Learning For A Lifetime

I had a conversation with a student before the break. She had taken a retest and had not improved her grade over the original test. I suggested either she had not studied or had not studied effectively. As I was saying it, I realized I’d never had a conversation with my McAuliffe students about what effective studying means.

Here’s the thing...you can spend time “studying” and not learning a thing or you can create a plan for learning that includes “studying.”

Many students don’t really know how to study or how that time fits in with the learning.  

I’ll give you an example: One science student I know was getting very discouraged about her grades. She was starting to feel like she she wasn’t smart enough to understand the material. She would work at the kitchen table reading and rereading the chapter the night before the quiz. Then she would often perform poorly on the assessment. She was putting in the time, several hours the night before the quiz, but it wasn’t working for her. 

I suggested a different method: Study in a quiet place - a place in her home without distractions. One night, read the chapter. The next night, reread the chapter but take hand-written notes. On the third night, re-write the notes in outline form with space for comments and questions. Finally, get those questions answered in class during our review session. Guess what? She started acing her quizzes. Why? because she was using effective study habits.

So what does this story tell us?

Have a Growth Mindset

Sound familiar? Think positively and avoid negative self-talk. Instead of thinking “I’m never going to get this,” find a positive way of looking at your work like, “I may not understand all of this now, but I’m going to find one part of this that makes sense, right now.”

Location, Location, Location

Chose a location that works. The kitchen is probably the busiest room in the house and is full of distractions. Find a place that is quiet, doesn’t have a million things vying for your attention. Listen to music if that helps block out the noise of the house. Make sure you have everything you need and not extra, distracting stuff.

Time Matters

Study over time. That’s where the word “habit” comes from. Devise a regular schedule and make it a habit. You will learn better if you learn over time instead of trying to absorb it in one sitting (i.e. cramming). Research tells us that learning happens best when new information is learned and then you sleep. As you sleep, the brain reorganizes where it stores information, moving important, new information from short-term to long-term memory. Study at night then let your brain do its thing.

The Brain Game

Get your mind actively engaged in the material. Reading is a pretty passive activity and you can do it practically in your sleep. You need to get the brain fired up to remember stuff. Make notes, reorganize the notes into outline format. Look for ways the items in your notes connect with other topics in your notes. Use memory games to help recall information. For example, the order of the planets in the solar system: "My Violent Evil Monster Just Scared Us Nuts."

It Makes Sense

You have five senses, use them. Don’t just read. Talk to yourself, hear the information as you read it. I heard of a student who chewed gum while he studied. During a test, he’d chew gum. He said it helped him recall what he was thinking and feeling as he had studied. Music can have that same effect. To this day, every time I hear a certain Aerosmith song, I have a ridiculously strong memory of reading The Hobbit.

Practice Testing

Don’t forget to practice taking the test. Use flash cards, sample tests, study guides. Have others quiz you or ask you questions based on your notes. You could try to out-guess the teacher by making up your own test. Review the material and your notes and try to figure out what has to be on the test to accurately assess student understanding. 

Reward Yourself

It’s unrealistic to think that you could study for hours on end and maintain focus. Set a time to stop and take a break. Work hard for an hour, then take a few minutes to move around, play a game, get a snack. Do something different and physical to break the monotony.

It’s All About You

Figure out what works best for you. When I was in college, I knew a girl who had two notebooks for every class. One was for taking notes in class. It was messy with lines and arrows and little side notes written in the margins. The second notebook was for rewriting the class notes in an organized and logical fashion. As she reorganized, she was making connections between ideas and information provided during the lecture. That’s where she actually learned the material. Try different ways to study - google “study habits” if you need new ideas. Figure out what works and what doesn’t work for you. 

You may find, once you develop a method of “studying” that it takes less time than cramming the night before a test. A little bit, done well, every day will add up to less time  overall and more learning. It’s not about just putting in the time, it’s about making that time work for you. 

Remember, the goal is to learn for a lifetime, not to just get through school one quiz at a time.

To Wikipedia Or Not To Wikipedia

“Wikipedia is a wonderful resource for quick research. It is absolutely not appropriate as a source for research papers or other scholarly works.”

These were the words my first graduate-level professor used when replying to a question about using Wikipedia as a source. Her tone made it clear, she was not kidding around.

