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In their lively and entertaining weekly discussion of issues related to higher education, KUT’s Jennifer Stayton and Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger explore the topics of higher education, lifelong learning, and exercising the brain. Ed and Jennifer practice what they preach, too, by introducing math puzzlers and brain teasers to keep listeners on their toes.

Higher Ed: Learning to 'Unlearn'

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Learning.... it's what we all go to school for, right? Well, have you ever thought about what we're actually doing when we learn? Sometimes, it's just memorizing names, dates, or facts that we can reproduce on a test. We might ace the test, but have we really learned anything?

In this week's episode of KUT's podcast Higher Ed, Jennifer Stayton and Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger discuss the important role "unlearning" plays in learning. What exactly is "unlearning?" Listen on to find out!

This week, Ed and Jennifer talk about something that may seem counter-intuitive to those in higher ed and all lifelong learners: the idea of "unlearning" old habits that don't really bring meaning and substance to what we learn. Is it ok to toss out some of those old ideas about what it means to learn, and take a new approach? Absolutely! If that concept isn't already keeping your brain busy enough, check out the newest math puzzler. This one has it all: math, geometry, games, and even some dominoes!

This episode was taped on February 23, 2015.

Jennifer Stayton is the local host for NPR's "Morning Edition" on KUT. Got a tip? Email her at jstayton@kut.org. Follow her on X @jenstayton.