AcceleratedLearning

ActionGuide

ColinRose

Designed,developedandoriginallypublishedbyAcceleratedLearningSystemsLtd.50AylesburyRoadAstonClintonAylesburyBuckinghamshireEngland

WrittenbyColinRose

FirstPublished1992

1995AcceleratedLearningSystemsLtd.

Otherthanaspermittedbythecopyrightact1956,nopartofthispublicationmaybephotocopied,recordedorotherwisereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystemortransmittedinanyformbyanyelectronicormechanicalmeanswithoutthepriorpermissionofthecopyrightowners.

TypesetandLayoutbyAnna-MariaBlank

CartoonsbyMickDavis

Thisissuepublished,printedandboundby

NIGHTINGALE-CONANTCORPORATION6245WestHowardStreetNiles,Illinois607141-800-525-9000

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

StageOneGETINTOTHERIGHTSTATEOFMINDFORLEARNING29

StageTwoGETTHEFACTSTOSUITYOURSELF41

StageThreeEXPLORETHESUBJECT53

StageFourMEMORIZETHEKEYFACTS68

StageFiveSHOWYOUKNOW83

StageSixREFLECTONHOWYOULEARNED89

3

APOINTTOPONDER

Writeyournameintheboxbelowwithyourusual,i.e.preferred,hand.

Nowchangethepenorpenciltotheotherhandand,again,writeyourname.

Whatdidyouthinkandfeelasyousignedwithyournon-preferredhand?Thetaskwasprobablyratherawkward.Itprobablytooklongerandrequiredmoreeffort.Theresultwasnotasgood.

Whenyoulearnhowtolearninyourpreferredstylethewaythatbestsuitsyourbrainitslikewritingwithyourpreferredhand.Theresultismuchbetter,easierandquicker.

Thisprogramshowsyouhowtodiscoveranduseyourpreferredwayoflearning.Soitpromisesnotonlytoaccelerateyourlearning,buttomakeiteasier,moreeffectiveand,aboveall,moreenjoyable.

USINGTHEAUDIOSESSIONSWITHTHISHANDBOOK

Althoughthisisprimarilyanaudioprogram,webelieveyoulearnbestwhenallyoursensesarefocusedonthesubject.Sopages9-20containlearningmapsvisualsummariesofthe12audiosessions.Usethemtoremindyourselfofthekeypointsonthetapes.Andaddyourownnotestothem.

Then,afterthe12learningmapscomesafullexplorationofthewholesubjectofAcceleratedLearning.IfyouwanttoreallymastertheAcceleratedLearningtechniquesthatwillputyouinthetop1percentofthepopulation,youshould(1)listentothetapes(2)revisiteachtapewiththeappropriatelearningmap,then(3)readthiswholehandbook.Youshouldalsodotheexercisesasyougo.Thenextpagetellsyouwhy.

4

MULTI-SENSORYLEARNING

Ithasbeensaidthat,onaverage,weremember

90%ofwhatwe

20%ofwhatweread

30%ofwhatwehear

40%ofwhatwesee

50%ofwhatwesay

60%ofwhatwedo

see,hear,sayanddo

sohowcanyoulearninwaysthatcombine:

seeing,hearing,sayinganddoing?

Answerthisquestion,andyouareonyourwaytobecomingaverygoodlearner.

Andnowprovethatmulti-sensorylearningworksforyoubylearningtocountfromoneto10inJapaneseinjustthreeminutes.

5

COUNTINGINJAPANESE

TheconventionalwaytoteachyouhowtocountinJapanesewouldbetopresenttheinformationasincolumnsoneandtwobelow.Thetroubleisitlooksverydauntingandstrangeand,aswellsee,whenyoufeelthreat-ened,yourbraindoesntworktoanywherenearfullcapacity.

TheAcceleratedLearningwaywouldbetoinvolveallyoursenses.Sogotocolumnsfourandfive.Saythewordsasyoumimetheaction.Startbysayingitchykneeasyouscratchyourknee(thatsoneandtwoinJapanese).

ThensaySunshegorockasyoupointtothesun,pointtoorthinkofawoman,walktwostepsandthenshakeyourhipsinaRocknRollaction(thatsthree,four,fiveandsix).Nowdoadoublesneezethatsseven.

Ifyouhaveafunnyhattoremembereight(hatchi),fine.Ifnot,mimetheactionofputtingonahat.Nextcoolikeadove(nine).FinallyvisualizeormimeputtingonaJewishcapJew(10).

Repeatthisexercisetwicemorewhilelookingatthewords.Thenturnawayfromthepageandrepeatthewordsandactionstwice.

Thewholeexerciseshouldtakeaboutthreeminutes!AndyouvelearnedthebasicsofcountinginJapanese,because11isju-ichi,12isju-niandsoon.Andyoudiditsoquicklybecauseyouinvolvedallyoursenses.

6

WHICHAREYOURPREFERREDSENSES?

Foreachquestiononthisandthenextpage,therearethreeanswers.Circleorchecktheanswerthatmostcloselyrepresentsyou.Whenyouhavefinished,totalupthenumberofresponsesineachcolumnvisual,audi-toryorphysical.Thesenseyouchoosemostislikelytobeyourpreferredordominatelearningsensethesenseyouarenormallymostcomfortableusinginordertotakeininformationandtostoreit.

WhenyouDoyou

Spellaword

Areconcentrating

VisualTrytovisualizeit(doesitlookright).

Getmostdistractedbyuntidiness.

AuditorySounditout(doesitsoundright).

Getmostdistractedbynoises.

PhysicalWriteitdown(doesitfeelright).

Getmostdistractedbymovementorphysical

disturbance.

Chooseafavorite

Preferpaintings.

Prefermusic.

Preferdance/sculpture.

artform

Rewardpeople

Talk

Meetpeople

Tendtowritepraiseontheirworkinanote.

Talkquitefast,butkeepidleconversationlimited.Uselotsofimages,e.g.itslikeaneedleinahaystack.

Remembermostlyhowtheylooked/thesurroundings.

Tendtogivethemoralpraise.

Talkfluentlywithanevenpace,inalogicalorderandwithfewhesitations.Enunciateclearly.

Remembermostlywhatwassaid/remembertheirnames.

Tendtogivethemapatontheback.

Uselotsofhandmovements.Talkaboutactionsandfeelings.Speakmoreslowlywithlongerpauses.

Remembermostlywhatyoudidwiththem/remembertheir

emotions.

Seeamovie,watchTVorreadanovel

Trytointerpretsomeonesmood

Arerecallingsomething

Rememberbestwhatthescenes/thepeoplelookedlike.

Mainlynotetheirfacialexpression.

Rememberwhatyousaw/peoplesfaces/howthingslooked.

Rememberbestwhatwassaidandhowthemusicsounded.

Listentotheirtoneofvoice.

Rememberwhatwassaid/peoplesnames/jokes.

Rememberbestwhathappened/thechar-actersemotions.

Watchbodymovements.

Rememberwhatwasdone,whatitfeltlike.

Prefertomemorizeby

Arememorizingsomething

Prefertomemorizebywritingsomething

Prefertomemorizebyrepeatingwordsaloud.

doingsomethingrepeatedly.

repeatedly.

7

WhenyouDoyou

Areangry

Visual/VerbalBecomesilentandseethe.

AuditoryExpressitinanoutburst

PhysicalStormabout,clenchyourfists,throw

things.

Areinactive

Expressyourself

Arelearning

Assemblenewequipment

Lookaround,doodle,watchsomething.

Oftenusephraseslike:Isee/Igetthepicture/Letsshedsomelightonthis/Icanpictureit.

Prefertoread;seethewords,illustrationsordiagrams;sketchitout.

Firstlookatthediagrams/readtheinstructions.

Talktoyourselforothers.

Oftenusephraseslike:Thatsoundsright/Ihearyou/Thatringsabell/Somethingtellsme/Itsuddenlyclicked.

Liketobetold,attendlectures,talkitover.

Firstasksomeonetotellyouwhattodo.Thentalktoyourself

Fidget,walkabout.

Oftenusephraseslike:Thatfeelsright/Imgropingforananswer/Ivegotagriponit/Ineedaconcreteexample.

Liketogetinvolved,behands-on,tryitout,writenotes.

Firstworkwiththepieces.

asyouassembleit.

TOTALRESPONSES

Visuallearnerslikedrawingdiagrams,picturesandcharts,andwatchingfilms.

Visual/Verballearnersliketoreadthewrittenword.Theylikebooks,posterswithslogans,instructionmaterialwithclearlywrittentext.

Auditorylearnersliketohearnewinformationthroughspokenexplana-tions,commentariesandtapes.Theybenefitformreadingkeypassagesaloudandmakingtapes.

Physicallearnerslikehands-onlearning,wheretheycanimmediatelytrythingsforthemselves.Theyliketodoastheylearn,e.g.writing,underlining,doodling,imagining.

Theabovetestcanonlybeindicative.Youshoulduseitinconjunctionwithacarefulobservationofwhatworksbestforyou.Tryouttheideasinthisbookandnotetheonesthatmakelearningmoreeffectiveandeasierforyou.Thatstherealtest.

Multi-sensoryleaningcanbeassimpleas:Readandvisualizethematerial..................................................................................youhaveseenit.Readkeypointsoutloud,makeupquestionsandanswerthem................................youhaveheardit.Writeouttheanswerstoyourquestionsandcirclethemajorpoint........................youhavedoneit.

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SESSION1LEARNINGMAPS

9

SESSION2

10

SESSION3

11

SESSION4

12

SESSION6

13

SESSION6cont.

14

SESSION7

15

SESSION8

16

SESSION9

17

SESSION10

18

SESSION11

19

SESSION12

20

YOUHAVEGOTWHATITTAKES!

Morehasbeenlearnedaboutthehumanbraininthelast15yearsthaninallprevioushumanhistory.

Whatwehavelearnedcanrevolutionizeeducation.Butithasnotyet!Whichiswhythisprogramcanmakesuchasignificantcontributiontoyouandyourfamily.

Yourbrainisanincrediblycomplexandcapablepieceofequipmentbutitcomeswithoutanownersmanual.Rarelyarewetoldhowitworksandhowtogetthebestoutofit.

Itisratherlikehavingasupercomputer,butwithoutalltheprogramstomakeitworkproperly.Thinkofthiscourseasprovidingsomeofthemissingprograms.

Letusstartbyhavingabrieflookatthehardwareyourbrain.

THREEBRAINSINONE

Thefirstsurpriseisthatyouactuallyhavethreebrains.Eachoneevolvedaftertheother.

Atthebaseofyourskullyouhavearatherprimitivebrain.Itkeepsyoubreathinganditkeepsyourheartbeating.Ittellsyoutofightorrunwhendangerthreatens.Italsocontrolssomeofyourmoreprimitiveinstincts,likeyoursenseofterritory.Whichiswhyyoustartfeelingangryoruncomfortablewhensomeonemovestooclosetoyou.

Nexttoevolvewasyourmiddlebrain,atypeofbrainthatmammalsalsopossess.Onlyrecentlyhavewerealizedhowimportantthismid-brainistolearning.

Yourmiddlebraincontrolsyourhormonalsystem,yourhealth(immunesystem),yoursexuality,youremotionsandanimportantpartofyourlong-termmemory.Thefactthatouremotionsandourlong-termmemoryarebothcontrolledfromthissamemiddlebrainexplainssomethingwehaveallobserved.

Whensomethinginvolvesstrongemotions,itisusuallyverywellremembered.Youprobablyrememberyourfirstkiss,forexample,orwhereyouwerewhenyouheardsomeonesignificanthaddied.Italsomeansenjoymentandfunareimportantelementsinlearning,becausetheyinvolvepositiveemotions.21

AREYOUBEINGACTIVE?ORAREYOUBEINGPASSIVE?

Activelearnerswillbereadingthiswithapencilintheirhand,readytojotdownquestionsanddotheexercises!

