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"Not Yet" mindset: Increasing motivation and perseverance
Posted on November 5, 2016 at 9:52 PM |
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A couple of weeks ago, I saw a TED talk by Dr. Carol Dweck on the "power of not yet." She describes that a "not yet" mindset encourages students to approach novel and complex tasks with enthusiasm and grit. Her research was inspired by a high school in Chicago that was giving out scores of "not yet" to students who had not passed a course. A "not yet" score implies there is a learning curve and the person just has not reached it yet, rather than the negative connotations of a fail such as "I'm nothing. I'm nowhere." In Dweck's early research, she observed that when 10 year old students were given problems that were slightly too hard for them, those who reacted positively made statements such as "I love a challenge," or "I was hoping this would be informative." Those children understood that their "abilities could be developed," stayed engaged, and hence had a growth mindset. Such children process errors, learn from it, and correct it. Students who feel negatively--that it's tragic, catastrophic, their intelligence is up for judgment & they have failed, disengage. She advises parents and teachers (1) to praise students for their efforts, strategies, focus, and perseverance rather than intelligence or talent. She describes that when her and scientists from the University of Washington teamed up to create a new online math game that rewarded effort, strategy, and progress rather than the typical game that rewards only the right answer, they got more effort, perseverance, engagement over longer periods of time, and strategies, on really difficult problems. Second, she advises (2) that just utilizing words "yet" or "not yet," give students a confidence booth and increases persistence. To watch or read the TED Talk this is the link: https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve?language=en |
The Early Bird Catches the Worm
Posted on August 6, 2012 at 6:48 PM |
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The Early Bird Catches the Worm Do you ever arrive to appointments early, or finish
projects, deadlines, assignments ahead of time? If not, why not? When I was in graduate school, I decided to complete all my
reading assignments several days prior to their due date. This allowed me to
enjoy my week without having the readings hanging over my head and it also meant
I did not feel scrambled and pressured the night before. Thus, I was able to enjoy
what I was reading and also had time to organize my thoughts. I would usually review
highlighted material the night before the class. TIP #1 SET EARLIER
DEADLINES Set a deadline that is earlier than when your project is
due. TIP #2 PLAN TO ARRIVE
AT LEAST 15 MINUTES EARLY Many people plan on being exactly on time which can often
lead to being late since life has a tendency to happen. You may forget your
keys, get caught in unusually bad traffic or their might be an accident on the
freeway, etc. If you plan to be 15
minutes early, that will usually be enough time for you to be on time. ….OR ARRIVE EVEN EARLIER… If you arrive even
earlier, take the extra time to enjoy your surroundings, relax, take a short
walk, grab a coffee, appreciate nature, review your notes… Some of you are probably thinking this is not possible. You are
just way too busy. If you are always busy, you may want to consider
decluttering your schedule or getting curious about why you need your life to
be so busy. (Also, you can check out this article http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/30/the-busy-trap/
) TIP # 3 GET UP 30
MINUTES EARLIER Wake up earlier and give yourself time to enjoy your
morning. But also give yourself enough time for sleep. Sometimes people
underestimate how much time they will need in the mornings and find themselves eating
breakfast as they are running out the door. If you are always feeling rushed,
that is something to notice as it probably prevents you from enjoying day to
day moments… TIP # 4 SAY NO TO
DISTRACTIONS Once you have made a commitment to finish something early,
other fun tasks may present themselves and sometimes it may be a well needed
break. However, if you find yourself consistently saying yes to distractions,
then you may be avoiding/procrastinating. TIP # 5 ENGAGE IN
SELF-CARE Make sure you get some time to take-care of yourself to prevent
burn-out. You will be more productive if you are feeling emotionally satisfied.
TIP # 6 OVERESTIMATE
HOW MUCH TIME YOU WILL NEED Sometimes people underestimate how much time a task will
take to be completed and again are left feeling stressed and pressured. So plan
ahead and leave some cushion time. |
4 Easy Time Management Tips
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 4:53 AM |
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4 Easy Time Management
Tips A. Planning *At the beginning of each week, take 15-30 minutes to plan
your week. *Also,create a to-do list each morning.
