Learning – Page 3

Be Mindful of Study

April 15, 2013 By Nicole Feledy

How often do you find your attention wandering? Do you sit in class, gazing out the window? Do you find yourself contemplating the posters on the walls or staring mindlessly into empty space? What if I said you can use this habit to your advantage?

Daniel Goleman recently wrote about distraction in the workplace. I suggest you read his article here, it explains why diversions and “partial attention” hamper your ability to achieve. Goleman also provides a simple exercise to help you concentrate.

Even though Goleman is talking about the working world, it’s easy to see the same problems occurring inside the classroom. It is even easier to recognise the benefits of being attentive in class. This is a skill that can be transferred. In other words, being mindful is a skill students learn in school that has direct implication for success outside school.

Regular readers will know I am a passionate believer in the power of meditation and mindfulness. The more you understand about yourself, your motivations, your emotions and the thoughts beneath them, the greater opportunities you provide yourself. Becoming aware of the stories within, gives you the chance to choose the stories you want to live, rather than allowing others to make the choices for you.

This is equally true from a study perspective. When you manage your mind (note: I did not say ‘control your mind’), you place yourself in a position to control your study. You make the choices. This power brings a sense of freedom, this freedom generates creativity.

How?

Why?

Because you feel in control of your learning. You know you are responsible for the outcome. This means the rewards are also yours.

However, choosing a mindful path is not always easy. Like any skill it requires persistence and practice. Those starting out need support – which is why schools are perfectly placed to help. Although many schools are beginning to realise the benefits of meditation and mindfulness, we need more schools to embrace the concept of wellness and thoughtful study practices. Meditation is not just a monk sitting on a mound – just as a teacher is no longer a sage on the stage. Meditation and mindfulness may be used to gain access to our own resources, to use our own mind to become flexible, confident learners.

Workshops such as MyStory Mind can help you recognise the link between self esteem, problem solving, creative focus and mindful study. If your would like to know more about how to introduce mindful study to your life (or classroom) please contact me – nicole@isthismystory.com.au

So, how can use the habit of mindlessly staring out the window to your advantage? Redirect your focus, pay attention to your breath, train your mind to focus. Try Goleman’s exercise. Who knows you may just find yourself more becoming attentive.

Welcome to a World of Expression

If you enjoyed reading this post you may like to subscribe to our newsletter or read Nicole’s book, Is This MyStory (available in full or part of a four part series).

Discovering Innate Creativity

March 24, 2013 By Nicole Feledy

How creative are you? Before answering this question in the traditional sense of art, music or writing ability, consider your courage, tenacity and flexibility. Perhaps I should explain a little further.

As a secondary school English teacher, I believe nurturing creativity is extremely important. Creativity supports innovation and innovation strengthens problem solving. Students who are willing to adopt a creative approach to learning, learn more effectively.

Why?

Because they possess the courage, tenacity and flexibility to actively question ideas and emotions. This is a proactive approach to learning that requires students to process information. They actually sort, manage, evaluate and file ideas, rather than simply storing them.

Although some people view creativity as a specialist gift, others (myself included) believe creativity is latent force that simply requires awakening. In other words everyone has the ability to be creative – some just need a little more help to access it. Some students may lack the courage to act upon their creative impulses, however this doesn’t mean they lack creativity. Generally it means they don’t feel comfortable in a particular situation or they have become so comfortable, they resist the urge to change. Therefore, we can help students develop their creativity by offering an environment which is simultaneously supporting and challenging.

I like to use an abseiling analogy when describing this to my classes. Even though abseiling is a dangerous activity, the risks can be managed using a secure harness, strong ropes, a buddy to belay and an active awareness of the situation. If we bring this analogy into the classroom, creativity is developed when teachers become the support harness, fellow students act as belay (i.e. through collaborative learning opportunities) and individuals accept responsibility for their actions. Within this supportive environment anyone can discover their creative centre. Just as the exhilaration of overcoming ‘edge of the cliff’ fear is awe inspiring, so to is the realisation that creatively solving a problem may simply require looking at a situation from a different perspective.

However, as the abseiling analogy shows, recognising innate creativity requires courage. Students need to feel secure within their ‘harness’, confident of their ‘belay’ and comfortable in their environment. More specifically, students need to feel understood by their teacher, trust in their classmates and skilled enough to meet upcoming challenges. The classroom environment should be a place where experimentation is welcomed and failure recognised as a natural consequence of discovery. Students should be encouraged to believe, even though they may ‘slip’ sometimes (when they fumble or the rope slides to fast), it is all a part of the adventure and, it is an opportunity to learn. In other words, when mistakes are made students need to feel supported, safe and that they can still reach their destination.