Letsgetyourbraincapacityintoperspective.Asitgrowsinthewomb,a12-week-oldhumanembryoisdevelopingabout2,000braincellsasecond.

Makeafistwithyourhand.Nowwrapyourotherhandoverthetopofthisfist.Ifyourwristrepre-sentsyourprimitivebrain,andthefistisyourmiddlebrain,thehandwrappedoveritrepresentsyournewbrain.

Thisthirdbrainistrulyextraordinary.

Thegoodnewsisthatthisbrainhasallthecapacityyouwilleverneedtolearnandrememberanythingyouwant.Solongasyouknowhow!

THINKINGBRAIN

Anadultbeewhichcandosomeprettysophisticatedthings,likebuildingahoneycomb,calculatingdistancesandsignalingthedirectionofpollentoitscompanionshasatotalofabout7,000braincellsorneurons.

Thatsthenumberofbraincellsthatahumanembryogrowsinaboutthreeseconds!

Theincrediblecapacityofthebrainhasonlyrecentlybeenrealized.Youhaveabout100billionbraincells,anumberthatisalmostimpossibletovisualize.Itis20timestheentirepopulationoftheworld.

Abraincelllooksabitlikeaminiatureoctopus.Thecellisinthemiddle.Branchingoutfromitaretinythreads.Eachtimesomethingreachesoneofyoursenses(sight,soundortouch),itcreatesathoughtorimpressionthattravelsoutfromabraincellandalongoneofthelittlebranch-likethreads.(ThesethreadsarecalleddendritesfromaGreekwordmeaningbranch.)

Thenthethoughtcrossesovertoanotherbraincell,viaitsbranch.Theprocesscontinueswithperhapsthou-sandsormillionsofbraincellsbeingconnectedupinsequence.Itisasplit-secondmentalchainreaction

Dr.PaulMacLeanisthescien-

BRAINCELL

conductedbyelectricalactivity.

tistmostidentifiedwiththeideaofthebraininthreeparts.HecallsitTheTruineBrainTheory.

Eachtimethischainreactiontakesplace,newconnectionsareformedbetweenbraincells.Someoftheseconnectionsarepermanent.Thatiswhyyoucanremembersomanythingswithoutconsciouseffort,likeridingabike.

TWOBRAINCELLSCONNECTINGHereisthesignificance.Itisnotreallythenumberofbraincellsyouhave,itisthenumberofconnectionsyoumakebetweenthosebraincellsthatdetermineshowusefulyourbrainbecomes,i.e.howintelligentyouare.

Thebignewsfrombrainscientistsoverthelast10-15yearsisthatintelligenceisnotfixed.Webecomemoreintelligentthemoreweuseourbrainsandthemorestimulationwegiveourminds.Becausethemoreyouuseyourbrain,themoreconnectionsyoumakebetweenyourbraincells.Themoreconnectionstherearebetweenyourbraincells,thegreateryourpotentialisforintelligentthought.

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Youliterallyexpandyourbrainthroughuse.Inarealsenseyouarethearchitectofyourownbrain.Youcandevelopyourownintelligence.

Barringinjuryormajorillness,youdonotlosebraincapacityasyougrowolder,solongasyoukeeplearningandkeepseekingnewexperiencesthroughhobbies,reading,work,sports,art,music,etc.Thebrainthrivesonnoveltyandonlydeclineswithlackofstimu-lation.

Themoreyouuseyourbrain,thebetteritgets.Atanyage.Thelessyouuseit,thefewerbraincellconnectionsyoumake,andeventuallyitscapabilitywilldecline.

MOREABOUTYOURTHINKINGBRAIN

Imagineyouarelookingdownontopofyourheadandareabletoseethroughyourskulltothethinkingbrainwithin.Whatyouwouldseeisthatthethinkingbrain(orneo-cortex)consistsoftwodistincthalves.ThesearetheCerebralHemispheres.Thetwohalvesareconnectedbyarichbundleofnerves.

Ingeniousresearchsuggestthateachhemisphere,orhalfofthebrain,tendstohaveitsownstyleofprocessinginformationforlearning.

LeftbrainspecialtiesRightbrainspecialtiesSpeechMelodyStep-by-steplogicPatternsNumbersIntuition

Itsimportantnottoexaggeratethedifference,becauseourbrainsarefartoocomplextobeputintoneatcategories.Nevertheless,thereisanimportantlessontolearnfromthisresearch.Somepeoplepreferaslowstep-by-stepbuild-upofinformation.Wecallthemthemorelineartypeoflearner.

Otherspreferindeed,absolutelyneedtoseethebigpictureofthesubject.Tohaveanoverviewsotheycanseewhereitallleads.(Itsdifficulttodoajigsawpuzzlewithoutthepictureontheboxinfrontofus!)Wecallthemthemoreglobaltypeoflearner.

Whenwelistentoasong,theleftbrainwillbasicallybeattendingtothewords,therightbrainwillbeattendingtothemelody.Inaddition,theemotionalcenterofyourbrain,orlimbicsystem,willbeengaged.Inotherwords,yourwholebrainisactivelyinvolved.

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Themottois:Useitorloseit!Thechoiceisyours.

Thelimitstolearningarelargelyself-imposed.ColinRose

Afunnythingaboutlife.Ifyourefusetoacceptanythingbutthebest,youoftengetit.W.SomersetMaugham

Thebrainmaywellbelikeamiraclecomputer.Butitsalsotheonlyonethatrunsonglucose,generates10wattsofelectricityandiscreatedbyunskilledlabor!DavidLewis

Areyouaskingquestionsasyouread?

AquestionyoumightaskrightnowisAmImoreofalinearorgloballearner?

Thestyleofteachingthatusedtocharacterizeoureducationalsystemwastypically,Sitstill,facethefrontandlistentome.

Thatstyleofteachingsuitslessthanhalfthepopulation.

Nowondersomanypeoplefeeltheycouldhavedonebetteratschoolthantheydid.Andthatfeelingstillaffectstheirattitudetowardlearningyearslater.

Learningstylesandteachingstylesneedtobematchedtoenablelearningtobeenjoyableandsuccessful.

Nowthinkhowcomparativelyeasyitistolearnthewordsofasong.Youprob-ablyknowdozens,maybehundredsofsongsyetyounormallymakelittleconsciousefforttolearnthem.

ACTION

Takeafewmomentstothinkaboutwhatyouhavejustread.Theconditionsunderwhichyoulistentoasongareusuallyrelaxedandstressfree.Whatdoesthisinformationtellyouabouttheconditionsforeffectivelearning?

Doesitmakesensetocombineactivitiesthatinvolvethewholebrainaswelearn?Combine,forexample,picturesandwords?Orwordsandmusic?Ortheoverallbigpicturewithdetail?

Averysimplifiedwaytoexplainthedifferencebetweenlinearandglobalthinkingwouldbetoimaginemeetingsomeoneyouknow.

Atotallylinearapproachwouldbetobuilduptheimagestep-by-step.Youwouldscanthehair,theforehead,thentheeyebrows,theeyes,nose,mouthandchin.Itisaslow,logicalbuild-upofinformationinsequence.

Ofcoursewedontdothat.Weglanceatthepersonandinstantlyourcapacityforglobalthinkingmeansweseethepattern.Theresultisweimmediatelyrecognizeweknowtheperson.

Hereswhythedistinctionbetweenlinearlearnersandgloballearnersmatters.Mosttraditionaleducationalmaterialsrelytooheavilyonalinearpresenta-tion,i.e.aslow,detailed,build-upofinformation.Themoregloballearnersgetfrustrated.Theycannotseewhereitsallleadingto.Sotheygetboredandswitchoff.

Mostofourlearningexperienceshavetendedtobebasedonthetypeofinstructionthatlinearlearnerslike.Thisissadforpeoplewholikeintuitivethinkingschoolrarelyenablesthemtoachievetheirfullpotential.Itisalsosadforthosewhorelymoreonalineartypeofthinkingtheyhavenotbeengiventhechancetodevelopmorecreativeandintuitivestylesofthinking.

ProblemAbsolutelystuckwithsomethingnewyouarelearning?Unabletoretainit?Unabletomaintaininterestandconcentrationwhileyouread?

Lookatthewayyouareapproachingit.Canyouidentifyyourapproachaslinearorglobal?Forexample,ifyouarelaboriouslyworkingyourwaythroughatextbook,takingcarefulnotestrysomethingradicallydifferent.Tryusingsomevisualimagestakearangeofcoloredpensandcreateaposterthatrepresentswhatyouaretryingtolearn.Youwillhavechangedfromalinear

HOTTIP

approachtoamorewhole-brainmodeoflearning.

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WHATHASALLTHISBRAINSTUFFGOTTODOWITHLEARNING?

Simplythis.Informationenteringourbrainwilltraveltothemiddlebrain.Themiddlebrainactsasasortofcentralswitchboard.Ifitdecidestheinformationisworthwhile,itswitchesthatinformationuptoyourthinkingbrain.

Nowrememberthatthismiddlebrainisnotonlyaswitchboard,itisalsothepartofyourbrainthatcontrolsyouremotions.So,whenthenewinformationistransmittedtoyouinwaysthatappealpositivelytoyouremotions,youcanlearnwellandrememberwell.

Whenwhatwearelearningincludescolor,illustrations,gamesandsometimesamusicalaccompaniment,ouremotionsareengagedpositively,andwelearnbetter.

Whichteachersdoyourememberfromschool?Chancesaretheoneswhoareorwereenthusiastic.Enthusiasmhasemotionalappeal.

However,whennegativeemotionsorfeararepresent,themiddlebrainmaysuppresstheincominginformation.

Ifyouareunderstress,informationmayneverevenreachyourthinkingbrain.Itgetsfilteredout.Thatiswhathappenswhenyourmindgoesblank.

STRESSEDRELAXED

Stress,however,isnotonlytheworryandconcernsofwhichyouareconscious.Veryoftenpeoplewithapoorpreviousexperienceoflearningfeelunconsciouslythreatenedbynewlearningexperiences.

Itbecomesaviciouscircle.Becausetheyfeeltheyarepooratlearning,theyfeelthreatened.Andbecausetheyfeelunderthreat,theirthinkingbrainreceiveslessinformation,sotheydolearnlesseffectively.

Ifyoufeelinsecure,lessofyourbrainspotentialisavailable.Thatiswhy,whenyouareworried,youmaysuddenlycometorealizethatyouhadbeenstaringatapage,withouttakinganythingin.

Thesecretistogetintoacalm,positivemoodbeforeyoustartlearning.

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Inarapidlychangingenviron-ment,peoplewillneedtomoveinandoutofeducationalltheirlives.ProfessorTomStonierBradfordUniversity

STRESSEDORSTRETCHED?

Thereisadifferencebetweenstress,whichisnegative,andthefeelingoftensionyougetbeforeyoustartsomethingthatyouknowwillstretchyourability.

Weallfeelgoodwhenwerisetoachallenge.Agamewithanopponentwithwhomweneedtostruggletowin.

Ormasteringahobbyoraschoolsubjectoranewskillatwork.

Tobestretchedispositiveitmakeslifefun.

Dr.BenjaminBloomhasspentalifetimestudyingexcellence.

Hisconclusionisthatanyonecanlearnanythingtheonlydifferenceisthatsometakemoretimethanothers.

Ifthisprogramhelpswiththerestofyourlife,itdoesntmatterifittakessixdays,sixweeksorsixmonthstocomplete.Doesit?

DONTUNDERESTIMATETHEIMPORTANCEOFINDIVIDUALITY

Testsshowthatsimplyshiftingabooktotheleftorrightofthebodycanimprovesomepeoplesreadingspeedandunder-standing!

THEGOODNEWSYOUHAVESEVENINTELLIGENCESTOUSE

Wehaveseenthatyoucertainlyhavethebraincapacity.With100billionbraincells,youwouldhavetobedownrightgreedytowantanymore!

Buthowdoweactuallyuseourbraintolearn?Whydomostofususeonlyatinyfractionofitspotential?Andwhatisintelligence?

