“I’ll Take 2, Thank You”

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Wednesday November 07, 2012 · 9:48 AM PST

2012/11/07 · 09:48

While watching debates, thinking about arguments for and against, and all that comes with pre-election media inundation in a presidential election year, I couldn’t help but think about “the marshmallow study.” If you haven’t seen the video popularized with the highly publicized release of Ellen Galinsky’s book “Mind in the Making” take a look now. The video illustrates an important developmental principle: “good things come to those who wait.” Yes, this falls under the heading of “grandma’s rule,” and I can hear the cynics out there saying “duh” under their breath, but the research behind this truism is still, nonetheless, startling and informative.

ericak

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Saturday July 21, 2012 · 2:11 PM PDT

2012/07/21 · 14:11

Teaching perspective taking to school aged children

Honestly, one of the things in life I’ve always hated most is being misunderstood. Though it is possible that a silver lining can emerge from a misunderstanding, usually, misunderstandings lead to misery, annoyance, animosity, friend-loss, or even missed opportunity. This is true no matter your age. As adults, we have the ability to stand back from awkward situations and take the perspective of the other side, and work towards reaching an understanding. And we coach our children to do the same. How many times have you heard yourself saying: “Imagine what she felt like, when the toy was taken away?” or “How would you feel, if someone grabbed a toy from you?”. As the words flow from your lips though, do you also find yourself questioning whether the child actually hears you, or even understands what you are asking of them? From the looks on my child’s face when she was 3 and even 4 years of age, I suspect that in the heat of the moment she didn’t get it. At five, I am seeing some glimmerings, but still not always in the heat of the moment. It’s usually after the fact, when we talk later.

The question on my mind, along these lines, is whether there are effective ways to teach young children to engage in perspective taking, to help them find that silver lining in heated moments of interpersonal awkwardness.

ericak

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Sunday March 18, 2012 · 5:25 PM PDT

2012/03/18 · 17:25

Labels on the Brain, Part 2: The Learning Styles Conundrum

I’m going to come right out and state my position: Curricular plans based on “Learning Styles” are nothing more than socially sanctioned systems of student-labeling, promoted in the name of progress. Though couched in positive, reformation terms, educational practices and policies reflective of learning styles are both costly and dangerous. This is an unpopular position, but one with support. Since school districts spend money on assessment and training – lots of money – this position needs to be considered and explained. That’s what I am doing here.

I laid the foundation for this claim in Part 1: Labels on the Brain. Here’s a recap:

1.    The human brain is both deeply complex and refreshingly simple. All networks operate in the same way as we perceive elements of the environment and relate what we experience to what we know. This process gives rise to schemas, which create labels. It’s part of the human condition.
2.    Labels direct action, shaping relationships and patterns of interaction between learners and their teachers.

3.    When students are labeled, the neural networks that result shape their mindsets in a “fixed” manner that hinders learning. However, when knowledge is labeled, lasting and meaningful academic growth can occur, in no large part because the resultant achievement mindset reflects growth, not limitations.

When teachers regularly use knowledge-labels to activate and enhance schemas, they enable higher-level thinking, creativity, and problem solving – the very things we want to nurture in our youth. To promote these skills, we owe it to students to follow best practices so we do more good than harm, as we aim to shape the leaders, workers, parents, and teachers of tomorrow. This is the heart of the learning styles conundrum. Read More

Labels on the brain

ericak

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Sunday February 26, 2012 · 2:18 PM PST

2012/02/26 · 14:18

Or, alternatively, “This is your brain, on labels”

We love labels: they make things easy.

We love labels for what they do well -- they make things easy for us. Labels are a product of the way our minds work – in fact, this process may be one of our brains greatest feats. Our brain circuitry pattern-matches like nobody’s business; doing so affords a necessary level of simplicity in an otherwise overly complex world. We are bombarded with a veritable cacophony of stimulation every waking moment: sights, sounds and smells proliferate everywhere we turn. Our brains protect us from “overwhelm” by blending sensations together, narrowing our focus to attend to some things and not others, and by categorizing these experiences. We couldn’t get along without doing this, but there is a dark side to the process. The process – both its light and dark sides – is what this post is about.
Here’s how it works: You scan a label and “know” what’s inside:
• “blogger”
• “feminist”
• “democrat”
• “professor”
• “bed-in-a-bag”
• “dark roast”

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“I’ll Take 2, Thank You”

Looking for the Silver Lining

Labeling in the Name of Progress

Labels on the brain