Researchers have long been searching for better ways to learn. In recent decades, experts working in cognitive science, psychology, and neuroscience have opened new windows into how the brain works, and how we can learn to learn better. On this episode of American RadioWorks: a look at some of the big ideas coming out of brain science. 

Over the next month, American RadioWorks will explore the changing face of education in the United States. "The Science Of Smart" is part of a new four-part series from the acclaimed documentary unit of American Public Media. Meet the researchers who are unlocking the secrets of how the brain acquires and holds on to knowledge. And hear from the teachers and students who are trying to apply that knowledge in the real world.

We'll head to Toronto to meet one of the world's leading experts on bilingualism and the brain. Then it's on to Utah where schoolchildren are learning to speak Chinese in a statewide effort to boost overall school success. Next: UCLA researchers explain how looking at motor skills affects how we learn and remember. The American RadioWorks crew wraps up in Georgia, tagging along with a medical student who is using brain research to change how he studies -- and changing his Ds into As in the process.

Airs Saturday, August 23 at 6am on 93.9 FM and 2pm on AM 820; Airs Sunday, August 24 at 7am on AM 820 and 8pm on AM 820

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