WorkbyDr.HowardGardneratHarvardUniversitypointstothefactthatwehavenotjustoneintelligencebutseven.

Eachintelligenceisofsimilarimportanceinreachingourfullhumanpotential.

Letslookatthosesevenimportantintelligences.Theyarecommonsense.Wecanrecognizethemasnaturaltalents,whicheachofushastoagreaterorlesserextent.

Thesevenintelligencesare:

1.LinguisticIntelligenceortalentwithlanguage.Theabilitytowriteortalkwell.Somepeoplejustseemtohavethegiftofgab.Ortheycanwritewell.Manypeopleliketoreadgoodnovels,orevenwritepoetry.Theyhavegoodlinguisticintelligence.

2.Mathematical/LogicalIntelligenceortalentwithmath,logicandsystems.Theabilitytodealwellwithnumbersandtothinklogically.Youprobablyknowpeoplewhodonotthinkofthemselvesasintelligent,butwhoarerazor-sharpinaddinguptheoddsonabetoratcalculatingstatisticsforfoot-ballorbaseball!Engineers,scientistsandaccountantswoulddemonstratethisintelligence.

3.Visual/SpatialIntelligenceorvisualtalent.Theabilitytovisualizehowthingswilleventuallylook.Toimaginethingsinyourmindseye.Designers,architectsandartistswouldbeanexample,butyouuseitwhenyouuseyoursenseofdirection,navigateordrawwell.

4.MusicalIntelligenceortalentwithmusic.Theabilitytocreateandinterpretmusic.Tokeeprhythm.Mostofushaveagoodbasicmusicalintelligence,andwecanalldevelopit.Thinkhowhelpfulitistolearnwithajingleorrhyme(e.g.30dayshathSeptember).

5.Bodily/PhysicalIntelligenceorphysicaltalent.Youusethisintelligencewhenyoumovewell,run,dance,buildandconstructsomething.Allartsandcraftsusethisintelligence.

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Manypeoplewhoarephysicallytalentedandgoodwiththeirhandsdonotrecognizethattheyareshowingahighformofintelligence.Onethatisofequalvaluetotheotherintelligences.

6.Inter-PersonalIntelligenceorsocialtalent.Theabilitytocommunicatewellandgetalongwithothers.Manypeoplehaveasuperbabilitytomakepeoplefeelatease,toreadothersreactionsandtobesympathetictothefeelingsofothers.Thisisavitalhumanintelligence.Thistalentisusedtothefullinbeingagoodparent,asupportivecolleagueoragoodteacher.

7.Intra-PersonalIntelligenceorinnercontrol.Anabilityforquiet,objectiveself-analysis.Thisleadstobeingabletounderstandyourownbehaviorandfeelings.Youusethisintelligencetocreateyourowngoalsandplans,andtostudyyourownsuccessesandmistakesasaguidetofutureimprovement.

Itisworthspendingafewminuteslookingatthislistofsevenintelligencesortalentsagain.Beawarethattheyareofequalvalue.

ThisnewwayoflookingatpeoplesabilityhasledDr.HowardGardnertoproposeanewdefinitionofintelligence.Itistheabilitytocreateusefulproductsandsolveeverydayproblems.

Previously,intelligencewasdefinedmuchmorenarrowly.Itwasmostlyrelatedtoacademicperformance.Yetacademicsubjectsarelargelytaughtthroughjusttwointelligencesthelinguisticandmathematical/logicalintelligences.

Academicsuccessisindeedonewayofdemonstratingintelligence.Intherealworld,however,itisfarfromtheonlyway.

CONCLUSION

Youhaveallthecapacityyouneedtobeanexcellentlearner.Toallintentsandpurposesthebasiccapacityofahumanbrainislimitless.Mostpeople,however,useonlyafractionoftheirtruepotential,forthreereasons:

1.Theylackself-confidence.

2.Theylackanorganizedapproachtolearning.

3.Theydonotknowhowtolearnsothattheyusetheirpreferredlearningstyleandtheirfullrangeofintelligences.

Thisprogramisdesignedtoensurethatyouknowhowtolearninwaysthatsuityouruniquemixofcapabilities.Theprogramisalsodesignedsothatyouhaveaclearstep-by-stepplanonwhichtowork.ThatplanisbasedontheSixStagesofLearningwehaveidentifiedfromtheresearchonthebrainthatyouhavejustread.Thosesixstagesareexplainednext.27

Auniformwayofteachingandtestingispatentlyunsatisfactorywheneveryoneissodifferent.Dr.HowardGardnerFramesofMind

Intheremainderofthebookyouwillfindsomepowerfulideaswhichweknowmakelearningeasier.Theymakeupyourbasiclearningtoolkit.Theyfitintoasystematicapproachtolearningthatwillsuitthewayyouliketolearnbest.

ThisPowerToolSymbolmeansthatthisideaisofcentralimportanceinbecominganeffectiveandacceleratedlearner.

Thisisanoptionaltool.Youllwanttouseitifitsuitsyourlearningstyle,atthemoment.

TOOLSEXTENDYOURNATURALPOWER

Alevermagnifiesthepowerofyourarms.Ascrewdriverincreasesthepowerofyourhands.Atorchamplifiesthepowerofyoureyesinthedark.

Thesetoolsoflearningextendthenaturalpowerofyourbrain.

THESIXSTAGESOFLEARNING

Webelievethateffectivelearningshouldinvolvesixstages:

1.StateofmindYourneedtobeinaresourcefulstateofmind.Thatstateofmindisrelaxed,confidentandmotivated.Ifyouarestressed,orlackbeliefinyourability,orcannotseethepointofwhatyouarelearning,youwontlearnwell.

2.IntakeofinformationYouneedtotakeinthefactstosuityourlearningpreferences.Therearedifferencesintheextenttowhichweeachneedtosee,hearortogetphysicallyinvolvedinwhatwearelearning.

Whenyoufirststarttoread,listentoorwatchsomethingnew,youneedtodosomethingtomakethatinformationmorememorabletoyourself.Whatyoudodependsonyourpreferenceforvisual,auditoryorphysicallearningorwhetheradeliberatecombinationofallthreeworksbestforyou.

3.ExplorethesubjectYouneedtoexplorewhatyouarelearning.Theresadifferencebetweenknowingaboutsomethingandtrulyunderstandingit.

Whenyouthoroughlyexploreasubject,youturnsurfaceknowledgeintodeepunderstanding.Howyouachievethisdependsuponotherimportantlearningpreferencespreferencesthatdependupontheuniquewayyouuseyourrangeofintelligences.

4.MemorizetheinformationYouneedtomemorizethekeyelementsofwhatyouhavelearned.Theaimistocommitoneortwokeyfactstomemorysotherestofwhatyouvelearnedcomesfloodingback.

5.ShowyouknowUnlessyoutestyourunderstandingofwhatyouvelearned,youcannotbesureyouhavereallyunderstoodit.Youneedtoshowyouknow.

6.ReflectonhowyoulearnYouneedtoreflectonhowwellthelearningwent.Theaimistoimprovenotjustwhatyouknow,buthowyoulearn.Thatwayyouwillbecomeabetterandbetterlearner.

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StageOne

GETINTOTHERIGHTSTATEOFMINDFORLEARNING

Howyoufeelaboutlearningisextremelyimportant.Ifyoufeelgoodaboutyourabilitytolearn,thisfirstsectioncontainsmanyideasthatwillreinforce

andextendthatconfidence.If,likemanyothers,youhavelackedconfidenceasalearner,itsimportanttoknowthatyouarenotstuckwiththosefeelings.

Nevertheless,changingyourattitudewhileentirelypossiblewillrequiresomedeliberateefforttoputintopracticesomeproventechniques.

Apositiveattitudetolearningflowsfrom:

1.Understandingyourfeelings,howtheyareformedandhowyoucanchosetochangethemKnowinghowtotakedeliberateactiontocreatethestrongestpossiblebeliefinyourownability.Self-beliefisthekeytosuccess.

2.Beingabletosetcleargoals,becausetospendtimetolearnmeanschoosingfromcompetingpossibilities.Yourmotivationtochoosestudyoveramoreimmediatepleasuredependslargelyonhowclearyourvisionofyourfuturesuccessis.

3.Beingabletorelaxandcalmyourselfwheneveryouneedto.

WorthPonderingOn!

WaltDisneywasfiredbyanewspapereditorbecausehelackedgoodcreativeideas.Einsteincouldnotspeakuntilhewasfourandcouldnotreaduntilhewasseven.Beethovensmusicteachertoldhimhewashopelessasacomposer.PaulGauguintriedpaintingonlybecausehefailedasastockbroker.RodgersandHammersteinsfirstcollaborationwassodisastrousthattheydidntworktogetheragainforyears.WriterMarilynFergusonputsitsowell:Yourpastisnotyourpotential.Itsnevertoolatetosucceed.Highachieversaremadenotborn.

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Thismanualisnotjustmeanttoberead,buttobedefaced!Writenotesinit,reacttoitanddiscussit.

Theonlytrulyeducatedpersonistheonewhohaslearnedhowtolearn.CarlRogersEducationalpsychologist

EVERYTHINGISPOSSIBLE

BarbaraMeister-Vitalewasdismissedasaretardedchild.Shecouldntreadat12andwaspronouncedashopelesslydyslexic.

Hergrandmothernevergaveuponhersheencouragedhertousehertalenttodraw,creatementalimagesandplaymusic.Graduallyshelearnedtousemoreofthesevisualandrhythmictalentstoexploreherschoolwork.Ithelpedreduceherrelianceonthewrittenword.

TodaysheisamemberofMensaandhastwodegrees,includingamastersdegreeinearlylearning.

FEELINGSANDSELF-BELIEF

Maybethesinglebiggestdiffer-encebetweengoodandpoorlearnersistheextenttowhichtheyexplorethesubject,i.e.getactivelyinvolved.Theimageoflearninghastendedtobeofsomeonereadingquietlyorsittingpassivelylisteningtoateacher.

Formostpeopleandmost

Imagineyouareinthekitchen.Youtakeafreshlemonfromthefruitbowl.Itiscoolinyourhand.Theyellow,dimpledskinfeelssmoothandwaxy.Itcomestoasmall,green,conicalpointateitherend.Thelemonisfirmandquiteheavyforitssizeasyoulookatitinthepalmofyourhand.

Youraisethelemontoyournose.Itgivesoffsuchacharacteristic,unmistakablecitrussmell,doesntit?

Youtakeasharpknifeandcutthelemoninhalf.Thetwohalvesfallapart,thewhitepulpyouterskincontrastingwiththedropsofpale,lemon-coloredjuicethatgentlyoozeout.Youraisethelemontowardyourmouth.Thelemonsmellisnowslightlystronger.Nowyoubitdeeplyintothelemonandletthejuiceswirlaroundyourmouth.Thatsharpsourlemonflavorisunmistakable.Stopaminute!

situations,thatimageiscompletelywrong.

Successcomesincansnotcants.

Becausemathematicsissuchacommonfearformanypeople,wehaveuseditasanexample.

Ifyouaregoodatmathematics,dontbesmugsubstituteasubjectyoufeelyouarenotgoodat,likepublicspeaking,drawingorreadinghandbookslikethis!

(Bytheway,x=5)

Didyoumouthwater?Almosteveryonesdoes.Andyettheextraordinarythingisthatifwehadsimplyinstructedyoutomakeyourmouthwater,youcouldnthavedoneit.

Theimageryworkedbecauseyouremotionalmiddlebraindoesnotdistin-guishbetweenexperiencesthatactuallyoccuroutthereintherealworldandexperiencesyouimaginevividlyinyourhead.

Youcanusethisfacttoprogramyouremotionalbraintobelieveverystronglyinyoursuccess.Itisimportanttodothisprogrammingbecauseitisfrighteninghowquicklyandunnecessarilywecreateself-doubtsandself-limits.

ALLATTITUDESARELEARNEDATTITUDES

If2xx=5whatisx?

