by Caroline Hunter and Tom Curley
“They were all just sitting here. Waiting. What were they meant to be doing? The desire to interact was an irresistible itch.” ― Liane Moriarty, Nine Perfect Strangers
It is not enough to create your best self and to work hard at building all the skills you need to be successful. We absolutely have to interact. Interaction is the key; a necessary step in becoming prepared for the future. Once we have identified the skills in the three main competencies, we can start to expand our viewpoint - both inward and outward.
Self
The best teachers engage. They are the ones with students hopping up and down exclaiming their excitement.They are the ones whose classrooms are loud and bright, where students feel heard and take ownership of their learning. This kind of leadership and guidance from a teacher is the result of a multi pronged practice and it requires real effort to create such an environment. Teachers like this are rare, which is why we get excited when we find a teacher who inspires us. It is why Hollywood creates movie showcasing these kinds of teachers in movies like Dead Poets Society or even School of Rock. These teachers know what learning is and how we learn. This is the key - the interaction with ourselves is knowing how we learn and developing these skills further.
While the idea that each of us has a single learning style has been debunked (1), we know there are different ways of learning and that we all have strengths and weaknesses in all the styles. While some of us intuitively think better in pictures or lectures or with movement, recognizing the various learning styles forms the basis for understanding ourselves, how we learn, and how to improve that learning. By leveraging our more strongly developed learning styles, we can build the weaker ones, we can improve how we interact with ourselves. This is what SIBE is based upon - using strengths to develop weaker skills. So, what are these learning styles?
Some of the acknowledged ways of learning include:
Visual/Spatial - which involves learning and remembering with pictures, images, and spatial understanding
Auditory - learning using sounds and music to learn
Linguistic - learn best with words and writing
Kinesthetic - physical learning by handling, building, and manipulating
Logical - logic, reasoning, pattern identification
Social or Interpersonal - best learning happens in groups with other people
Intrapersonal - prefer working alone.
In order to determine your strengths and identify your weaker abilities, self-evaluate. Think about your most recent experience learning something new. What was that last spark of knowledge that nestled into your consciousness, sparking joy and excitement. What made this happen? What were the circumstances surrounding it? Chances are it was a combination of things - this is the multipronged environment we must develop for ourselves in order to learn effectively. For me personally, I prefer to read and digest new information in solitude. While noise doesn’t bother me, I do need to be comfortable. I also destroy my books. No thrift shop will every accept my books because I bend pages and fill the margins with images, pictures, words and exclamations. Emojis are my friend when I mark books. That said, I couldn’t tell you my phone home number, but I could give you the pattern on the number pad. I am terrible with names and faces - literally I am that person who would be fooled by Clark Kent in glasses. But I know my strengths. I can think on my feet, I make associations across a variety of platforms and subjects, and I know I will retain new information if I do a multi-staged review that includes reviewing the notes in the margins, creating a visual mind map or image, and discussing ideas with others. And that is only one way to learn. Everyone has their own way to learn. We are unique and we just need to examine how we learn and self reflect upon the process. It is this examination and self reflection that goes into the SIBE Interaction space about the Self. Remember to include both strengths and weaknesses - no matter how quirky they may be. I have many oddities - we all do.
The following are a few skills to consider with regards to self reflecting on how you learn. More detailed descriptions of each skill immediately follow.
Active Listening
Documentation
Self-Reflection
Time Management
Memorization
Constructive Criticism
Metacognition
Visualization
Active Listening
Active Listening involves several skills which can be broken out in your Venn individually by strength and weakness in order to fully develop this skill. Active listening includes techniques such as:
Repeating key points or asking a relevant question in a conversation
Listening to understand both what is being said
Determining the motivation behind what is being said
Making eye contact
Body language such as sitting up straight, leaning in, and periodic nodding
Demonstrating patience
Documentation
Documentation is how we record what we learn or want to learn. Perhaps it in notes, or a blog or journal. Citing and referencing raw material and sources are paramount to being a productive and thorough learner. How we take notes differs by who we are as learners and what we are learning about. Some may draw images, others create patterns or inter-relational information, while some notes may be in chronological or subject order. Being aware of our emotional state will also influence how we take notes and that is okay if you figure out the best way for yourself to convey the most amount of information in the easiest note taking fashion. Just remember, there is no right or wrong way, just learn about the different styles so that you can take relevant, complete, and informative notes.
Self-Reflection
Self-Reflection is about being aware of your own motivations, actions, and emotional health. To be self reflective is to ask yourself honest questions about your progress in growing, learning and developing as a human. To gain progress, to transform weaker skills into strengths, and to lead healthy lives, requires the skill and practice of self-reflection. Some questions to ask yourself include:
Are you overly stressed? If so why and what can you do about it?
Are you taking care of yourself physically?
Are you managing your time efficiently?
What are you actively doing to reach your goals?
How can I improve my productivity?
The questions must be for you and about you. While developing our individual SIBE Venn, we are identifying specific goals to work on. The beauty of SIBE is that we are allowing ourselves to focus on just a couple or a few developing skills instead of doing too much. This focus on a few skills is what you should develop your self-reflection questions around.
Time Management
“If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning.” ~Mark Twain
There is never enough time in the world to get everything done, but there are techniques to help us manage our time better such as:
Prioritization
Recognition of our own optimal working habits
Maintain personal health and energy
Flexibility
Be forgiving of yourself
Prioritization can be hard because too many things can feel urgent at once, but the truth is there is always a way to organize our schedules and goals. One simple way to do this is to write down and organize goals according to any due dates. Second, break down goals into the various stages that it will take to accomplish a goal. Focus on knocking down smaller tasks in order to accomplish the larger ones.
