Thursday 26 April 2007
Stress Manager
The latest anecdote to be added to our Gold Membership Area - 'Stress Manager' - is ideal for using as an 'interest getter' in a stress management course.
Wednesday 25 April 2007
Rebel Foot (draft)
While sitting where you are at your desk in front of your computer, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles.
NOW, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with you right hand...
Your foot will change direction!.
There's nothing you can do about it!.
I told you that you can't outsmart your foot!!!
Accelerated Learning (draft)
I am working on an article about accelerated learning — see draft below — so I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has any experiences or opinions on this technique.
[I'll be writing an introduction to be inserted here]
I had some reservations about using accelerated learning techniques until I used it to help teach a dozen theories of motivation and leadership.
The lesson included a videotape which described all 12 theories in 40 minutes, obviously too much to take in at one go. I had already split up the tape with discussions about the theories and I also had 'stills' from the video on display. Despite this it was still apparent that the students had little confidence that they could remember the theories. I decided it might be worthwhile using the 'catch ball' technique.
Instead of using 'pose then pounce' or 'pounce then pose' techniques, I tried asking the question as I threw the ball to a student ('throw and pose' technique). Throwing the ball is not a gimmick: the idea is to distract the student's conscious attention so that the answer can surface from the subconscious. Suitable balls for this exercise are either sponge balls or balls that have been constructed from strands of rubber in the fashion of a pompom.
After showing the video I called a coffee break to allow the students to relax and to give some time for assimilation. When they returned I named one of the theories and threw the ball to one of the students. Immediately the student explained what the theory meant. The ball was thrown from student to student, each student explaining one theory and naming another. To our amazement all the theories were accurately recalled. [I will also be describing how music was used in this experiment.]
Some of the techniques described above were first developed in 1956 at the University of Sofia by the Bulgarian psychologist Dr Georgi Lozanov. Colin Rose developed many of the Accelerated Learning techniques and pioneered how to apply the method for students, teachers and language learners.
However the method is certainly not the work of just one person. Dozens of universities, research psychologists and professional educators have contributed to produce this unique way of learning and presenting new information.
The techniques, for example, incorporate the work of Dr Howard Gardner of Harvard University on Multiple Intelligences (see his book Multiple Intelligences), of Arthur Costa from UCLA and others on learning styles and of Nobel prize winners Roger Sperry and Robert Ornstein on the brain.
What Colin Rose has done is to synthesise the work of over 100 key educational researchers and create a simple model of learning that makes effective learning a skill within the reach of everyone.
Colin Rose's book Accelerated Learning describes these techniques in more detail.
[I'll be writing an introduction to be inserted here]
I had some reservations about using accelerated learning techniques until I used it to help teach a dozen theories of motivation and leadership.
The lesson included a videotape which described all 12 theories in 40 minutes, obviously too much to take in at one go. I had already split up the tape with discussions about the theories and I also had 'stills' from the video on display. Despite this it was still apparent that the students had little confidence that they could remember the theories. I decided it might be worthwhile using the 'catch ball' technique.
Instead of using 'pose then pounce' or 'pounce then pose' techniques, I tried asking the question as I threw the ball to a student ('throw and pose' technique). Throwing the ball is not a gimmick: the idea is to distract the student's conscious attention so that the answer can surface from the subconscious. Suitable balls for this exercise are either sponge balls or balls that have been constructed from strands of rubber in the fashion of a pompom.
After showing the video I called a coffee break to allow the students to relax and to give some time for assimilation. When they returned I named one of the theories and threw the ball to one of the students. Immediately the student explained what the theory meant. The ball was thrown from student to student, each student explaining one theory and naming another. To our amazement all the theories were accurately recalled. [I will also be describing how music was used in this experiment.]
Some of the techniques described above were first developed in 1956 at the University of Sofia by the Bulgarian psychologist Dr Georgi Lozanov. Colin Rose developed many of the Accelerated Learning techniques and pioneered how to apply the method for students, teachers and language learners.
However the method is certainly not the work of just one person. Dozens of universities, research psychologists and professional educators have contributed to produce this unique way of learning and presenting new information.
The techniques, for example, incorporate the work of Dr Howard Gardner of Harvard University on Multiple Intelligences (see his book Multiple Intelligences), of Arthur Costa from UCLA and others on learning styles and of Nobel prize winners Roger Sperry and Robert Ornstein on the brain.
What Colin Rose has done is to synthesise the work of over 100 key educational researchers and create a simple model of learning that makes effective learning a skill within the reach of everyone.
Colin Rose's book Accelerated Learning describes these techniques in more detail.
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