Howdoyoufeelwhenyoulookatthatequation?Lotsofpeoplefeeltenseintheirstomach.Possiblyafeelingofhelplessnessorevenincompetence.

Whenyouhearpeoplesay,Idontlikemath,orIdontlikebeinginatrainingroomitremindsmeofschool,whattheyarereallysayingisIdontlikethefeelingsandthoughtsIgetwhenImfacedwithmathoratrainingday.

Thesefeelingstowardmathematicsaremerelyunhelpfulresponsessomeonehaslearnedfromanoriginaloccasion(stimulus).

Thekeypointisthis.Theresponseyougetfromastimulusisntfixed.Youlearnedit.Andifyoulearnedoneresponseyoucanchoosetolearnanother.

Justaspeopleoftenunconsciouslygeneralizeasingleerrorintoanoverallfeelingofdefeat,soyoucanconsciouslygeneralizeasinglemomentofsuccessintoageneralfeelingofconfidence.Youlllearnhowtonext.30

WHATSUCCESSFEELSLIKE

Lookatthepictureinthemargin.Itisapictureofsomeoneatamomentofpeakexperience.Apicture,infact,ofanathletewithtunnelvision.Hecanpictureonlyonething:OlympicGold.

Itsastateofexaltation,ofknowingdeepinyourmind,deepinyourbody,thatyoucreatedamomentofexcellence.Itsamomentofgreatclarity,whenevery-thingcomestogetherinamomentoftotalinnersatisfaction.Thatfeelingdoesnthavetolastlongthenitsontothenextpoint,thenextraceorthenexttask.Butthatmomentlivesinsideyouforever.

Thatsortofmomentis,literally,apowerfulresourcetodrawupon.Amemorythat,ifplayedoverandover,willtriggerthesamefeelingofpowerfulnessinsideyou.Becausethememoryofthemomentandthefeelingthatgoeswithitareinseparable.Thememoryisthestimulusthefeelingistheresponse.

Replaythememory,andyoureplaythefeeling.Replaythefeeling,andyouvecreatedaresourcefulstateofmind.Afeelingofstrengthtodrawonwhenyouneedit.

ACTION

Beforeyougofurther,wewouldlikeyoutothinkbacktoatimewhenyoudidsomethingthatwasexceptional.Atimewheneverythingclicked.Itallcametogether,andyousurprisedyourselfwithyourownability.Itcouldbeasportingmoment.Itcouldbeamomentwhenyousuddenlysolvedaproblem,sawasolutioninaflashofinsight.MaybeyougotanAonapaper,oranexamresultbeyondyourexpectations.Itcouldbetheexactmomentinanegotiationwhenyousuddenlyknewyouwouldsucceedorthelookonsomeonesfacewhentheycongratulatedyouonanachievement.Aperfectlyexecuteddancestep,oramealyoucookedthatwassuperb.Itcouldbeanexperiencewithyourfamilyorafriend.Itcouldbeasitua-tionwhereyousucceededinahobbyoraleisureactivity.Inotherwords,apeakmoment.Ifyouneedhelpremembering,justlookattheillustrationabove.Thatisthefeeling.Foramoment,timestandsstill,andyouhavetheforce.Nowstopandre-createavividmemoryofyourownlearningsuccess.Firstre-createwhatyouweredoing.Thenre-createwhatyouwerehearing.Thenre-createwhatyouwereseeing.Thenre-createwhatyouweresayingtoyourself.Thenre-createwhatyourbodyfeltlike.Finally,re-createwhatemotionsyouwerefeeling.

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Fromtheinstantheleftthestaringblocks,LinfordChristieknewhewasgoingtowinthe1992mens100-meterOlympicgoldMedal.Hehadrunandre-runtheraceinhismindoverandover.Hiseyeswerewideopenwithsteelyconcentrationonthefinishingline.AllIhadtodowasfocus,hesaidafterwards.

Anyoftheeightfinalistscouldhavewon.ButChristiehadthementaledge.Thevision.

Youarenotstuckwithyourfeelings.Youcanchoosetochangethem!

Sometimesyoucanmakeimpor-tantshiftsinattitudethroughquitesmallchanges.YoucanchangethewordimpossibletoImpossiblewithjustonesmallapostrophe().

ImpossibleImpossible

Youhaveusedthistechniquelotsoftimeswithoutrealizingit.Itisthesamementalprocessthatassociatesoursongwithaparticularevening,oraperfumewithaparticularevent.

Thesongortheperfumealwaysbringsbackthesamefeeling.Nowyourcuewordandthesuccessfulimagewillbringbackaconfidentfeeling.Youareconsciouslyanddeliberatelyusingthesamementalprocessforapositivereason.

Noticehowyoucanchangeanegativetoapositivewithjustasimpledownstrokeofthepen:

Inasimilarway,youcanchoosetochangeyourfeelingsandattitudes.Apositivestateofmindwillimmediatelymakeyoumoreabletolearn.

METHODONECREATINGARESOURCEFULSTATEOFMIND

Youcancreateaconfident,positivestateofmindwheneveryouchoosewiththissimplesequence.

Step1Recallyourmomentofsuccess.Step2Nowintensifythatmemory.Whatdidyouseeatthatmoment?Whatdidyouhear?Whatdidyoufeel?Getasmuchdetailaspossible,usingallyoursenses.Takesometime.Seeitwithyoureyes,asyoudidoriginally;Hearitwithyourears,feelitwithyourbody.Avoidseeingyourselfinthescenefromadistance.Itisessentialthatyoulookoutatthesuccessfulscenewithyourowneyesbecausethatre-createsthesamefeelingofcompetenceandstrengththatyouhadoriginally.Youhavelearnedhowtorecallapowerfulstateofresourcefulness.Allyouneednowisawaytocallthatfeelingup,wheneveryouwish.Step3Havingrecapturedyourmomentandfeelingofpeakexperience,thinkofonewordthatsumsuptheoriginalevent.Itisyourcueword.Step4Situpstraightandstraightenyourbody.Pullyourshouldersback.Nowlookupandtakeadeepbreath.Thisisimportant,becauseatmomentsofpeakexperience,weautomaticallybreathedeeply.(Youprobablyalreadyfeeldifferent!)Step5Clenchyourfistwhichisanaturalthingtodowhenyoufeelpowerful.Step6Nowintensifyyourmemoryofthatoriginalexperience.Reallyrevelinthepowerfulfeeling.Step7Unclenchyourfistandopenyoureyes.Repeatthissequenceof7stepsmanytimesoverthenexttwodays.Themoreoftenyourepeatthesequence,thestrongerthestimulus/responsepatternbecomes.Later,youwillbeabletoreturntothisresourcefulstatewheneveryouwish.Justtakeadeepbreath,picturethescene,clenchyourfistandsayyourcuewordinsideyourhead.Youvedeliberatelyprogrammedyourselftofeelgoodandfeelcompetent,oncommand.Thisisaskillthatwillbenefityoufortherestofyourlife.Itsnotjustaskillforlearningitsaskillforlife.Notcompletelyconvincedyet?Well,rememberthatwhenyoureadaboutthelemon,yourconscious,logicalmindknewallalongthattherewasntreallyalemontomakeyourmouthwater.Itwasallinthemind.Yetitsucceeded,becauseyourbrainandbodyrespondtotheimagesyoucreateinyourownmindinexactlythesamewayastheyrespondtorealoutsideexperiences.Thatswhywerespondphysicallytodreamsortoworry.

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METHODTWOPOSITIVEAFFIRMATIONS

Weallhaveaninnervoicetherunningcommentaryinourheadsthataccom-paniesouractions.Someofuscommentoutloudaswetrynewthings.Thisisgoodifwhatweresayingispositive,butmuchlesshelpfulifwearenegativeaboutourselves.

Youcanincreaseyourchanceofsuccessinwhateveryoutacklebythinkingandsayingreallypositivethingsaboutyourself.Youcanlearntocreateanduseaffirmations.Affirmationsarepositivestatementsthatexpresswhatyouchoosetobecome.Anexampleis,Iamrelaxedandsuccessfulintrainingsessions.

Theaffirmationneednotbetrueforyouyetthetimetouseaffirmationsiswhenyouaretryingtoachievesomething.

Atfirst,affirmationsdescribeyouasyouwouldliketobecome.Yousaytheaffirmationtoyourself(oroutloud)overandover.Youimagineyourselfhavingachievedsomethingyouwouldliketoachieve.Theaffirmationinflu-encesyourthoughtsandbehaviorandgraduallybecomesmoreandmoretrue.

Wehavenoprobleminunderstandinghownegativecommentshaveaveryrealeffectonpeoplesthoughtsandbehavior.Ifyoutellpeoplethattheyarestupidorirresponsible,weallknowtheywillcometobenegativeandactstupidlyandirresponsibly.Itsnegativeprogramminganditworksalltoowell.

Allyouwillbedoingwithpositiveaffirmationsisusingthesameprocess,butyouwillbedoingtheprogrammingtoachieveapositiveeffect.

Agoodexampleofasimplepositiveaffirmationis

IAMACONFIDENTLEARNER

Youcanseethataffirmationsdontneedtobecomplicatedorlengthy.Short,snappyaffirmationscanbemoreeasilyrememberedandused.

Themoreyourepeatyouraffirmation,themorecomfortableyouwillfeelwithit.Andthecloseryouwillmovetowardachievingyourambition.Trysayingittoyourselffrequentlyandregularly,10timesinthemorningand10timesatnight.

Repeatittoyourselfwhenyouarefacedwithachallengerelatedtoyourgoal.Asyoufeelmorecomfortablewithit,sayitoutloudmorningandevening.Andimaginethegoodfeelingsasyouraffirmationcomestrue.

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Repeatinganaffirmationformentalstrengthislikedoingpushupsforphysicalstrength.

Youdontnoticethedifferenceimmediately,buttheresultscomewithpractice.

Top-classathletes,sportsmenandsportswomenfrequentlyusethesetechniquestohelpthemtowardsuccess.

Affirmationsremindusthatwehaveachoicetoworkandsucceedorsettleforlessthanwecoulddo.

WHYAFFIRMATIONSWORK

Affirmationshelpcreateamorepositiveself-image.Aself-imageisthepictureofyourselfyouholdinyoursubconscious.

Atthebeginningyourconsciousminddoesntneedtofullybelieveinthem.(Rememberhowyoucouldmakeyourmouthwaterbyvisualizinganimagi-narylemon?)

Butwithrepetitionyoursubcon-sciousdoescometobelieveinyouraffirmationsandlooksforwaystomakeyouractionsmatchitsbeliefs.So,gradually,abeliefinyourselfasaconfi-dent,effectivelearnerproducestheactualresult.

Soundssimplebutoursubcon-sciousmindissimple.

Howdoesthisfitintoyourpreviousknowledge?

Doesthismakesense?

Doesthischallengeorfitinwithyourexperiencetodate?

Relatingandcomparingwhatsnewtoyourexistingknowledgeandconclusionsisagoodlearningstrategy.

GOALSETTINGISFUNDAMENTAL

Thereisnopointinbeingthemostefficientoilrigteaminhistoryifyouredrillinginthewrongplace!

Youhavetostartwiththeendinmind.StephenCovey

Avisionisimportant,becauseifyoudontstandforsomethingyoucanfallforanything!

Whatwouldyouthinkofanairlinepilotwhotookoffwithoutadestinationandabasicroadmap?Notmuch!

Yourlifeisajourney.Surelyitdeservessomecleargoalsandspecificplans.

SETTINGCLEARGOALS

YourTwoMindsWeallhaveaconsciousmind.Andweallhaveasubconsciousmind.Ourconsciousmindexpressesitselfinlogicalterms.LikeIreallyshouldbegettingdowntolearningFrenchtonightorIneedtostudythatengineeringmanual.

Oursubconsciousmind,however,ismuchmoreconcernedabouthowwefeelaboutourselves.Arewecomfortable,happyandsafe?Orarewefeelingunhappy,pressuredorthreatened?Areweconfidentorapprehensive?

