Memory
- Kandel, Eric R., In Search of Memory: the emergence of a new science of mind. 2006.
- Great book with 487 pages.
Perception
Anything by Oliver Sachs like Musicophilia or The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. Amazing insights from a clinical psychologist who writes about remarkably surprising psychological insights.
Consciousness
- Eagleman, David. Incognito: The secret lives of the brain. 2011.
- “Your mind is an elaborate trick, and mastermind David Eagleman explains how the trick works with great lucidity and amazement. Your mind with thank you,” ~ Kevin Kelly. 224 pages.
Motivation
- Csikszentmihalyi, Mihalyi, Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. 1990.
- The original book and theorist about “Flow”. 240 pages. Actually, any book my Csikszentmihalyi such as his book on creativity or on adolescence.
- Pink, Daniel. Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. 2011.
- Not a researcher, but an interesting writer and fast read on intrinsic motivation. 288 pages.
Mind (multiple topics)
Medina, John. Brain Rules: 12 rules for surviving and thriving at work, home, and school. 2014 (updated edition). You may also be interested in Medina’s “Brain Rules for Baby” and “Brain Rules for Aging.”
- Grandin, Temple, Thinking In Pictures: My life with autism. 1995.
- Eye-opening story will change the way you think about thinking. 243 pages.
School (more practical, less brain-focused)
- Khan, Salman. The One World Schoolhouse: Education Reimagined. 2012.
- Sal Khan is the creator of Khan Academy and talks about how he stumbled into a new career and life that addressed his ideals in a way that his hedge fund work could never approach. NOTE: This is a required text in TLT 472, so you may want to read something else if you will take TLT 472 (Online Teaching & Learning).
- Robinson, Sir Ken. Creative Schools: The Grassroots Revolution That’s Transforming Education. 2015.
- If you haven’t encountered Sir Ken Robinson, READ THIS (or any of his other books)! He was knighted by the Queen of England for his contributions to innovating British education through the arts. He has one of the strongest voices (and best writing and speaking) that is arguing for innovation in education. He won’t tell you how to create your own, but he will tell you why it’s important and how to think about learning. (his books tend to be short and fun to read)
- Stephen Rosslyn, Ben Nelson, and others. Building the Intentional University: Minerva and the Future of Higher Education. 2018.
- This book covers how to create an innovative university, from scratch! If you’re interested in higher education, this is your book. You can’t do it as a lone entrepreneur, but it does show how to build a world-class team and overcome the obstacles of bureaucracy, regulation, and tradition.
ANY of Stephen Pinker‘s books on the brain or language. He’s a highly-respected researcher, especially on language.
ANY of Stanislas Dehaene‘s books like Reading in the Brain or The Number Sense: How the Brain Creates Mathematics.
Diane Ravitch, The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How testing and choice are undermining education. Ravich is an education historian who was instrumental in the start of No Child Left Behind. Her main perspective is on the negative effects of No Child Left Behind she discovered as it was implemented and studied.
Gerald Bracey, On the Death of Childhood and the Destruction of Public Schools. Bracey is probably the most respected education statistician. He bases his ideas on deep experience and empirical data.