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