Thereiswheretheconflicttakesplace.Tosucceedcompletely,youneedtomakesurethatwhatyouconsciouslysayyouwant,andwhatyoureally,subconsciouslyfeelyouwant,areunited.

Theimageyouhaveofyourselfislargelystoredinyourmiddlebrain.Thatbrainismorelikelytorespondtoanemotionalappealandtostrongimagesthantoalogicalargument.Soifyouwanttochangeyourattitude,feelingandbehavior,itisimportanttocreateamotivatingandvividvisionofyourfuture.Suchavisionhelpsprogramyoursubconsciousmindtoachievethegoalsyouhavesetforyourself.

WHYAVISIONISSOIMPORTANT

Toachievewhatyouwantinlife,youneedtobecommitted.Tohavethewillpowertosucceedyoumust:

1.Haveavisionofwhatyouwanttoachieve.

2.Haveafirmbeliefthatyoucanachievethatvision.Peoplewedescribeashavingterrificwillpowerhaveaclearideaofwhattheywant,andbelievetheycandoit.Thisistrueofstickingtoafitnesstrainingschedule,astrictdiet,studyingatnightschool,orgettingaqualification.

Ifyouhaveavision,youhaveapurpose,and,ifyouhaveapurpose,youcreatedeterminationandwillpower.

Asimplequestionhelpsclarifyyourvision:WheredoIwanttobe

Inmyrelationships,inmyself-education,inmyjob,inmyhealthandasawell-balancedpersone.g.whatabilitiesdoIwanttodevelop,whathobbies,whichsports?WheredoIwanttotravel?

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WHYSHOULDWRITINGDOWNAGOALHELPYOUSUCCEED?

Whenyouwritedownagoal,youhavetothinkitthroughmoreclearly.Youcantbevague.Theactofputtingitonpapermakesitmorereal,moreconcrete.

Ifitsareallyimportantgoal,putitonanotecardandstickitupwhereyouwillseeiteveryday.

ACTION

Sitquietlyandseeyourselfasyouwillbewhenyouveachievedyourlong-termgoal.

Whereareyou?Whoelseisthere?Whatdotheylooklike?Whatdoyouhear?Whatdopeoplesaytoyou?Whatdoyousaytoyourself?

Nowwhatdoyoufeel?

Theresagreatsenseofupliftinsuccess.Dwellonit.Takeadeepbreath,lookupandsmile.Enjoythefeeling.

Visualizingwhatyouwilllooklike,feellikeandtalklikewhenyouhaveachievedyourgoal,isthesecondstep.

CreatingarealisticActionPlanisthethirdstep.

NOWCREATEANACTIONPLAN

Youhaveamotivatingvision.Youhaveturnedthatvisionintoamoreimme-diateandspecificgoal.NowyouneedanActionPlantoachievethosegoals.AnActionPlanismerelyasetofstepsyouneedtotaketoreachyourspecificwrittentarget(s).

Todefinethesteps,youwillneedtoaskyourselfasimplequestion:WhatpreventsmefromgettingfromwhereIamnow,towhereIwanttobe?

DoIneed:Moneyhowmuch?WheredoIgetit?TimehowdoIfreeuptime?Knowledgewherefrom?AskillhowdoIacquireit?Supportwhoamongmyfamily,friends,colleaguesorbosscanhelp?

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Alwaysputatimescaleonyourgoals,otherwisetomorrownevercomes!

Goalsneedtobewritten,seenandfelttobemotivating.

Establishinggoalsisallrightsolongasyoudontletthemdepriveyouofinterestingdetours!DougLarson

Createasymbolofsuccesstospuryouon.

Forexample,ifyouwerelosingweight,buyadressorsuitinthesizeyoutargettobe.Thenpinthedateonyournewclotheswhenyoullbeatthatweight.Andhangthemupinsight!

Thecommitmentmakesyourdecisionreal!

FACT

Arecentstudywaspublishedofthetop2%ofachieverspeoplewhoareacknowledgedtobesuccessfulintheirfield.

Whiletheyallhaddifferentsuccesses,theyallsharedonethingincommon.Theyallhadwrittendowntheirgoalsinlife.

InthemarginisanexampleofhowsomeonebegantodeveloptheirACTIONPLAN.

YOURACTIONPLAN

Nowconvertthegoalsyouhavesetforyourselfintoanactionplan.

SUE

Shewantedtobecomeajour-nalist.Sheformedthisintoacleargoaltopassthesubjectsneededtoenteracollegeofjournalismwithgoodenoughgrades.

Step1Readbooksonjour-nalismandgoodwriting.Practicewriting.Fileexamplesofmemorablejour-nalisminaspecialfolder.

Step2Getsupportfrommyparents,teachersandacousinwhoworksonamagazine.

Step3Getappropriateschoolgrades,includingthoseinEnglishliterature.

Step4Attendextraeveningclassesinwriting.

Step5Figureouthowtogettogetherthecollegefees.

Step6Attendacollegeandgraduatewithadiplomaordegree.

BEWAREOFWISHES!

Whatwesayrevealsmorethanwesometimesthink.Whensomeonesays,Iwish,whattheyusuallymeanisIdliketo,butitstoomuchtrouble.

Whentheysay,Illtry,they

ACTIONPLAN

Step1

Step2

Step3

Step4

Step5

Withaclearvisionandgoals,prioritiesbecomeclear.Youhaveasenseofpurpose.

WIIFM

Withoutcleargoals,yourlifecanbefullofindecision.

usuallymeanImwarningyounowImayfail.Sowhentheydo,theyhavealet-outclauseIonlysaidIwouldtry!

Someoneoncesaid,perceptively,thatwealllistentoRadioStationWIIFM.ItstandsforWhatsInItForMe.

Unlessyouhavereallythoughtthroughclearlythebenefitsoflearningsome-thing,yourmotivationwillbeweak.36

WHYALLTHISPLANNINGISWORTHIT!

Whenyouhaveavision,agoal,aplanandatodolist,yourlifehasagreatersenseofdirection.Yourgoals,ofcourse,willnotstayfixed.Youwillchangeandmodifythemalongtheway,butanychangewillbedeliberateandmadebyyou.Ifwontbepartofageneraldrift.

Ifyourlifeisworthliving,itsworthplanning.Weusephraseslikedrifterandaimlessforsomeonewhodoesnthavegoals.

Herearethreefinalthoughtstogetthemostoutofyourtime.

1.UsedowntimeFifteenminutesadayaddsuptoover90hoursinthecourseofayear.In15minutesofwaitingforabusoratrain,youcouldeasilylearn10wordsofaforeignlanguageifyouwrotethemoutonflashcards.Thatsover3,000wordslearnedinthecourseofayear.Thebasicsofanentirelanguage.

Avisiongivesmeaningandpurposetoyouractions.Itisthepictureonthejigsawpuzzleboxoflife!

Icantchangethedirectionofthewind,butIcanadjustmysalestoalwaysreachmydestination.JimmyDean

Twentyyearsfromnowyouwillbemoredisappointedbywhatyoudidntdothanbywhatyoudiddo!

HOTTIP

Whatcanyoulearninyourdowntime?

Sopullupthesafetyanchorandexploretheworldaboutyoutothefull.

2.SetyourowndeadlinesHaveyounoticedhowpeoplemanagetoaccomplishevenlargetaskswhentheyareupagainstadeadline?Theysayproudly,Ididitintheend.

Theydidbuttheywerebeingpassive,notactive.Iftheydiditintheend,theycouldequallywellhavedoneitatthebeginning!Thepersonincontrolsetshisorherowndeadlines.

3.ShareyourgoalsWhenyoudiscussyourgoalswithsomeoneelse,youautomaticallyincreaseyourmotivation.Itsnowapubliccommitment,andyoudonotwanttoletyourselfdown.

Luckiswhatresultswhencarefulplanningmeetsopportu-nity.

Agoalsharedwithsomeoneelseisamorepowerfulmotivatorthanoneyoukeeptoyourself!

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Whetheryouthinkyoucanorwhetheryouthinkyoucant-youareprobablyright!HenryFord

Deepbreathing,neckexercisesandanupright,straightspineallallowblood,oxygenandenergytopassfreelybetweenbodyandbrain.

Whenasuccessfulresultlooksreal,youbecometrulymoti-vated.Napoleonplayedoutallhisbattlesinhismindbeforetheytookplace.Heputitwell:Imaginationisstrongerthanwillpower.

Soimagineyoursuccess,andyouarealreadyhalfwaytoachievingit.

CALMFOCUS

Youoftenfeeltensionwheretheheadjoinsthebodyintheneckandshoul-ders.Thatisespeciallytrueforstudentsandpeoplewhoworkwiththeirheads.

Ifyouclearawaydistractingtension,youareleftwiththeabilitytodirectyourenergymorefully.Anddirectedenergyissimplyadefinitionofconcentration.Sinceyourphysicalwell-beingaffectsyourbrainwork,hereisafour-stepsequencethatwillhelpyourabilitytolearnbyhelpingyoucreateastateofcalmfocus.

1.Payattentiontothatinternalvoice.Theonethatmaybemakingallthenegative,stress-producingcommentslikeOhno,notmath!Icantdothat!Makesureyouhearthistypeofsubconscioussabotage.Dontletyoursubconscioustalkbehindyourback!Youcantchangethatofwhichyourenotaware.

2.Physicallyshiftyourposition.Ifyouresitting,stand.Ifyouarestanding,move.Yourmindandbodyaresocloselylinkedtogetherthatbychangingpositionyoucanoftenstarttoshiftyourthoughtstowardnewpossibilities.

3.Maximizeyouroxygen.Thebrainonlyweighsthreepounds,whichisabout2percentofyourbodyweight.Yetitconsumes20percentofyouroxygenintake.Sobeforeeachlearningsession(andthroughoutthedayasneeded),closeyoureyesandbreathedeeplyforjustaminuteortwo.

Sitwithyourbackwellintothechair,spinestraight.Letyourjawfallloose.Imaginethereisaballooninyourstomach.Asyoubreathein,pushyourlowerstomachouttoitsfullestlimit.Thencontinuetotakeinairasyourchestrisesandexpands.Keepbreathinginuntilyourchestisfullyexpandedandyourstomachisnowsuckedin.

Pausewhileyouholdyourstomachinforamoment.Thenlettheairoutwithasigh.Continuethispatternforfiveto10breaths.Afteryouhavedonethisdeepbreathing,deliberatelystiffenandstraightenyourback,androllyoureyesupwardtowardtheceiling.

Youwillnotonlyfeelrelaxedyouwillfeelstrengthenedandmaywellwanttosmile.TheworldinspiredcomesfromtheLatinwordmeaningtobreathein.

4.Replaceanynegativethoughtswithyourownaffirmation.Thatfour-stepsequencemaytakeamaximumofoneortwominutes.Inthatshorttime,however,youcancreateanimportantcomponentofsuccessfullearning.Astateofcalmfocus.

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CATCHYOURSELFDOINGITRIGHT!

ThissimplebuteffectiveideaisadaptedfromaverygoodbookentitledTheOneMinuteTeacherbySpencerJohnson.

Theideaisdeliberatelytolookforoccasionswhenyoudidsomethingrightorlearnedsomethingwell.

Havingcaughtyourselfdoingright,yousimplypraiseyourselfforit.Somethingstraightforwardwilldo,like,Helen,thatwasreallygood.Welldone.

Thebasisforthisdeceptivelysimpleideaisverysound.Ifyouwanttochangepeoplesbehavior,youdosobyrewardingthemwhentheygetitrightnotbypunishingthemwhentheygetitwrong!Hencethevalueofnoticingeachandeverylittleoneofyourownsuccesses.Andpraisingyourself.

Bigchangesrarelycomeinoneleap.Theyareaalmostalwaysmadeupoflotsofsmallstepsforward.Thisideaofcatchingyourselfdoingsomethingrightrecognizesthisimportanttruth.

