UNIT ONE It's Your Style Compiled by Mrs. D. Wittmann
The Importance of Knowing Yourself Knowing yourself is the first step in connecting with new people. It’s also a key step in learning how to learn smart. When you understand your own qualities and abilities, you can use the information to make the most of your abilities. That information can also help you manage your personal challenges.
Your Interests What you’re interested in tells people a lot about you. What really interests and excites you? What activities are so interesting they cause you to lose track of time? Are there issues that you feel strongly about? What are they? Why do they interest you so much? Here’s an exercise to do by yourself or with a partner. All you need is paper and a pencil. Write down all those activities that you enjoy doing or that interest you—for example, playing sports, hanging out with friends, or going to your part-time job. Be totally honest, and don’t worry if some of the activities or interests seem impractical. The purpose of this exercise is to help you identify your passion.
Take a few minutes to think of words or phrases that describe you. Write these on a blank piece of paper. (You can do this activity with a partner.) Keep this page in front of you. Write the letters of your name down one column. From your page of words, find those words that start with the letters of your name. If you don’t have a word that starts with the right letter, use a thesaurus to find one. Select one personal quality you possess (e.g., thoughtfulness, resilience, stubbornness) that has helped you in the past at school or in life. a) In what situation did it help you? b) How did it help you?
Your creative brain controls your creative, dreamy side. Take a moment to remember what it feels like when you let your mind drift. Maybe you pause to notice the way something appears in nature. Or perhaps you remember a few bars of music. Notice how one thing flows into the other. At that moment, you are using your creative brain. Now think back to a time when you had to do a math problem or write an essay. Your mind is working in a completely different way. You are in analytic mode. You are using reason to solve the math problem. Maybe you are breaking it down into its parts. You may be using lots of “if ... then” statements, as in, “Okay, if 3x + 4 = 16, then x = 4,” or “If that guy was such a bad leader, then whydid he stay in power?” Most people feel that they are mostly creative or mostly analytical. However, it is certainly possible to develop both kinds of brain power.
9-Smart Years ago, a psychologist named Harold Gardner suggested that there were seven different kinds of intelligence, or seven different ways for people to be smart. Recently, two more intelligences were added. Most people are strong in two or more areas. For example, you might describe yourself as a “real people person” and also as someone who “thinks in words.”
http://www.cbc.ca/smartestpersonjunior/
1. Now that you know what your smarts are, are you surprised? Why or why not? Ask someone who knows you if he or she is surprised by your results. 2. Can you guess what types of intelligence your teacher has? What about your mother or father? How do you know? 3. Identify a time in school when your smarts have helped you. For example, you understood what a picture meant right away. Or you realized you knew how to build something by actually doing it. 4. With a partner, think of some jobs or types of work that would be good to do with your smarts. Do the same for your partner. Explain why you made these choices.
3-Style People also learn in different ways. Some people like things written down. Some people are hands-on. Some people need to bounce ideas off someone else. These different ways of learning are called learning styles. .
"The Art of Doodling" Pages 74 - 79 Connect the Text 1. What is "doodling?" Do you doodle? Do you know others who doodle? 2. What questions do you have about doodling and people who doodle? Focus Three learning styles
How to Listen—Even When It’s not Your Style Listening seems to come more naturally to some people than to others. However, there are ways to improve your listening ability. One way to improve your listening skills is to practice "active listening." This is where you make a conscious effort to hear not only the words that another person is saying but, more importantly, try to understand the complete message being sent. In order to do this you must pay attention to the other person very carefully. You cannot allow yourself to become distracted by whatever else may be going on around you, or by forming counter arguments that you'll make when the other person stops speaking. Nor can you allow yourself to get bored, and lose focus on what the other person is saying. All of these contribute to a lack of listening and understanding.
Julian Treasure: The 4 ways sound affects us
Julian Treasure: How to speak so that people want to listen
H.E.A.R. The HEAR strategy consists of these four steps: Halt: Stop whatever else you are doing, end your internal dialogue on other thoughts, and free your mind to pay attention to the person speaking. Engage: Focus on the speaker. We suggest a physical component, such as turning your head slightly so that your right ear is toward the speaker as a reminder to be engaged solely in listening. Anticipate: By looking forward to what the speaker has to say, you are acknowledging that you will likely learn something new and interesting, which will enhance your attention. Replay: Think about what the speaker is saying. Analyze and paraphrase it in your mind or in discussion with the speaker and other classmates. Replaying the information will aid in understanding and remembering what you have learned.
How to Create Motivation and Interest Motivation Tips 1. Believe You Can Succeed 2. See the Point of the Task 3. A Little knowledge Helps 4. Say When You Don’t Get It 5. Make It a Game 6. Identify Your Curiosity
Motivation: what makes you do things It can be intrinsic (from within) or extrinsic (from outside) INTRINSIC: Values, Interest, Goals EXTRINSIC: Money, Food, Vacation Days Right Conditions for Learning: You remain open to learning more You don’t distract yourself You see the point of it all When you run across a difficult idea, you don’t give up—you believe you can understand
Imagine a time when you had a powerful learning experience. Perhaps you were at school, or maybe you were just hanging around with your friends. Maybe a coach tied a ribbon around one of your legs so that you could remember your pivot foot. a) How did you learn what was being taught? b) What learning style did you use? (See learning styles.) c) What was your motivation for learning? d) Identify something you did that helped you learn in that situation that you could apply to a school situation.
SUMMARY Knowing yourself—your interests, abilities, and preferred learning style—is the first step in learning how to learn smart. Your brain has a creative side and an analytic side. Most people feel they are more creative or more analytic. There are nine intelligences, or “smarts.” Most people have more than one kind of smarts. You can have one kind of smarts or a combination. There are three main learning styles. Use your preferred style to learn smart. Listening is something everyone needs to do. You can improve your listening skills by using listening strategies. You can help to create interest and motivation even when you are bored or turned off.