Barbara Oakley

American professor of engineering at Oakland University and McMaster University whose online courses on learning are some of the most popular massive open online course (MOOC) classes in the world. She is involved in multiple areas of research, ranging from STEM education, to learning practices.

Oakley co-created and taught "Learning How To Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects", the world's most popular online course. She also wrote a book, A Mind For Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (Even If You Flunked Algebra). This is a standalone book, though it companions the ideas presented in the MOOC. Oakley has authored op-ed articles about learning in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

Oakley spent a season as the radio operator at the South Pole Station in Antarctica. It was here that she met her husband-to-be, Philip Oakley. They married shortly afterwards on 1 February 1984. They have four children; two daughters, and two adopted sons who were previously refugees from Kosovo.