Barbara Oakley about

Professor Barbara Oakley

Adjunct Senior Fellow

Barbara Oakley, Ph.D., PE is a Professor of Engineering at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan; Michigan’s Distinguished Professor of the Year; and Coursera’s inaugural “Innovation Instructor.” Her work focuses on the complex relationship between neuroscience and social behavior. Dr. Oakley’s research has been described as “revolutionary” in the Wall Street Journal. She is a New York Times best-selling author who has published in outlets as varied as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. She has won numerous teaching awards, including the American Society of Engineering Education’s Chester F. Carlson Award for technical innovation in engineering education. Together with Terrence Sejnowski, the Francis Crick Professor at the Salk Institute, she co-teaches Coursera – UC San Diego’s “Learning How to Learn,” one of the world’s most popular massive open online courses with over three million registered students, along with a number of other leading MOOCs.

Dr. Oakley has adventured widely throughout her lifetime. She rose from the ranks of Private to Captain in the U.S. Army, during which time she was recognized as a Distinguished Military Scholar. She also worked as a communications expert at the South Pole Station in Antarctica and has served as a Russian translator on board Soviet trawlers on the Bering Sea. Dr. Oakley is an elected Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.

Recent Work

2024 06 21 AI in education website

Podcast: AI in Education: Navigating the opportunities and risks

This podcast episode is from our recent AI in education webinar where Michael presents his report on generative AI in education, emphasising its potential as a supportive tool while cautioning against replacing traditional learning methods. Prof Barbara Oakley joins as a special guest to provide expert commentary on the cognitive science aspects. Read more

Dr Oliver Hartwich
Dr Michael Johnston
Professor Barbara Oakley
21 June, 2024
Thumbnail AI In Education webinar v2

Webinar: AI in Education: Navigating the opportunities and risks

The New Zealand Initiative's Executive Director Oliver Hartwich interviews Senior Fellow Michael Johnston about his report Welcome to the Machine: The opportunities and risks of generative Artificial Intelligence for Education. Special guest Professor Barbara Oakley also joins their discussion. Read more

Dr Oliver Hartwich
Dr Michael Johnston
Professor Barbara Oakley
Webinar
20 June, 2024

Stay in the loop: Subscribe to updates