Mental Models: How understanding the mind can transform the way you work and learn
On sale
20th May 2025
Price: £16
What if you could unlock the science of effective thinking and harness your mental processes for greater success at work and in life? Join two experts in the field of applied cognitive science as they reveal the hidden mechanisms behind our thoughts and actions.
Beginning with the fundamental question of what makes some individuals excel in areas where others falter, this book explores how our mental frameworks – shaped by experience, knowledge, and the intricate workings of the mind – directly impact our effectiveness in everyday situations. From delivering a compelling presentation to leading a team through a challenging project, our cognitive models dictate our outcomes more than we realize.
Drawing on the latest research in cognition and learning, Dr. Jim Heal and Dr. Rebekah Berlin provide a roadmap for refining the mental models that shape our daily decisions. Along the way, we’ll explore essential concepts of the mind like effective learning processes, the structure of memory, and how to manage cognitive load. With each chapter, you’ll gain practical strategies to enhance your thinking, improve your communication and better understand the complexities of human interaction.
Whether you’re an educator, a manager, or a leader, Mental Models will equip you with the tools to elevate your effectiveness and unlock new opportunities for growth. Step beyond conventional wisdom and discover how a deeper understanding of your mind can transform your life.
Beginning with the fundamental question of what makes some individuals excel in areas where others falter, this book explores how our mental frameworks – shaped by experience, knowledge, and the intricate workings of the mind – directly impact our effectiveness in everyday situations. From delivering a compelling presentation to leading a team through a challenging project, our cognitive models dictate our outcomes more than we realize.
Drawing on the latest research in cognition and learning, Dr. Jim Heal and Dr. Rebekah Berlin provide a roadmap for refining the mental models that shape our daily decisions. Along the way, we’ll explore essential concepts of the mind like effective learning processes, the structure of memory, and how to manage cognitive load. With each chapter, you’ll gain practical strategies to enhance your thinking, improve your communication and better understand the complexities of human interaction.
Whether you’re an educator, a manager, or a leader, Mental Models will equip you with the tools to elevate your effectiveness and unlock new opportunities for growth. Step beyond conventional wisdom and discover how a deeper understanding of your mind can transform your life.
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Reviews
Finally a book that clearly discusses mental models, what they are, and why they're important for teaching and learning. This book is a perfect combination of good science and what good science means for good learning. Heal and Berlin have an uncanny ability to make the most difficult concepts easy to understand. Their use of examples and analogies (two very powerful instructional techniques) serve as a 'hook' to capture your interest, as a 'facilitator' to make even the most difficult concepts easy to understand, and as an 'anchor' to help you to remember. A must for all teachers, educators, and trainers!
Mental Models brilliantly bridges the gap between research and real-world application, offering an accessible and actionable guide to how we think and learn. Heal and Berlin translate cognitive science into practical strategies that anyone-educators, leaders, and professionals-can use to improve understanding, communication, and decision-making. A must-read for those looking to harness the power of the mind to drive meaningful impact.
Understanding how the mind works transforms human performance, and Mental Models is the brilliant blueprint for that understanding. This book manages to take a complex, scientific understanding of the mind and plugs it into real-life examples that are at once practical, powerful, and essential to how we all learn. I don't know how else to say it: life-changing ideas are inside.
The mental model is one of the most important concepts in teaching and learning. Experts understand ideas and make decisions quickly and effectively because they have a rich mental model-a blueprint in their mind of how a concept is supposed to look or work and why. But the critical question of how powerful mental models can be developed in learners is also poorly understood. This tremendously powerful book removes the mystery, providing practical steps educators can follow to understand mental models and help construct them optimally in the minds of learners. It is an exceptional contribution to the growing literature describing how cognitive science can and should inform learning.