With some introspection, it’s possible to figure out when in the day we are most productive, creative, energetic, and tired. Once we know that, we can start to plan for our strengths. Do you have a mid-afternoon slump? Avoid doing work then that requires intense focus. When do you feel most alert? Do your hardest tasks then, and they’ll seem easier.
A really important tool to add is the Pomodoro technique, based on a simple, tomato-shaped kitchen timer! Remove all distractions from your work area, and set a timer for 25 minutes, then work as focused as you until time runs out. Take a 5-10 minute break to relax, walk around, check your text messages, etc. Then repeat! This takes advantage of your brain’s focused and diffuse modes of thinking, which really helps you learn. This is a very well-known technique, so there are many good timers available as apps, browser extensions, and physical devices.
Health, both physical and mental, is vitally important in order to manage your time well. If we do not feel well, we will not have the energy to tackle the harder tasks that life and learning demands. You do not have to look like a supermodel, but you do need to eat an appropriate amount of quality food, move around or exercise, and poke your head outside everyday. Positive health habits have been proven to have a direct positive effect on brain function and memory retention.
Finally, remember to forgive yourself if you do not meet all your time management goals. Feeling overwhelmed just means it is time to reevaluate (I am thinking of non negotiable obligation of laundry that waits in a huge pile for me every day. Ugh). The beauty of gaining competency in time management is to demonstrate Flexibility. By knowing how to reorganize your schedule and reassign tasks, you will get even more done than if you stick with an unforgiving schedule.
Memorization
A picture is worth a thousand words.
Use mnemonics and visuals to tie what you’re trying to learn to things your brain is good at remembering: pictures and places! Memory experts use “pegging” techniques to attach otherwise meaningless facts to personally relevant imagery. This allows them to do things like memorize the order of a deck of cards in 2 minutes!
When you group some things together in your memory, they are called “chunks,” and those chunks serve as the foundation of your learning. By revisiting chunks regularly, you cement those memories, and allow for new connections between them that you might not otherwise see. And guess what? A good night’s sleep gives this a much better chance of happening.
For now, we’ll just mention some terms that are really important to the process of learning how to learn:
focused vs. diffuse modes of thinking
interleaving
spaced retrieval
the Pomodoro Technique
An important point to make here is that some of these things require that we forget the study techniques we were taught as children, and which may have served us well during our days as students. I just wish I had known all these things before high school--it would have led to many fewer all-nighters, and better grades on my transcript!
Constructive Criticism
“A creative life cannot be sustained by approval any more than it can be destroyed by criticism.” ~ Will Self
To give and to receive constructive criticism requires one to be brave. It is incredibly difficult and scary to put oneself out there knowing you will receive judgement and critiques. Constructive criticism is a skill - one that requires us to take the risk of rejection when we invite someone to critique us; and to selflessly help others to communicate better when we thoughtfully offer up a critique.
The key to receiving criticism is to remember that it is another’s opinion. They may or may not be offering up their advice in a constructive manner, but you can always choose whether or not to use the proffered suggestions. However, if many people offer up a similar criticism, then it is probably an improvement worth considering.
Giving criticism can be just as hard as receiving it. Compassion and empathy certainly play an important role, as we want our offered opinions for improvement to be heard and valued. I always follow the Positive - Improvement - Positive rule. If you focus and end on the positives of someone’s work, they will feel recognized and valued. Even though it is hard to give and receive improvement suggestions, it is vital that we get into this habit so as to help each other improve our work. Sometimes too it is helpful to see if what we intend to say comes across. Receiving and giving constructive criticism are extremely important skills to develop in order to communicate effectively and well.
Metacognition
“I’m thinking about “Thinking About Thinking,” I think.” Atul Mallik
Don’t be scared by the fancy term! Metacognition is the word for thinking about your own thinking. This is a great way to reinforce what you are learning by mentally reviewing it and connecting it to things you already know. Simply taking time to think about what you just read, for example, can be more effective for learning it than taking notes! Before going to bed, if you reflect on your learning for the day, you will prime your brain to reinforce that learning while you sleep.
Here are two ways to skillfully practice metacognition:
When you are reading to learn, take a break every few pages (or after every section, if your book is divided like that), close your eyes, and ask yourself what the main ideas were. Ask what the important terms were. Ask if what you read sparked any connections with things you already know. Ask if you have any questions for the author. This is much more effective than underlining or highlighting!
During a lecture or discussion, use space in your notes to write down questions you have and connections to other things you know. Don’t just try to write down all the facts! At the end of class, spend a few minutes writing a summary of the class. Get the main points and any really interesting questions you have left. Not only will this help you remember it better, but it also makes reviewing easy--just check the summaries to see if you can fill in the details without reading your notes!
Visualization
Visualization is about creating images for what is being communicated. The images can be silly or associative - to be more honest the more ridiculous the better. The images can also be arranged in chronological order or however you want. You do not have to be a great artist to visualize information and there is an excellent 2016 TEDx talk on this topic that is worth watching titled, “How to Draw to Remember More” by Graham Shaw.
For example, recently in a US History class I led a discussion about Spanish conquistadors and their motivations for exploring and conquering North America during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. While there were some similarities that could identified between the many conquistadors, there was additional unique information for each one. Visualization, specifically ridiculous images based on the information and even association, as well as the circular arrangement on the page by date helped the learners to retain the information. I always tell them the more ridiculous the image, the easier it is to remember.