Unit 8. Students
.pdfsame organization, history, and the people around them. The world is a great source of knowledge and skills, available 24/7, so they ask tons of questions and connect the dots.
They are good observers.
Walking or driving the same route hundreds of times does not guarantee that you will learn about all the buildings and other interesting things on the way. To do it, you have to look at the world with curiosity. Smart learners focus on the here and now, ready to observe the changes and the world surrounding them. They don’t have to talk much; they will instead ask questions.
They make mistakes.
Most people have a great fear of failure. It seems better not to do something rather than make a mistake. Smart learners exchange the word “mistake” with “lesson.”
There is no better way to learn something than simply trying it, so experiment and observe. If one way didn’t work, try another one. Of course, sometimes many lessons have to be taken before something is mastered. As Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed 700 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work,
I will find the way that will work.”
They don’t give up too early.
With great fear of failure comes giving up too early. Today, we are tempted to try new things just a few times and then resign. When we can’t master something quickly, why bother? However, turn back time and imagine yourself as a child learning how to walk. How many times did you fall down in that process? Probably hundreds! Now you possess that great skill without thinking about it, but what would have happened if you had given up too early? Learning takes time and falling down often — smart learners understand that.
They connect with smart people.
The world is a big network of connections. Some of them are better quality than others, and your time on this planet is limited. Smart learners understand that they need high quality connections — people around them who will inspire them, shake
their worlds, and ask good and deep questions. We learn best when we are relaxed and have a real friend and mentor around.
They try new things.
To be able to learn, our brain needs stimulation and then a good rest. Just look at how a small child explores the world, looks at everything with curiosity, then tries to put the pieces together and checks the taste. Later, the child “sleeps like a baby!”
Smart learners possess that spark of curiosity and often try something new. Take part in some workshops or online courses, watch TED, and meet new people. They do some things differently and it keeps them from being bored.
They don’t think they are smart.
Smart learners don’t talk much. The knowledge and skills they have are not merely to impress others, but comes from their inner passion. They are humble enough to acknowledge how much they don’t know, and at the same time they feel good about and are energized by that. When they don’t know they don’t pretend to; they simply ask questions.
We all waste so much of our potential by not learning smart enough. Let us take the right lesson from smart learners. Your life will definitely be more creative, happy, relaxed and full of passion.
VOCABULARY NOTES
dedicated – devoted to a task or purpose; concept – an idea or abstract principle;
curiosity – a strong desire to know or learn something;
to master – acquire complete knowledge or skill in (a subject, technique, or art); mentor – an experienced and trusted adviser;
merely – just; only;
humble – having or showing a modest or low estimate of one's importance; to acknowledge – accept or admit the existence or truth of something.
IV. Working together
Work in groups. Act out a dialogue discussing the most effective learning patters. You have recently discovered a new method of learning more efficiently and now
you are sharing your experience in it. It can be delivered in the format of a friendly
chit-chat, a conference, an interview, etc.
V.Did you know?
Our ability to learn by experience diminishes in direct proportion to the amount of time we spend sitting.
We learn and remember 80 to 90 percent of what we do and say. In order to learn anything well, we need to talk about it with each other and do it a number of times.
We learn and remember best when we are engaged and enjoying what we're doing.
Gardening improves children’s desire to learn and boosts their confidence.
Young children learn about prejudice by instruction, older children by experience.
Children who participate in laughing activities experience increase in memory retention.
Daydreaming boosts brains.
Choose any of the statements above as a topic for an oral mini-presentation. Provide arguments or statistical data to support your claims.
VI. Write an op-ed about the challenges of being a school student today? Use the guidelines from Duke University's Office of News and Communications (http://newsoffice.duke.edu/duke_resources/oped) and Oregon State University (http://extension.oregonstate.edu/eesc/how-to/write-killer-op-ed- piece).