing that other people have the same fears and abilities can be emboldening.

I would highly recommend this to all adults. To keep up in this economy and workplace, you need to continue learning. This book can help you do this effectively.

Survive the Knowledge Age
The coming of the Knowledge Age requires us to learn how to learn. I have found few books that address this subject, though. As a learning professional in corporate America, I have discovered that even the most intelligent folks are sometimes inefficient or ineffective learners. Reading this book and applying its concepts is a great start if you truly want to become a lifelong learner.

There are oodles of theories of learning. Fortunately, Gross does a good job of synthesizing these into a simple, practical, and cohesive package that can be applied by anyone. His approach is amazingly holistic--he gives advice not only on conventional topics of learning (memory), but also on overcoming anxieties, creating a learning environment, and even preparing your body for learning. In addition, he steers the reader to extracting learning from experiences we generally take for granted, such as museums, bookstores, and zoos. He helps you see that learning is not just about sitting in class--it's something you do all the time.

Ellen Langer's Power of Mindful Learning (which I also highly recommend) touches on some of the same themes, such as gaining a learning mindset and breaking learning myths. The difference, however, is that Langer's book is a theoretical piece. Gross's book, on the other hand, has lots of practical activities that can immediately begin moving you moving along on the path to becoming a better learner. My toolbox is full of ideas now about how to help others learn how to learn.

If you want to thrive in the Knowledge Age, get this book and learn how to learn.