THELASTWORDONSTATEOFMIND

StudiesdonebyDrs.JaniceandRonaldGlaserattheOhioStateUniversityMedicalSchoolprovehowimportantitistobeabletocontrolyourstateofmind.Theyshowedthatstressreducestheproductionofinterferon,asubstancethatsnecessaryfortheefficientworkingoftheimmunesystem.Stress,there-fore,weakensyourbodysresistancetodisease.

Inaddition,thehormonesmostassociatedwithanxiety,cortisolandadrenaline,haveadepressingeffectontheimmunesystem.Smallwonderthenthatcoldsandothermoreseriousillnessesincreasewhenpeoplearestressed.

Allthisunderlinestheimportanceofthepoweryounowhavetocreatearesourcefulandrelaxedstateofmind.Thepowerputsyouincontrol.Andthefeelingthatyouareincontrolofyourlifeisavitalelementinmaintaininggoodhealth.

Dr.GeorgeVaillantshowedinhisbook,AdaptationtoLife,thatmentalhealthisthemostimportantpredictorofphysicalhealth.

Whenyouseelifesstressesaschallengesandmeetthemwithconfidence,andwhenyouhavetheabilitytocreateacalmfocuswheneveryouwanttoyouareincontrol.

Remember:Willpower=Vision+Beliefinyourability

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GiveyourselfapatonthebackforeachlearningsuccessandeverytimeyouusewhatyouhavelearnedfromAcceleratedLearningTechniques.Talkpositivelytoyourself.Ididreallywellthere.ImadetheeffortandIsucceeded.Illusethatmethodagain.Thatwasgreat.

Ifeverytimeyouprogressastepforwardyouremembertonoticeit,thenyouwillcometoasso-ciatelearningwithfeelinggood.Thatsallpartofmotivation.

SUBCONSCIOUSPROMPTS

Wepickupalotofourknowl-edgefromcuesofwhichwearescarcelyaware.Buttheyinfluenceourstateofmindallthesame.

Tryputtingupareallybeautifulposterorpicturewhereyoulearnorstudy,oramementoofapastsuccess.

Orsomequotationsthatmakeyoufeelgood.

TherearelotsofquotationsscatteredthroughoutthisActionGuide.

Theoveralleffectisdesignedtoliftyourspiritsandamuseyou.Wehopetheyareworking!Useanythatcatchyourfancytomakeyourplaceoflearningmoreattractive.

ALEARNINGMAPOFSTAGEONE

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StageTwo

GETTHEFACTSTOSUITYOURSELF

GETTHEBIGPICTUREFIRST

Likemosttextbooks,thismanualhasacontentspage,sub-headings,illustrations

anddiagrams.

Theyareallusefulwhenyouaretryingtobuildupaninitialimpressionofthesubject.Sostartwithashortscan-readofanynewbook.

Ifyouarelearningfromateacher,atrainingsessionorademonstration,youcangetanoverviewfromthetrainerorteacher.

Askforageneraloutlinebeforetheinstructorlaunchesintothesession.Ausefulquestiontoaskis,Whatdoyouwantmetoknoworbeabletodoafterthesession?Whatarehisorherobjectivesforyou?

Ifyouarelearningfromalectureorfilm,handoutsorprogramnotescouldhelp.Fast-forwardingthroughatrainingvideogetsyouanoverview.

Lookingaheadtoseewhatscomingupnextisnotsomethingtodojustonce.

Itsmucheasiertounderstandthingswhenyoucanseewheretheyareleading.Sokeeplookingahead,andcontinuetobuildthebigpictureofwhatyouarelearning.

SKETCHOUTWHATYOUALREADYKNOW

Jottingdownwhatyoualreadyknowgivesyouaclearerpictureofyourstartingpoint.Itbuildsconfidence,andithelpsdefinewhatyoudontknow!

SowhynotspendaminuteconsideringorjottingdowntheheadingsofwhatyouknowalreadyaboutAcceleratedLearningTechniquesandwhatyourealizeneedsmoreofyourattention?

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Scan-readabookorchapterfirst.Itgivesyouthefeelofthesubject.

Youarelookingforclues.

BUTDONTJUMPTOCONCLUSIONS!

Gettinganoverallpictureorfeelofthesubjectisimpor-tant.Butrememberyouhaventgotthedetailsyet.

Sodontjumptofirmconclu-sionsuntilyouhaveexploredthesubjectproperly.

Manypeoplesmainformofexerciseisjumpingtoconclu-sions!

Remember,youhaveonlyseenthewood.Nowyouneedtoexaminethetrees.

Whatdoyoupredict?

HOTTIP

Agoodwaytostayfocusedonthesubjectistostopeverynowandthenandpredictwhattheauthor,trainerorteacherisgoingtosayorargue.

Agoodtimetostartisjustafteryouhavedecidedwhatyoualreadyknowaboutthesubject.

Progressisrarelydoingonething100%better.Itsdoing20thingseach5%better.

FASCINATINGFACT

Othergeniuseshadfavoritetoysorgames.

Theinventorofthetelephone,AlexanderGrahamBell,hadanunclewhowouldpretendtomakehisdogspeakbymanipu-latingitslarynx.

Manyyearslater,Bellremem-beredthiswhenhewasthinkingofhowtocreatethetelephone.

Thisisimportant!

Becauseyouhavescan-readahead,youwillbeabletodothis.

Ifyouarelearningfromalectureorpracticaltrainingsessionyoushouldmakeyournotesinthefiveminutesbeforeitstarts.Apreliminarylearningmapofthesubjectwouldbeagoodwaytosketchwhatyoualreadyknow.Then,asyouexplorethesubjectinmoredepth,youcankeepaddingtoyourlearningmap.Themapgrowsasyourknowledgegrows.

BREAKITDOWNINTOSMALLSTEPS

TheChinesephilosopherLaoTzuoncesaid,Ajourneyofathousandmilesstartswithasinglestep.Itstrue.Howeverdauntingataskmayappear,youcancrackitwithasimplestep-by-stepplan.

Oneresearcherhascalculatedthatachildofsixhaslearnedmorefactsaboutherworldthanthenumberoffactsneededtoacquireamedicaldegree!Itsprobablytrue.Shedidit,andyoudidit,piecebypiece.

Theimportantpointisthatwhenyouarelearningsomethingchallenginglikeusingacomputerforexampleyoudontautomaticallyhavetostartatthebeginning.Roamaroundthesubjectandgetstartedonsomethingthatengagesyourinterest.

Einsteinhadtostartsomewhere!Ashasoftenbeenpointedout,thefamousphysicistEinsteinwasnottoohotascholaratschool.Infact,hefailedmathinitially.

Butsomethingsparkedhisinterestinphysics.Itwasafavoritetoyamagnet.Hebecameveryinterestedinwhatforcescausedthemagnettoattractmetal.Sohestartedtothinkandwonder.Andhebegantobrushuponhismathe-matics.Littlebylittle.

Geniusesaremoremadethanborn.Einsteinsbrainnowliesinaglassjarinauniversity.Itsnobiggerthanaverage,butresearcherssaythatitshowsevidenceofveryrichconnectionsbetweenthebraincells.

Everytimeyouexperiencesomethingnew,orthinkinanewway,youmakemoreconnectionsbetweenyourbraincells.Themoreconnectionsyoumake,themorebraincapacityyoubuild.Atanyage.

Inarealsense,everysmallstepinlearningmakesyoumoreintelligent.Youcreateyourownbraincapacity.

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KEEPINTERESTEDASKQUESTIONS!

Oneofthemostcommoncomplaintspeoplemakeisthattheyfinditdifficulttoconcentrate.HowdoIgetinter-ested?theyask.

Byfartheeasiestwaytostayfocusedistocontinuouslydevelopquestions.Ifyoulookatthesortofinformallearningsitu-ationsweallthrivein,activequestioningissooftenakeyfeature.

Thetrickistowritedownthesequestionsonaseparatepieceofpaper.Theyactasasortofprodderkeepingyourbrainfocusedonthetrainer,teacherortext-book,lookingfortheanswers.

Tryaskinggeneralaswellasspecificquestions.Goodgeneralquestionsare:

Constantquestioningisthefirstkeyofwisdom.Abelard

Idratherknowsomeofthequestionsthanalloftheanswers.GeorgeBernardShow

HowdoIusethis?DoIagreewiththis?Doesthisassumesomething

HowdoesthisrelatetowhatIalreadyknow?Ifthisistrue,whatelsefollows?

thatmaynotbetrue?Whatelsecouldthefactsmean?

INTERROGATE!

Ifyoujustglanceattheskyyoumightfleetinglynoticethatitiscloudy.Ifyoureallylookatthesky,youwillnoticehowthecloudschangeshape.Youwillwonderwhytheshapescanchangesodramatically.Thatcanleadtoaninterestintohowwindandtemperaturecombinetoformthevarioustypesofcloudswesee,e.g.cumulus,stratusornimbus.

WhydoestheweathermainlycomefromtheWestintheNorthernhemisphere?IsthedirectionofweatherreversedintheSouthernhemisphere?Whatmakesasunsetsobeautiful?Whyisitmadeupofredsandoranges?What?Why?How?When?

Ifyouonlyglanceatagarden,youmightnoticeitisrathernice.Ifyoureallylookatagarden,youwillseetheincrediblesymmetryofaflower,thegeom-etryofaspiderswebinthemorningdew,andmaybewonderwhetherthereisamathematicalordertonature.

43

tooltoAnimportant?drawoutthemeaningofwhatyouarelearning.

Reasoncananswerquestions,butimaginationhastoaskthem.RalphGerard

Effectivereadingisaconversa-tionwiththeauthor.

IMPORTANT

Probablythebiggestdifferencebetweennaturalorinformallearningandformaloracademiclearningisthis:

Innaturallearningsituationsyouarealmostalwaysabletoaskquestions,andoftenthereissomeoneelseavailabletoexplainittoyou.

Learninghowtoaskyourselfquestionsandhowtofindouttheanswerstoyourownques-tionsbyyourselfisakeylearningskill.Asuperpowertool!

Assignedtextbookscanbeboring.Ifyouareturnedoffbyasubjectyouneedtomaster,seekoutadifferent,lighter,clearerbookonthesubject.

Themoreyouknowaboutasubject,themoreinterestedyoubecome.

Oryoumayaskwhytherearesomanycolorsinnature.Ifitisjusttoattractbeesforpollination,surelythreeorfourcolorswouldbesufficient.Infact,therearethousandofshadesofcolorsinnatureforwhichwedonothaveevenaname.

Why?What?How?

Youseethepoint.Asurfaceglance,andyoucanstayboredwithasubject.Buttheharderyoulook,themoreinterestedyoubecome.Sometimesyouhavetoinitiallyforceyourselftogetintothedetailbutonceyoustartreallylooking,yougethooked.Youstarttowonderandexplore,andthatslearning.

Antherwaytokeepinterestedistoimagineyouareaninterviewer.Yourjobistomakesuretheauthororlecturerdoesnotgetawaywithwoollystatementsorhalf-truths.AsortofBarbaraWaltersoflearning!

Sokeepaskingquestionslike:Howdoweknowthisistrue?Isthatconclusionjustified?WhatadditionalargumentscouldIthinkof?Isthisfactoropinion?Isthislogical?Howmuchevidenceisthereforwhatisbeingsaid?CanIthinkofany(better)examplestoillustratewhatsbeingsaid?

Whenyoureadtoansweraquestionorsolveaproblem,youreadwithasenseofpurpose,i.e.withinterest.

Itisveryeasytomakeupyourquestions.Simplytakethemainheadingofthesectionandturnitintoaquestion.Forexample,aquestiontoaskaboutthissectionis,WhyshouldIaskquestions?orHowwillithelpmelearn?orevenHowdoImakeupquestions?

Whenyoulistentoateacherortrainerwithquestionsinfrontofyou,youauto-maticallyconcentratebetter.