I believe, a student who has accessed their innate creativity has the courage, tenacity and flexibility to recognise failure is not an end point, rather it is a directional clue or a hint to adopt a different approach.

So, how creative are you?

Next week I’ll offer a few clues for boosting your creativity.

Welcome to a World of Expression

If you enjoyed reading this post you may like to subscribe to our newsletter or read Nicole’s book, Is This MyStory (available in full or as a four part series)

Be the Author of Your Story

March 10, 2013 By Nicole Feledy

The day has finally arrived. Is This MyStory began as a dream, morphed into a tangible idea, was born in print and has now grown into a series of interactive seminars and workshops. This means you can join a course that will guide you towards becoming the author of your own life rather than being a character in someone else’s.

Put simply, Is This MyStory workshops help frustrated teenagers find their voice. We help teenagers feel good about who they are. The difference between Is This MyStory and other personal development or study skills courses is that we help teenagers understand the link between learning and self-esteem. Is This MyStory helps young adults develop self confidence and improve their literacy skills.

How often have you read a book, attended a workshop or listened to a speaker who inspired change, only to discover within a few months, you had returned to old habits? You may have attended a study skills class or revision lecture which helped initially, but then soon found your motivation waning.

Did you ask why?

The thing is, learning is a progressive experience. One step leads to another and, just as we walk in order to reach a particular destination, learning needs to lead somewhere. The key is recognising where. Many study skills, motivational or relaxation courses offer insight into new ways of thinking but they are ‘one off’ or short lived. Even though the learning is empowering at the time, it is not embedded into long term thought processes or behavioural patterns.

That is why Is This MyStory courses are embedded into everyday life. Is This MyStory workshops and seminars show students how to recognise the learning within life’s stories. We link critical, emotional and creative literacy skills to a generative project that encourages students to develop a critical, reflective and imaginative approach to life. Students complete a learning rite. This is a literal and figurative journey, down a rabbit hole, along a learning path, toward a World of Expression. It is here students recognise their own voice and learn how to communicate effectively (with themselves and with others). This generates confidence.

The inspiring feature of an Is This MyStory project is that it is real and ongoing. Once students have gathered the tools of critical, emotional and creative literacy, they have in their possession the imaginative attributes required to manage their future. They have the capacity to work independently and collaboratively. They are able to develop their own MyStory – a focused awareness that nestles comfortably within a larger social and emotional network. In choosing to ‘write my own story’ students choose to become lifelong learners who have the confidence, courage, creativity and compassion to take responsibility for themselves.

At the moment we offer interactive workshops and seminars throughout the Northern Beaches and North Shore. We will expand to other areas of Sydney as the year progresses. If your teenager is frustrated by a world that doesn’t seem to listen, if they are a sensitive, creative individual who feels as though they need to hide their feelings or, if they simply believe they can’t be themselves, perhaps they need a new story. A story they own. We can help teenagers develop the critical, emotional and creative literacy skills they need to write their own story – both literally and figuratively.

If you would like to know more please have a look at our Interactive Seminars & Workshop page. You may even like to contact Nicole to discuss your situation.

Welcome to a World of Expression

If you enjoyed reading this post you may like to subscribe to our newsletter or read Nicole’s book, Is This MyStory (available in full or as a four part series)

Not Laptops,Tablets

February 9, 2013 By Nicole Feledy

Tablets are a more effective learning tool than laptops. There, I’ve said it, and I’ll say it again and again and again until someone notices because, at a time where the federal government is being non committal over continued funding for the 1:1 laptop program, we have an opportunity to rethink technology spending.

While generally appreciated, the current lap top program has not been without its problems. The computers are small, limited in their capacity and only just managed to survive the rough world of the school bag. Then there’s the problems caused by the defensive wall of raised screens. Of course, students “close screens” during discussions, however when taking notes, working on tasks and researching, barriers are raised. Leaving aside the surveillance software and revised teaching techniques necessary to ensure students are ‘on task’ (rather that gaming, face booking or random surfing), 1:1 laptops often created a disconnected classroom atmosphere. The students walk in, raise their screen, fix their gaze and plug in to the digital microcosm. Handwriting also suffers. This is a problem because exams responses are written and, by their final year of school, students are expected to produce extended, coherent, critically evaluative essays. Both the thought processes and the mechanical skills required to produce these responses requires practise.

