Tag Archives: Learning Process

Orientation Day One: Simmering New Thoughts

j0321061.jpgToday was my first day in the Leadership Orientation, an all day, all week, 4 credit beginning to the Leadership Program. Wow! What a day! Lots of new thoughts are simmering in my brain.
I loved meeting everyone in the morning and continuing to get to know the group throughout the day.  There were about 50-60 participants; representing at least 20 countries; who had lived in probably 30-40 countries; and spoke at least 10 languages across the group (data based on my rough estimate from introductions). I’m really excited about the diversity of talents and experience represented in the group. I very much value learning from colleagues and I’m thrilled with the prospect of being in community with everyone.

After introductions, we all took Gregorc’s Learning Style Inventory.  I was entertained with the idea that the largest group of participants were Concrete Randoms. It was fun to listen to everyone in that group talk about how they functioned. I’m hoping that we can all overcome our randomness enough to be able to write and follow an IDP (Individual Development Plan) to actually get done and break the stereotype of not finishing as fast as the Concrete Sequentials. 🙂 Probably not possible, but still a fun goal. Of course I should admit here that Concrete Sequential was my second highest.
Next we began the process of writing the vision statement for our IDP  by telling a family story. I really enjoyed the stories from my group – all how God helped their family in adversity. It was also neat to have class in the same room where I did my student teaching. The environment is stimulating memories simmering in my brain.

After lunch we played a game called Star Power. What an interesting game. What I found most intriguing was the ambiguity in the group of triangles and circles (basically the “low” groups). It took us a long time to make one circle. Leadership emerged and disappeared a few times. We didn’t become a functioning group really. We went with the flow and whoever talked the loudest at the moment. It’s interesting that dissatisfaction isn’t necessarily focused. We weren’t happy but we didn’t have a clear goal of what we wanted either. So we sat around and talked mostly. This is the part of the game that most intrigued me and that is still simmering in my brain. That and, what does it mean for me? what is my application? my take-away? I don’t know yet. I’m still processing…. Usually I have pretty quick opinions and things to say, but with this game I wanted to hear what everyone else thought. I’m still thinking….

Looking forward to another stimulating day tomorrow….

10 Tips to Study Smart

Thanks to iGoogle and LifeHack.org, here’s a set of tips to study smart. The tips that really struck me today are these two about making connections:

  1. Leave No Islands – When you read through a textbook, every piece of information should connect with something else you have learned. Fast learners do this automatically, but if you leave islands of information, you won’t be able to reach them during a test.
  2. Test Your Mobility – A good way to know you haven’t linked enough is that you can’t move between concepts. Open up a word document and start explaining the subject you are working with. If you can’t jump between sections, referencing one idea to help explain another, you won’t be able to think through the connections during a test.