Many of my fellow students felt this was overly harsh and kind of laughed off her opinion. I can honestly say, I didn’t understand why she was so adamant.

Then something happened to change my perspective on Wikipedia. 

Last March, the New England Patriots signed free agent Darrelle Revis. Revis is the best cornerback in the National Football League. He’s so good, he can cover the best receiver with out help. Quarterbacks seldom throw in his direction...giving his part of the field the nickname “Revis Island” because he’s all alone out there.

Right after the signing, someone updated the Wikipedia page for the islands of Massachusetts to include Revis Island. It was funny, no question, but it illustrates what’s wrong with using Wikipedia as a source for serious research. Anyone can update, change, edit or modify Wikipedia's pages. There’s no authority responsible for its content. 

For serious research, you just can’t trust what you read on Wikipedia. If you must, use it as a starting point. Use it to get a general idea of what you are researching but don’t rely on it. Do use the citations in the reference section at the bottom of the article. These should be reliable, but like everything, double check.

The Day I Met An Astronaut

I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with an astronaut just one time. It was an honor and I admit to being a little tongue-tied. 

I think to fully appreciate the story, you need to know a little background first. 

I was born in 1959, just as the space race was beginning. 

President Kennedy was elected in November 1960, in part, because of a perceived "missile gap" with the Soviet Union. Kennedy keyed part of his presidential campaign on the belief that the United States was losing the space race.

By the time Kennedy took the oath of office, the first seven astronauts had been selected and were training for the upcoming manned space flights of the Mercury program. For me, their names resonate with history:

Alan Shepard, "Gus" Grissom, John Glenn, "Deke" Slayton, Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, and "Wally" Schirra.

They were all military test pilots. They flew the newest, fastest, most dangerous jets before anyone else. Volunteers. Each braver and more dashing than the others. They were the embodiment of the "Right Stuff" before the term was coined. Life magazine and the TV networks lionized these men. And so did I.

In 1961, NASA successfully launched Shepard and Grissom into space. A few months later, Glenn orbited the Earth.

Later, they were joined by the second seven and more after that. Men like Ed White, Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell, Roger Chaffee, Gene Cernan, John Young, and "Buzz" Aldrin. 

After the Mercury program came Gemini and Apollo. 

In those days space flight wasn't routine. A space mission was a national event. The television networks covered it live and for hours on end. I enthusiastically watched every moment of mission coverage. I read everything I could get my young hands on. I became the space expert in my school and among my friends. 

These men were my heroes. Larger than life. Braver than brave. Testosterone dripped off these men like sweat on a hot August day.  

And I bought it all, as did everyone else. 

I was nine years old when the astronauts of Apollo Eight read from Genesis as their spacecraft orbited the Moon on Christmas Eve,1968. I remember it for the awe-inspiring moment it was. 

Seven months later, I was watching Neil Armstrong ease himself down the lunar lander's ladder onto the dusty surface of our nearest neighbor. 

Mission accomplished. And with that, the public turned its collective attention to other matters. Apollo continued but some missions were cancelled.The follow-on was the uninspiring Skylab program, then a gap while the shuttles were built. 

The media and the public may have turned a blind eye to the space program but I hadn't. 

When I saw that an astronaut would be speaking at the Hanscom Air Show in 1991 or 1992, I made sure I was there. I brought my oldest boy but traffic was a mess and we had to park a mile away. 

By the time we found the right tent it was almost over. We walked into the back of the tent while the closing remarks were wafting over the crowd. 

We'd missed it. 

I was crushed. 

It must have shown on my face. We made eye contact. A single finger held aloft told me to wait as the crowd began to stand and disperse. 

And in a moment I was shaking hands with an honest-to-God, flight-tested, space-faring, red-blooded American astronaut. For all the Corvette driving, jet fighter flying, testosterone pumping images, the astronaut standing in front of me was a woman. 

And she was as nice as she was smart and brave. She'd seen me rush in just in time to catch the final words of her talk. She'd made sure to catch my eye and ask me to stay. I introduced her to my son and we made small talk for a minute before she had to go. 

I don't know her name. I've hunted around the internet, but I can't find any mention of who she was. But it doesn't matter. I met an astronaut and she was great. 

