Accelerated Learning 2: Psychology of Learning
When we go to lectures, the lecturer goes "yack, yack, yack"and you goes "yawn, yawn, yawn". You get bored as soon as he yacks. The lecturer can use the most hi-tech gadgets to teach; computer, projector, powerpoints and etc but fail to realize that this teaching methods are borrowed from the days of the dinosaurs!
Let's begin by understanding your audience. Most people obtain information, from 6 different sensors; sight, smell, sound, taste, feel and of course the 6th sense. Yup! the sixth sense. When you attend a great seminar, there is a lot more than just the mere presentor and his content. There is alot that the organizer has put into the setting of the room which will trigger you subconsciously, and only your 6th sense can sense. Have you ever feel that there is something great about the seminar, you even went to great heights to dissect it (it is the music, the speaker, the content?) but just fail to know why? Let me tell you why, because what you see with your 5 sensors are just limited to those 5 sensors. What your 6th sense picks up, cannot be understood as long as you are still in the realm of the 5 sensors. When you detached you might be able to find the answer. But no worries, we will slowly go thru it in this blog.
Now that you understand the way, a learner picks up information, the most successful of seminars will engage as much of these sensors as possible. How many times, your get punished for eating in class?
Next, we will look at our mind! I know you know about the right brain and the left brain. Right brain is the creative brain and left brain is the logical brain. So for learning to be effective, both sides of the brain must be engaged. Most academic teaching never bother to engage the right side of the brain. Most lecturers just throw you facts, numbers and ask you to swallow it raw! Let me now throw you a challenge.
How can I make a subject that is so left brain-ed, such as accounting and mathematics, be left-right brain-ed?
Below are some of the very surface techniques that you can use: (note: very very surface and superficial way to accomodate the left-right brain)
1. Use colors -> Colors stimulates the right brain
2. Use diagrams and pictures -> Our mind thinks in pictures. Don't believe me! Try this. Picture a CAR in your mind. Now, picture the word CAR in your mind. Which is easier? In fact when you picture the word itself, you see the picture of the word.
3. Play some kind of musics -> Musics stimulate the right brain.
....I am sure you can think of more ways.
At the next entry, we will look a type of learner which takes up the majority of your audience but time and time again their learning preference is being supressed by their teachers.
Let's begin by understanding your audience. Most people obtain information, from 6 different sensors; sight, smell, sound, taste, feel and of course the 6th sense. Yup! the sixth sense. When you attend a great seminar, there is a lot more than just the mere presentor and his content. There is alot that the organizer has put into the setting of the room which will trigger you subconsciously, and only your 6th sense can sense. Have you ever feel that there is something great about the seminar, you even went to great heights to dissect it (it is the music, the speaker, the content?) but just fail to know why? Let me tell you why, because what you see with your 5 sensors are just limited to those 5 sensors. What your 6th sense picks up, cannot be understood as long as you are still in the realm of the 5 sensors. When you detached you might be able to find the answer. But no worries, we will slowly go thru it in this blog.
Now that you understand the way, a learner picks up information, the most successful of seminars will engage as much of these sensors as possible. How many times, your get punished for eating in class?
Next, we will look at our mind! I know you know about the right brain and the left brain. Right brain is the creative brain and left brain is the logical brain. So for learning to be effective, both sides of the brain must be engaged. Most academic teaching never bother to engage the right side of the brain. Most lecturers just throw you facts, numbers and ask you to swallow it raw! Let me now throw you a challenge.
How can I make a subject that is so left brain-ed, such as accounting and mathematics, be left-right brain-ed?
Below are some of the very surface techniques that you can use: (note: very very surface and superficial way to accomodate the left-right brain)
1. Use colors -> Colors stimulates the right brain
2. Use diagrams and pictures -> Our mind thinks in pictures. Don't believe me! Try this. Picture a CAR in your mind. Now, picture the word CAR in your mind. Which is easier? In fact when you picture the word itself, you see the picture of the word.
3. Play some kind of musics -> Musics stimulate the right brain.
....I am sure you can think of more ways.
At the next entry, we will look a type of learner which takes up the majority of your audience but time and time again their learning preference is being supressed by their teachers.
posted by Justin Lai at 11:20 AM
1 Comments:
yo justin,
i like your subject..
i used to be a mediocre in term of academic, there is an urge for me to prove myself further and understand why I can't be the top student.
One of my weakest area is maths (even though i am a science student), but my language was as bad either.
i am always interested to explore a good way for learning. Such as, how can people with poor maths skills improve themselves via self-learning and etc.
yeah, i think most of the teachers in Malaysia sucks... and not only they sucks but yet not willing to improve. Well, I can only speak for myself, there could be good one too.
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