Lots and lots of practise.

Enter the humble tablet, loaded with appropriate apps and accompanied by paper and pen. The tablet sits flat or at a slight angle. Teachers and students maintain the eye contact essential for mutual respect and understanding. Importantly, tablets can hold textbooks. Even better, teachers can design their own textbooks complete with hyperlinks and collaborative activities. Better still, students can design personal learning tools and share them with each other. Tablets are lighter, more portable and, since they alleviate the need for heavy textbooks and folders, potentially reduce the need for cumbersome backpacks. Notes can be taken using a combination of paper and digital form, reading can occur off line and online and students can be taught how to use mobile technology as a functional tool, rather than being a slave to digital connectivity.

Yes, I know laptops can do much of what I have described and yes I realise the inherent problems of security, damage and pressure on networks that tablet computing may cause. Nevertheless, tablets are transforming the way we work. We should be placing tablets in our student’s hands and saying experiment, explore and use this as a tool to enhance your learning.

Welcome to a World of Expression

Do You Grasp Concepts or Hold Ideas?

January 14, 2013 By Nicole Feledy

Do you think, or do you follow the thinking of others? Do you use ideas, or do you repeat them? Are you willing to play with knowledge, or do you store facts in neat little memory bundles. How responsible are you for your own learning?

Dr Derek Cabrera says we need to actively teach our students to think for themselves (rather than encouraging them to memorise and regurgitate facts on a test). I agree. Students who ‘grasp’ ideas, rather than ‘holding’ facts, tend to be more flexible, more creative and better equipped to thrive in a world that exists beyond the school gates.

Which learning experience would you prefer?

Think for a moment about the difference between the words ‘grasp’ and ‘hold’ (incidentally, recognising difference is the ‘D’ part of Cabrera’s DSRP thinking method). To grasp something is to take it firmly ‘in hand’. We also use the word ‘grasp’ to signify mental comprehension – i.e. ‘I grasp your meaning’. In contrast the word ‘hold’ generally implies to keep or maintain something.

Can you guess why it is better to grasp ideas, than hold facts? Again, think about it. While you are thinking, consider the impact of connotation. Remember connotation refers to a word’s ‘vibe’ – its implied or associated meaning. You may recognise that grasp implies a much stronger force than simply holding. Therefore, grasping ideas offers an impression of actively and relentlessly gathering and synthesising ideas to create a solid foundation for further thought. In contrast, holding facts presents an image of keeping information in storage. The key difference is that grasping an idea involves a proactive action whereas holding facts tends to be a passive.

You may be wondering why I am labouring the difference between grasping and holding (perhaps you want to know why I am asking so many questions). The easy response is I want to encourage you to think about your own thinking process. The more visible thinking becomes, the easier it is to identify areas of strength (and weakness) and the easier it is to direct thoughts towards generative actions. The other reason is to mentally prepare you, before introducing an acronym I use in my classes.

Put simply, I devised the acronym GRASP to describe the process of critical thinking.

G – gather information from a variety of sources
R – reflect upon the ideas within the information
A – analyse the validity of the ideas, test them against each other and your own experience
S – synthesise ideas to create new perspectives and fresh thoughts
P – propose new ideas and strategies

Students who GRASP concepts rather than holding ideas, recognise that any reading, listening or viewing activity can became an active ‘thinking’ opportunity. In this sense you participate, direct and ‘learn’, rather than simply being an observer of someone else’s thinking. Taking control of your own learning, is the first step toward becoming a lifelong learner and a positive step toward taking control of your own life.

Welcome to a World of Expression

Remember, if you liked this post you may like to subscribe to our blog or read my book, Is This MyStory (available in full or as a 4 part series)

Choose to Be The Author of Your Life

Be Mindful of Study

Discovering Innate Creativity

Be the Author of Your Story

Not Laptops,Tablets

Do You Grasp Concepts or Hold Ideas?

Live a Mindful Strengths based Narrative

Free Mini Mindfulness Poster

Latest Blog Post

Testimonials – Coaching & Workshops

Testimonials – Teachers

Testimonial – Teenagers

Subscribe to our Newsletter