LEARNWITHAFRIEND

Youwillexpandtherangeofquestionsyoudevelopbydiscussingthemwithafriend.Yourdiscussionwillprobablypromptfurtherquestionsthatneitherofyouwouldhavethoughtofalone.

Werememberupto90percentofwhatwesee,say,hearanddo.Tacklelearningwithafriendanddramaticallyincreaseyourchanceofrememberingwhatyoulearn.

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GETTINGTHEFACTSTOSUITYOURBRAIN

Whenyoufirstencounterabook,alectureoratrainingdemonstration,youneedtodosomethingextrathathelpsyoulearninawaythatsuitsyoubest.

Althoughsomepeoplehaveverystronglearningpreferences,multi-sensorylearningprovidesthebestchanceforsuccessful,long-lastinglearningforthemajority.Multi-sensorylearnersdeliberatelyengagealltheirsensesastheylearn.TheyV.A.P.IT.

Ilearnednotfromthosewhotaught,butfromthosewhotalkedwithme.St.Augustine

Sinceweappeartohaveaseparatememoryforwhatwesee,whatwehearandwhatwedo,thedeliberatecombinationofallofoursensesmakesforhighlyefficientlearning.SoV.A.P.IT!

Youalreadyknowsomeexcellentwaystouseallyoursenses.Herearesomemoreideastotry.Theyareextratoolsforyoutochoose,dependingonyourpersonalpreferences.

Checkitoff!Ifyouhaveatextbookorlargeinstructionsmanualtotackle,makealightpencilcheckattheendofeachparagraphthatyouhavefullyunderstood.Itisasortofsignaltoyourbraintolockthatinformationaway.Whatsmore,youcanidentifyexactlywhereitwasyoustartedtogetlost.Justafterthelastcheck!

Itisagoodthingtoreadandre-readadifficultpassage.Sometimesreadaloud.Insteadoffeelingoverwhelmedbyawholechapter,youcanconcentrateonunderstandingsmallchunksatatime.

Evenpeoplewhohavelearnedthemostcomplexsubjectsstartwiththesimplebasicsandworkup.

HOTTIP

KEEPLOOKINGBACK

Everynowandthenstopandtakeashortbreak.

Beforeyoustartagain,brieflyreviewwhatyouhavejustlearned.Yourevisethesubjectandgetamotivatingsenseofprogress.

ANDFORWARD!

Ifyoualsoflickforwardbriefly,youaresettingupyourbrainforthesubject.

Itstheequivalentofawarm-uptoarunner.

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HOTTIP

HIGHLIGHTS

Donothighlightorunderlinethefirsttimeyouscan-readaparagraphorsection.Doitwhenyoureadfortheideas.

Theadvantageofhighlightingisthatwhenyoureviewyournoteslateryouonlyneedglanceatthehighlightedideas.

Result?Youcanreviseyourknowledgeofawholebookin15minutesorso.

Taperecordersaregreatforauditorylearners.

Tapeyoursummarynotesandplaytheminthecar.

UseahighlighterpenIfthebookisyourown,usingahighlightercanbehelpful.Whenyoulookbackonthematerialaday,amonth,orevenayearlateryouwillhavehighlightedtheimportantbitsofnew,importantinformation.

Noticetheemphasisonthewordnew.Manypeoplehighlightalltheimportantideasinaparagraph.Thatsoundslogical,butitisnt.Thepointaboutlearningisthatyouareacquiringnewinformationornewwaysoflookingatoldinfor-mation.

Sotohighlightsomethingyoualreadyknowisonlygoingtoincreaseyourworkwhenyoucomebackforaquickreviewlater.Andaquickreviewofwhatyouvebeenlearningisanessentialpartofreallylockingitalldown.

Highlighterpensalsoaddcolor,whichappealstotheemotionalpartofyourbrain.Themoreyouuseyourwholebrain,theeasieryoulearn.

ReaditdramaticallyWerememberwhatsdramatic.Apastelfloraldressmaybepretty,butitprob-ablyisntmemorable.Asinglecrimsonfloweronablackdresswouldbememorable.

Justasvisualimagescanbememorable,socansounds.Soifapassageiscrucialordifficulttryreadingitoutdramatically.Youcanuseaforeignaccentorwhisperit.(Weoftenwhisperwhatsimportant!)Youllrememberit,anditsagreattoolforauditorylearners.

SummarizeitoutloudDoyourememberthestatisticsintheintroduction?Wetendtoremembermorethantwiceasmuchofwhatwesayaloudthanofwhatwemerelyread.

Sostopregularlyandsummarizeoutloudwhatyouhaveread.

WalkaroundwhileyoureadorlistenWewereusuallytoldatschool,dontfidget.Thatwasbeforewerealizedthatthelearnerswithapreferenceforphysicallearningneedsomewaytoexpressthatpreference.

Trywalkingaround.Certainlygetupandmoveevery25-30minutes.Doodle,underlineincolor,jotnotesandmakelearningmaps.

Ifitsappropriatetothesubject,drawachartorgraphorevenstopandmockupasimplemodel.Experimentwithhowmuchyouneedaphysicalelementtothewayyoutakeininformation.Forexample,adeskortablemaynotworkaswellforyouasalapboard.

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MakenotesonPost-itnotesornotecardsStationaryshopssellPost-itnotes.Theyarelittlesheetsofpapermadeupintopads.Eachsmallsquaresheethasastickypatchontheback.

BecausethesePost-itnotesaresmall,theyforceyoutoreduceyournotestoaverybriefform.Thekeywordsjumpoutatyouwhenyoulookbackatthem.

Ifyoustickthemallonalargesheetofpaper,theyallowyoutosortoutyourthoughtsphysically.

Notecardsworkequallywell.Andyoucanstickthemonthewallwhereyoulearnasreminders.

SitquietlyandvisualizeMostofusneedtositandthinkquietlyoverwhatwehavejustseen,readorhear.Gooveritinyourmindseyeandmakeamentalmovieofit.Itsabitlikeaninstantreplayinasportsprogram.

Ithelpstostoretheinformationinyourvisualmemory.

T.W.A.CREWACHIEVE100PERCENTPASSRATEWITHMENTALIMAGERY

Airlineflightattendantsneedtoknowthelocationofover60piecesofemergencyequipment.

T.W.A.attendantsboostedtheirpassratefrom70percentto100percentwiththefollowingsequence.

1.Theytouredtheplan,notingthesafetylocations.2.Theyfilledinthelocationdiagramsfrommemory.3.Theycheckedthemagainstthemasterdiagram.4.Theythensat,closedtheireyesandvisualizedtheoriginaltourintheirmindseye.Theythenfilledinthelocationdiagramagain.

Howcanyouaddmentalimagerythenexttimeyoulearnsomething?

AFOGSIGN!

Everynowandagaineveryonegetslost.Youjustcantfigureoutwhatthetextmeans.Developyourownsignforthis.

Aquestionmarkorexclamationpointperhaps.Putitinthemargin;thencomebacklater.

DONTIGNOREBOREDOM

Ourbrainsdontworkatfullcapacityallthetime.

Ifyoufindyouaregettingbored,stop,getupandtakeabreak.

Thenaskyourselfwhichaspectofthesubjectisinteresting.Whatisrelevant?Andswitchforatimetothat.

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IMPORTANT

Thesecretistoreadideasnotwords.

Althoughthelearningmapsinthisbookareprofessionallyproduced,theyworkjustaswellwhentheyhavefewerpicturesseethesummarymapsatthebeginning.

YoudontneedmanywordstorememberaslongastheyareTHEKEYWORDS.Theyunlockalotofmemory.

Itisessentialtoexperimentwithlearningmaps.

Thefirsttimeyoutryanythingitfeelsstrangeandmaytakealittlelonger.

Thatstrueofridingabikeordriving.Firstitseemsoddgraduallyitbecomesfamiliarandnatural.

Sopersevereitsworthit.

LEARNINGMAPS

Theessentialruleinmakingalearningmapisonlytousekeywords.Keywordsaretheessentialwordswhichwhenyoureadthemremindyouofthewholeidea.Thewordsthatgettotheheartofthemeaning.

Keywordsareusuallynouns,andsincenounsarenamesofthings,theyareeasiertoremember.Theaimineffectivenote-takingistostripawayalltheunnecessarywords.Itslikediggingforgold.Yougetridofallthesurroundingearthtoexposethenuggetsofvaluableinformation.

Mostpeopletakenotesthatcontainfartoomanywords.Thatisamistakebecause:Youwastetoomuchtimewritingitoutinthefirstplace.

Ifyouwritetoomuch,youwillbeconcentratingmoreonthewordsthanonthemeaningofwhattheauthor,teacherortrainerissaying.

Youwastetoomuchtimerereadingthenoteslater.

HOWTOMAKEYOUROWNLEARNINGMAP

1.Drawapictureorsymbol,and/orwriteaphraseinthecenterofthepapertostandforthetopic.2.Stripawayeverythingexceptthekeywords.Thisisthemostimportantrule.3.Takethemainideasassociatedwiththetopicandletthembranchoutfromthecentralidea.Expressthingswithapicture,asymbolorkeywordorphraseonyourmap.4.Stopandthink.Addnewthoughtslikebranchesonatree.Putquestionsonareasyoudontunderstandproperly.5.Organizeyourmapyoumaywanttogroupsomeideasthatseemtogotogetherbydrawinglinesand/orarrowstorepresentconnectionsbetweenthoughts.6.Usuallyyouwillnowwanttoredrawyourlearningmap.Dontresentthisitisagoodwaytohelpitstickinyourlong-termmemory.7.Useasmuchcolorandasmanysymbolsandpicturesaspossible.Ourbrainsfindthesememorable.Aimtomakeeachpageofthesenoteslookdifferent.8.Useboldandcapitalletters.9.Dontcrowdthepageleavespace.10.Usethepaperhorizontallyitgivesyoumorespace.Anduseonesideofthepapersoyoucanuseyourlearningmapsaspostersorspreadoutanumberoftheminsequence.

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ACTION

Firstpickatopicyouareveryfamiliarwith,suchasyourselfyourlife,family,interests,job,etc.thenexperimentbymakingalearningmapaboutit.

49

AlearningmapisatooltoturnideasandfactsintoaneasilyrememberedVISUALpatternofwords.Youcanjumparoundfromoneideaclustertoanotherandliterallyseetheconnectionbetweenideas.

Itisalsoatooltoallowyoutocreatealogicalorderforthoseideas.Powerfulstuff!

Learningmapscanalsobeveryusefultoplanspeeches,presen-tations,agendas,reportsorpapers.

THEMAINADVANTAGESOFLEARNINGMAPS

Theinformationisallononepage.Thetheme,thecoreidea,isatthecenter,andtheideasthatfollowfromthatmainthemeareclusteredaroundit.

Becausetheinformationisvisual,itspossibletotakeitinallatonceand,afteralittlestudy,topictureitinyourmindseye.Thisisespeciallyeasywhenyouhaveconstructedthelearningmapyourself.

Becauseyougetusedtoreadingorlisteningforonlytheessentialideas,youlearntocutoutirrelevantmaterial.Thatsgreatforconcisereportsandgettingtothemeaningofthesubject.Youcanalsoaddnewwords(ideas)anywhere,atanytime.

Youbegintoimposeyourorderonotherpeoplesmessythoughts!Theshapeoftheargumentwillliterallybegintoemerge.Thedefinitionofmeaningfulissomethingthatfitsintoashapeorpatternororderthatyoucreate.Youturnsomeoneelsesideasintoyourown.

Ifyouneedtoreworkyouroriginaldraftlearningmap,theveryactoffindingmorelogicalwaysofgroupingtheideastogetherhelpsyoufigureouttheirmeaning.Andbecausetheynowbecomeyourideas,theyareeasiertoremember.Youcanactuallysummarizeawholebookonaone-pagelearningmap.Thatmakesthemgreatforrevising.

Thereisanimportantdifferencebetweentakingnotesandmakingnotes.