B. Learn to
say NO! * Most people over commit. This often leads to feelings that
drain energy. C. Get Rid of Bad Habits * Make a list of habits that are wasting your time and then
work on removing them from your life one bad habit at a time. D. Create Me Time! * Plan pleasurable activities and time for rest. No matter
how busy you are, make the most of what little “you-time” you have—be present
to the moment and remember to play! Yasi |
Test Taking & Managing Anxiety
Posted on April 6, 2011 at 1:08 AM |
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Test Taking
and Managing Anxiety A certain level of anxiety is helpful as it inspires one to take action
and study. However, too much anxiety can lead to avoidance behavior as one may procrastinate,
or it may cause one too freeze during test time. This can lead to going “blank”
during the test—all of a sudden your forget everything, perhaps you lose your
ability to focus, your heart starts beating faster, and you become more panicked
and flustered. You may find that you run out of time or are unable to complete
problems you have already studied. So, how can you cope with test anxiety? 1. Adequate preparation.
~~>Study a little bit every day. Sometimes getting started is the
hardest part, so commit to 15 minutes
a day. You may find that once you get started, you will go over the 15
minutes. ~~>Try
to see the bigger picture.
Often, titles and highlighted words can key you into the big picture. Make connections
to previous readings or notes. ~~> Create 5-7 key words that
represent the material you learned and be able to verbally elaborate on each word/concept.
2. Be kind to yourself.
~~> Practice deep
breathing. Individuals tend to breathe shallowly or even hold their
breath when feeling anxious. Sometimes they are not even aware of it.
Shallow breathing limits your oxygen intake and adds more stress to your
body, creating a vicious cycle. Breathing exercises can break this cycle. Set
15 minutes to practice breathing. You may be surprised how energizing or
relaxing this could be. If you dismiss this suggestion, just notice and get
curious about why. Exercise 1 ~~> 1. Sit up straight and allow your feet
to touch the ground. 2. Place one hand on your diaphragm and the other on your
chest. 3. Take in a deep breathe in through your nose and exhale slowly
though your mouth. 4. Inhale and exhale on a count of 5 and overtime try to work your way up to a count of 8. 5. Your hand should move out as your inhale
and the hand on your chest should stay relatively still. 6. If you lose your
concentration, just come back to your breath. 7. Do this for 15 minutes. 8. Notice your experience. Notice if this helps you feel more relaxed or nervous. If you become more anxious, notice where your mind went. Notice why an exercise that was meant to relax was anxiety provoking. Did you have judgements? Was it too boring? Waste of time? Just notice and keep practicing. Try this
in the now or tomorrow morning! Exercise 2 ~~> 1. Cover your right
nostril with your thumb and inhale through the left. 2. With your index finger cover your left
nostril and exhale through your right. 3. Then switch sides. 4.Practice this for at
least 5 minutes. Try this now!
* Stop, breathe,
smile, and go slowly! Yasi
Shamtoub, M.A. |
5 Study Tips for Math (Part 2)
Posted on January 20, 2011 at 1:26 AM |
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1.Distinguishing similarities vs. Differences Go over the titles of each lesson
and be able to distinguish how they are different and similar. *How was
yesterdays homework lesson different than today? *What is the
difference between problems in each subsection of your homework? * How is this
chapter related to and different from the previous chapter? 2. Be able to explain these differences. *Explain what the difference is out
loud. This helps to organize
what you have learned. Perhaps you are more visual. *Break problems down into steps and
in your own words describe what you did at each step. Color code steps. 3. Representative Problems After you complete your homework, pick
out a problem that is representative of each subsection and be able to explain
how to do it. Again, explain what steps you took and distinguish how this
problem is different or similar to other problems in the section. 4. Homework Do all your homework problems. *Don’t skip a problem because it is
too easy or overlook it when studying for a test. Sometimes we think we
understand or know the problem and at test time we go blank. We go blank because
we don’t have experience doing the problem. The problem is familiar but we cant
generate how to do it. 5. Review for the Test *Don’t wait till the last minute as
this may be overwhelming. *However, do review everything the
night before the test. If you have time,
review the day of or right before the test. This helps to activate the material
in your short term memory and is also called the recency effect. *Do practice problems, especially
problems that you find challenging. *Also, review problems that are representative
of each section. Yasi Shamtoub, M.A., Ph.D. Cand. |
11 Study Tips for Math (Part 1)
Posted on January 19, 2011 at 3:58 AM |
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Study Tips for Math:
Yasi Shamtoub, M.A. |
Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic Learners
Posted on January 19, 2011 at 3:36 AM |
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Individuals differ in their learning styles. Below you will
find descriptions of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners. However,
