MIS 417
INNOVATION&KNOWLEDGE
MANAGEMENT
WEEK 2:
LEARNING
ELIFE OZER, PhD
CONTENT
- Learning
- Differences in individual learning
- Learning to learn
- Procrastination
INTELLIGENCE OR
DETERMINATION ?
«It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that
I stay with problems longer.»
Albert Einstein
KNOW ONESELF
Think of yourself and try to identify your learning
abilities.
Take 2 minutes to think and write down on piece of
paper:
1.How would you describe yourself as a student ?
2.Which methods help you learn better ?
LEARNING DEFINITION
«The acquisition of knowledge or skills through
study, experience, or being taught.»
LEARNING STRATEGIES-THE
LEARNING PYRAMID
(NATIONAL TRAINING LABORATORIES)
LEARNING AND EDUCATION
In the beginning of the 20th century, education focused on the acquisition of
literacy skills: simple reading, writing, and calculating.
It was not the general rule for educational systems to train people to think and
read critically, to express themselves clearly and persuasively, to solve complex
problems in science and mathematics.
Students often have limited opportunities to understand or make sense of topics
because many curricula have emphasized memory rather than understanding.
Textbooks are filled with facts that students are expected to memorize, and
most tests assess students’ abilities to remember the facts.
LEARNING AND KNOWING
Information and knowledge are growing at a far more rapid rate
than ever before in the history of humankind.
As Nobel laureate Herbert Simon wisely stated, the meaning of
“knowing” has shifted from being able to remember and repeat
information to being able to find and use it (Simon,1996).
Neuroscience is beginning to provide evidence for many principles
of learning that have emerged from laboratory research, and it is
showing how learning changes the physical structure of the brain
and, with it, the functional organization of the brain.
THE JOY OF LEARNING
Think of a subject you are passionate
about;
Think about your learning process
How did you practice ?
How much time did you spend on it?
GROUP DISCUSSION
Create a small group (min. 3 persons)
Discuss about the following two topics:
1. What are learning habits of your generation? (good and bad habits)
2. The education policies of the Government. What are the wrong
policies and what could be done to make it better?
LEARNING HOW TO LEARN
Work of Barbara Oakley Ph.D., Oakland University
Book: «A mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math
and Science»
Online course: Learning How to Learn
FOCUSED VS. DIFFUSE MODE
There are two fundamentally different ways of
thinking;
(1) Focused mode
(2) Diffuse mode
FOCUSED AND DIFFUSE MODES
OF THINKING
WORKING MEMORY AND
LONG-TERM MEMORY
Our memories have two primary components:
Working memory : the part of the brain you use for immediate use.
In other words, short time memory.
Learning something new, meeting someone for the first time…
Long-term memory: the storage of information over an extended
period. The storage capacity is immense
❑Spaced repetition
❑Time for structure
PROCRASTINATION
«The action of delaying or postponing
something.»
Are you a procrastinator ?
What do you usually postpone doing?
Why do you think people generally
procrastinate?
How could you deal with procrastinating?
PROCRASTINATION
We usually procrastinate about things that make us feel
uncomfortable …
For example: Medical imaging studies have shown that
mathphobes, appear to avoid math because even just thinking about
it seems to hurt. The pain centre of their brains light up when they
imagine themselves working on maths.
There is something important to note: It was the
anticipation (waiting) that was painful!
When the mathphobes actually did Maths, the
pain disappeared!
PROCRASTINATION
Experts explain « the dread of doing a task uses up
more time and energy than doing the task itself »
Avoiding something painful seems sensible. But
sadly, the long-term effects of habitual avoidance can
be nasty.
Procrastination is a habit that influences many
important areas of our lives.
So, how can we change it ?
DEALING WITH
PROCRASTINATION
Your brain lights up with pain when
you simply think about whatever it
is you prefer to avoid and that pain
goes away when you actually do it !
Procrastination is like an addiction!!
It gives a temporary hit of feeling
good but it might have devastating
long-term consequences.
Focus on the process not product.
Practice makes things permanent.
Try the pomodoro technique!
A time management technique
developed by Francesco Cirillo
in 1980s.
…
THE POMODORO TECHNIQUE
AN OPPOSITE IDEA !
An opposite idea about procrastination: Can original thinkers be
procrastinators?
Watch : TED TALK => The surprising habits of original thinkers |
Adam Grant (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxbCHn6gE3U )
ORIGINAL THINKERS – ADAM
GRANT
Organizational psychologist Adam Grant says procrastinating makes you
more creative! (The procrastinators’ ideas were rated as 28% more
creative.)
Many of those people, he found, procrastinated to some degree before
coming up with their most original ideas.
«procrastination gives you time to consider divergent ideas, to think in
nonlinear ways, to make unexpected leaps.»
Procrastinating doesn't work in all cases. If you really wait until the last
minute to do something, you'll probably find yourself scrambling to cobble
something together haphazardly. The work won't be creative; it'll be
desperate.
HOW TO BECOME A BETTER
LEARNER
A few suggestions;
Get to know your brain
New neurons can be born every day but they will die if you don’t use
them
Physical exercise (more effective than any drugs)
Long-process practice (just like building muscles)
Get a good sleep
Learning to learn is a skill that can be improved. Work on it! …
HOMEWORK
Try to identify the major distractions or habits that affect your
academic success in negative and positive ways ( you may even
try a SWOT analysis).
Give a try to the Pomodoro Technique !
REFERENCES
Oakley, B. A. (2014). A mind for numbers: How to excel at math and science (even if you
flunked algebra). TarcherPerigree.
http://www.cs.uni.edu/~jacobson/1025/16/f/MindForNumbers.pdf
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/04/education/edlife/learning-how-to-learn-barbara-oakle
y.html
https://www.extension.harvard.edu/professional-development/blog/perks-procrastination
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