Cool Bus

I think I've solved the problem with the school buses being late...

BTW, this quickie post does not qualify for the free homework pass. There's still time to comment on my last post, which DOES qualify for the pass.

Books I Read In 2014

My goal each year is to read at least 20 books. 

2014 brought a major change in my consumption of books. Since I have a ridiculously long commute, I vowed to use that time productively and not just waste it on talk radio and traffic reports. Thus, the audiobook makes up a large percentage of the books I read this year. So, when I say “read” I mean read the paper or digital version or listened to a book. I have noted which were audiobooks on the list.

Once again, now for the fifth consecutive year I reached my goal of reading 20 books in a year. In fact, I blew it away thanks to the audiobooks.

Here’s a partial list of the books I read last year with some comments.

My Brief History - The autobiography of Stephen Hawking, the theoretical physicist, cosmologist and author of several books. Very interesting.

Rhode Island Disasters: Tales of Tragedy by Air, Sea and Rail - So many disasters for such a small state.

A Briefer History of Time - A nice re-write of Hawking's landmark work for the masses on cosmology.

The Age of Radiance: The Epic Rise and Dramatic Fall of the Atomic Era - This was a fascinating look at the discovery, understanding of and harnessing of radioactive elements. It’s a chemistry, physics and history class all rolled into a gripping story.

The Sun Also Rises - The first Hemingway novel I’ve ever read. I read some of his short stores in school but never got around to one of his novels. I’m glad I read it. I didn’t find it a life-altering read. I try to read one classic per year. This was the first of four classic works on my list this year. Mrs. Quinlan, my 9th grade english teacher, would be proud.

Irwin AllenTelevision Productions, 1964-1970: A Critical History of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel, and Land of the Giants - I loved these shows as a kid. Irwin Allen made the kind of movies and TV shows that fired up my imagination. This book wasn’t really what I was looking for, which was a narrative of Allen’s life and his creative process, but it was okay.

Pride and Prejudice (Audiobook) - Saw the movie, listened to the book. Tried and gave up on the zombie version. I’ve had quite enough of Miss Jane Austen, thank you.

Kaiten: Japan's Secret Manned Suicide Submarine and the First American Ship It Sank in WWII (Audiobook) - Who knew? A very good read about a chapter of World War II that I never knew about.

Mission to Mars: My Vision for Space Exploration (Audiobook) - Buzz Aldrin was the second man to walk on the moon - just moments after Neil Armstrong. He has some very cool ideas about exploring Mars. 

The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (audiobook) - I think we all read this, right? It’s a fascinating read. It will change the way you think about food. Sooooo much corn.

On the Road (Audiobook) - I started reading this book a few years ago and lost interest. Listening to it made all the difference. Jack Kerouac’s novel is a stream of consciousness - images and ideas swirling past the reader with barely enough time to comprehend the significance before being replaced by newer images and ideas. I’ve seen the manuscript/scroll. This book works so much better for me as an audiobook. I loved it. I can imagine myself listening to it again someday.

The Ghosts of Bungo Suido : a Novel (Audiobook) - A fun, action-packed naval story of World War II. 

Hidden Warbirds: The Epic Stories of Finding, Recovering, and Rebuilding WWII's Lost Aircraft - If you like abandoned things and aircraft especially, you’ll enjoy this. 

Stuff Matters: Exploring the Marvelous Materials That Shape Our Man-Made World (Audiobook) - Fascinating. This is chemistry where you don’t think about chemistry - like chocolate making. The joy of concrete is another great chapter. 

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Audiobook) - A classic that I was embarrassed to say I’d never read. Now, I don’t have to feel that way anymore. It holds up really well for a book written 138 years ago.

A Stir of Echos (Audiobook) - This was excellent and it was made into a movie starring Kevin Bacon. 

Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond (Audiobook) - This might be the best book I read all year. It was gripping, funny, insightful and fast-paced. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys history and the space program.

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex - This is the other book on my list that gets consideration for best read of the year. This is the real life story that inspired Moby Dick. Someone recommended it to me about five years ago, and I finally got ‘round to reading it. It’s great. Now, I want to visit Nantucket. The movie, directed by Ron Howard, comes out in March.