remember that they are just categories and things are not always so cut and
dry. Individuals can have a predominant learning style and yet display
characteristics of the other learning styles. Your learning style may be the single most important key to improving your grades. Students learn in many ways, like seeing, hearing, and experiencing
things first hand. But for most students, one of these methods stands
out. Why is this important? Research has shown that students can perform
better on tests if they change study habits to fit their own personal
learning styles. For example, visual-learning students will sometimes struggle during essay exams, because they can't recall test material that was "heard" in a lecture. However, if the visual learner uses a visual aid when studying, like
a colorful outline of test materials, he or she may retain more
information. For this type of learner, visual tools improve the ability
to recall information more completely. A simple explanation of learning styles is this: Some students
remember best materials they've seen, some remember things they've
heard, while others remember things they've experienced. Visual Learner Characteristics Visual learners are those who learn through seeing things. Look over
the characteristics below to see if they sound familiar. A visual
learner:
Learning Suggestions for Visual Learners
Best Test Type for Visual Learners: Diagramming, reading maps, essays (if you've studied using an outline), showing a process Worst test type: Listen and respond tests Auditory Learner Characteristics Auditory learners are
those who learn best through hearing things. Look over these traits to
see if they sound familiar to you. You may be an auditory learner if
you are someone who:
Auditory Learners Can Benefit from:
Worst test type: Reading passages and writing answers about them in a timed test. Best test type: Auditory Learners are good at writing responses to lectures they've heard. They're also good at oral exams. Kinesthetic Learner Characteristics Kinesthetic learners
are those who learn through experiencing/doing things. Look over these
traits to see if they sound familiar to you. You may be a kinesthetic
learner if you are someone who:
Kinesthetic Learners Can Benefit from:
Worst Test Type: Long tests, essays. Best Test Type: Short definitions, fill-ins, multiple choice. |
Quotes on Why Children Need Play
Posted on December 4, 2010 at 7:16 PM |
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5 Healthy Ways to Improve Learning...
Posted on December 1, 2010 at 4:11 AM |
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How to Improve Memory
Posted on November 27, 2010 at 4:44 PM |
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How to Improve Memory Once something is encoded into memory, the memory remains stored. The problem is not that the memory is gone, but that the connection or retrieval path cannot be accessed. Think of memory as a city. The more routes and modes of transportation you have to this city, the easier it is to access this place. Once you have traveled this route, you are less likely to get lost on subsequent trips and no longer need to rely on directions and a map, especially regarding trips you have made recently and frequently. The city doesn't disappear! So the question becomes how can one learn information in a way that strengthens retrieval paths both in the short and long run.
E.g. Let’s say that I am at a party and someone introduces herself to me. Her name is Jasmine. I need to be attentive to learn this new information. If I am not attentive the information perhaps will not encode. Perhaps I am paying enough attention for it to encode but do not manipulate the information in any way. Thus, I cannot access her name from memory but when she restates her name, I experience an “oh yah” moment. If I repeat her name in my head a few times, I will be more likely to remember her name, especially if I space the repetitions. What I mean by spacing is the amount of time that passes before I repeat her name again. If I retrieve/generate her name after 10 minutes, I had to work harder to retrieve that information than if I allow 2 minutes to pass. Perhaps when I first meet her, I try to connect the information with other information I already know. For instance, I know Jasmine means flower and this person also happens to look like Princess Jasmine from the Disney cartoon Aladdin. Now I have connected this information to two other networks, which will also make the retrieval path stronger. E.g. I am studying for a history exam. I am reading the chapter. When I am reading the information, I need to pay attention to it in order to encode it. After each paragraph, I might verbally summarize what I read. If I summarize from memory, I am generating the information, as well as repeating and organizing it. I may connect the information to a previous section or chapter thus increasing connections to other networks and forming multiple retrieval paths. After I read the whole chapter, I might try to generate the information I read from memory. I may do this an hour later, five hours later, and two days later. Thus, I have not only had multiple repetitions, but I have also had experience generating the information. However, if it is multiple choice test I may only need to recognize and be familiar with the information and multiple generations may not be useful or efficient. For an essay test, I would need to generate the information and thus multiple generations over time may be more useful. Yasi Shamtoub, M.A. |
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