Science of Learning and Memory

9.00.1x Science of Learning and Memory is a short, self-paced MITx Online course from MIT's Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences about how the human brain learns, remembers and sometimes forgets. Its key topics are how we learn, through classical and operant conditioning; the stages of memory, covering how information is encoded, stored and retrieved; memory problems, including retrograde and anterograde amnesia; and memory systems, explaining how short-term, long-term and working memory interact. The course is interactive, with memory tests and activities that let you try the theories on yourself, and it is described as accessible to learners with or without a neuroscience background, with examples of how memory science applies to everyday life and careers. MIT estimates 3 weeks at 2 to 4 hours per week, and you can start at any time.

Auditing is free and includes access to the course and its materials. The certificate track, listed at $49 on the course page, adds graded assignments and exams and an MIT certificate on completion. For a full-length survey of psychology without a certificate, OpenCourseWare's 9.00SC Introduction to Psychology covers the wider field.