Takingnotesimpliescopyingdownotherpeoplesthoughtsandopinions.

Makingnotesiswhenyouturntheirinformationintoyourownthoughtsandopinions.

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THEFINALSKILLKNOWINGWHENTOSTOP!

Therearetimesineverylearningsituationwhenyousimplycantmakeheadnortailofit.

Therightapproachisnottostrugglegrimlywithitforhoursandendupwithabadcaseofdepression,buttomoveonandcomebacklater.

Thenextsectionofthebookmaybemucheasiertounderstand.Moreimpor-tantly,itmaycontaincluesthathelpyouunderstandthebityougotstuckon.

Yourarelyhaveonlyonechancetounderstandsomething.Sowritedownwhatyoudontunderstand,andcomebacktoitinadayorso.

Orwriteitdownandaskafriendorexpertforhelp.

BUTCOMEBACKLATER!

ResearcherE.M.Graysearchedforyearsfortheonesinglefactorthatallsuccessfulpeopleshared.Hereitis.

Successfulpeoplesimplydothethingsthatfailuresdontlikeandcantbebotheredtodo.Successfulpeopledontnecessarilylikedoingthemeither!Buttheirvisionofsuccessisstrongerthantheirinertia.Theysticktoit.

THEDUCKLING

Thisisanothertruestory.Alittlegirlvisitedafarmwithherfather.Outofagroupofadozeneggs,allhadhatchedbutone.

Illhelpit,Daddy,saidthelittlegirlandgentlycrackedtheeggopen.Inthenighttheduckingdied.Thestruggletobebornisavitalpartoftheprocessofcreation.Itsimplydoesntworkwithouteffort.

Thisprogramrequiresyoutospendeffortnowsoyourlearningwillbeeasierlater.Nothingworthwhilegetscreatedwithoutpersistence.Nothingworth-whileislearnedinfiveeasylessons!theveryworldworthwhilemeansthatthesubjectisworthawhile.

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DEALINGWITHDISTRACTINGTHOUGHTS

Ifthoughtskeepintrudingonyourlearning,dontignorethem.

Acknowledgethethought,getup,moveaboutandbreathedeeply.Thenletthethoughtgoasifitwereaballoonfloatingupwards.

Theonlyplacewheresuccesscomesbeforeworkisinthedictionary!VidalSassoon

Luckfavorsthebackbone,notthewishbone!

Thefruitofthetreeisoutonalimb!

Allchangeinvolvesrisk.

ALEARNINGMAPOFSTAGETWO

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StageThree

EXPLORETHESUBJECT

Unfortunately,wehaveallhadtheexperienceofsomethinggoinginoneearandouttheother!Thatsbecausegettingthebasicfactsisonlythestartoflearning.

THEORYINTOKNOWLEDGE

Youcancomparelearningwithaplant.Whenyoufirstgooverthesubject,yourknowledgeofitislikeaseedlingclingingprecariouslytothesurfaceoftheground.Unlessthatseedlingbecomesafullyfloweringplant,withstronganddeeproots,itisalltooeasyforittowitheraway.

SURFACEKNOWLEDGEDEEPLEARNING

Toconvertsurfaceknowledgetodeeplearning,youhavetodosomethingtomakeittakeroot.Onceyouhavethebasicfacts,youhavetostopandexplorethesubject.

ThisiswhereyoucanbegintousethefullrangeofyourSEVENdifferentintelligences.

BRAINSARELIKEMUSCLES

Whenyoudeliberatelyuseyourrangeofintelligences,youexerciseyourbrain.Likeyourmuscles,yourbrainpowerliterallydoesgrowwithuse.Thatswhyintelligenceisnotfixed.Youareanimportantinfluenceonyourownbrain.

Learningisnotsomethingthatsdonetoyou.Onlyyoucandoit.Thebestanyteachercandoisprovideanatmosphereandmaterialsthatencourageyoutowanttoexploreandlearn.Andhelpyouovercomedifficulties.Theactualbusi-nessoflearningisentirelyyourresponsibility!

WewillregularlybeusingaphraseIhaveborrowedfromaninspirationalwriternamedDr.RobertSchuller:IFITSTOBE,ITSUPTOME!

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IfIweretotellyouthatanacreis4,840squareyards,thatsdata.Easilyforgotten,becauseitdoesntmeanmuch.

If,instead,youweretodiscoverthatanacreisaboutthesizeofafootballfield,thatsknowl-edge.Youhaverelatedittosomethingyouknow.

Youprobablyusedyourvisualintelligencebypicturingafoot-ballfield.

Youtooksomethingthatwasjustabstractinformationandturneditintomeaningfulandusefulknowledge.

Thatisaprettygooddefinitionoflearning!

Eightypercentofwhatweknowaboutthehumanbrainwasdiscoveredinthelast15years.Itoverturnssomepreviousassumptions.

EXPLOREWHATYOUARELEARNINGWITHYOURSEVENINTELLIGENCES

HowardGardnerandcolleaguesatHarvardUniversityhavedemonstratedthatwhenyourrangeofintelligencesisinvolved,learningabilityisgreatlyenhanced.

Eachtypeofintelligencerepresentsadifferentwaytoexplorethesubject,adifferentabilitytocallonwhenyouneedtotackleaproblem.

YOURSEVENINTELLIGENCES

Thisnewwayoflookingatintelligencetellsusthreecriticallyimportantthings:

Intelligenceisnotfixed.Apersoncanexcelinonesituationandappeartobehighlyintelligent.Yethemaybeatacompletelossinadifferentsituation.Theabsent-mindedprofessorillustratesthiswell!

Intelligenceissimplyasetofabilitiesandskills.Youcandevelopandimproveyourintelligencebylearningtouseyourabilitiestothefull.Thisprogramgivesyouthetoolsofthetradetodeveloptheseskills.

Intelligenceisdemonstratedbywhatpeopledoandachieve.Becomeagooddoerandyoullshowyourintelligence.

Youneedtoworktouse,developandimproveyourintelligenceitcantandwonthappenwithouteffortonyourpart.

Thisprogramgivesyouaccesstoawiderangeofskillsforlearning.Themoretoolsofthelearningtradeyoupossess,themoreflexibleandcompetentalearneryouwillbe.

Consciouslyusingyourfullrangeofintelligencesleadstobalancedlearninglearningthatnotonlysuitsyourcurrentstrengths,butthatalsoenablesyoutodevelopandgrowasaperson.

Usingyourfullrangeofintelligenceswillalsopromptyoutothinkinnewways.Theresultisthatyouwillbecomemorecreative.

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EXPLORINGYOURSEVENINTELLIGENCES

Whatdoyoufeelareyourstrongestintelligences?ThinkaboutitandthentransferyourconclusiontoyourIntelligenceProfileonpage58.

Youdothisbyshadinginthosesegmentsoftheinnermostcirclethatcorre-spondtoyourstrengths.Forexample,somebodywhoconsideredshewasstrongestinlinguistic,musicalandbodily/physicalintelligenceswouldshadeinthefollowingsegmentoftheinnermostfirstcircle.

IMPORTANT

Youmaydiscoverfurtherstrengthsasyouexploreyourlearningpotentialthroughthisprogram.

Whatyouwilldiscoveraboutyourselfintheseexplorationsdescribesyouatthismomentalltheintelligencescanbeenhancedanddeveloped.

EXPLORINGWHATYOUAREGOODAT

Thefollowingactivityhelpsyouexplorethesubjects,jobsand/orsituationsinwhichyouexcel.Whattypeofproblemsareyouabletosolve?Whatareyouabletomakeordothatotherpeoplevalue?

Competenceisinthesesubjects,jobsorsituationsmayhavecomenaturallytoyouoryoumayhavehadtoreallyworkatdevelopingtheskillsinvolved.Thefactthatitispossibletodevelopsuchskillsprovesthatabilitiesarenotfixed.

Readthroughtheactivitiesonthenexttwopagesandcheckmarkwhatyouaregoodat.Ifyouaregoodatanactivitythatissimilartoonethatislisted,butyourparticularexpertiseisnotactuallymentioned,thenaddittotheprintedlistandcheckitoff.Whenyouhavecheckedoffthoseactivitiesyouaregoodat,youshouldseeapattern.Themoreactivitiesyoucheck,thestrongeryouwillcurrentlytendtobeinthatparticulartypeofintelligence.

Youlearnmoreaboutaroadbytravelingdownit,thanfromallthemapsintheworld.

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(Checkwhatyouaregoodat)

ACTION

NowtransferyourconclusionstotheIntelligenceProfileonpage58.Inotherwords,shadeinthesegmentsthatrepresentyourcurrentstrengths,inthesecondormiddlecircle,whichislabeledResultsfromexploration2.

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Checkboxesthatdescribeyou.Checkboxesthatdescribeyou

HowtousetheexplorationyouhavejustcompletedBycomparingthenumberofchecksyouhavemade,youwillhavefurtherinformationonyourpreferredorstrongerintelligences.Ifyouhavecheckedfourorfiveboxesinasegment,itislikelythatthisiscurrentlyanareaofstrengthforyou.

ACTION

TransferyourfindingstoyourIntelligenceProfileonpage58byshadingintheintelligenceswhichseemtobeyourstrengths.Usetheoutercircletodothis.

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Doesthismakesense?Doesthishelpexplainmyownfeelingstowardschoolandlearning?Whatrelevancedoesthishavetomeandmyfamily?HowcanIusethisinformation?

Remember:Akeyskillinlearningiscontinuousandactivequestioning!

Amindstretchedtoanewideaneverreturnstoitsoriginaldimension.OliverWendellHolmes

Wheneveryonethinksalikenobodythinksmuch.

ACURRENTPROFILEOFYOURINTELLIGENCES

Eachtypeofintelligenceoffersyounewwaystoexploretheproblem

HowardGardnertheprofessorofeducationatHarvardwhocameupwiththeimportantideaofmultipleintelligencesmakesacriticallyimpor-tantpoint.Ourschools(andtrainingrooms)typicallyteachtoinvolvethelinguisticandmath-ematical/logicalintelligences.Soifyourbrainisnaturallysetuptobegoodwithwordsandfigures,youwilldowellinformaleducation.

Ifyoulikeateachingstylethatrevealsthesubjectbitbybitinalogicalstep-by-stepmanner,youwilllikethewaymosttextbooksandlecturesareputtogether.

Butthisapproachtypicalofformalteachingandlearningismostlydirectedtojusttwotypesofintelligences,i.e.linguisticandmathematical/logical.Ifthatsthewayyourbrainnaturallyworks,yourelucky.Ifitdoesnt,schoolmaybeatoughexperiencebecauseitmostlyoffersasinglechancetounderstand.Itisthere-forewhatHowardGardnercallsthesingle-chancetheoryofeducation.

Whataboutthepeoplewhopreferandoftenneedotherwaystoexplorethesubject?HowardGardneranswersthattheyarenotwellservedbythewaywenormallypresentinformationatschool.Sotheyachievelessthantheycould.Yetgivethemthechancetoalsouseothertypesofintelligenceandtheycanblossom.

Thisisthemultiple-chancetheoryofeducation,anditswhatyourworkatAcceleratedLearningisallabout.

Whenyouaremoreawareoftheuniquemake-upofyourbrainandthereforeknowhowtouseitbest,youcanbecomeahighlyproficientlearner.Ittakeseffort,buttheresnothingtopreventyouoryourchildrenfromachievinganythingyousetoutto.Anyonecanlearnanythinggivenonlytime.

DeeDickinson

THELIMITSTO

IFITS

andLEARNINGARELARGELY

and

TOBE,ITS

Noticeinwhatwaysthisbookisdifferent.Wevedesigneditsoyoucanskiparound,changethepaceandreaditabitlikeanewspaper.

SELF-IMPOSED

UPTOME

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EXPLORINGWITHYOURMATHEMATICAL-LOGICALINTELLIGENCE

Listthekeypointsofwhatyouarelearning,inalogical,numberedsequence.

Selectingtheimportantpointsofthesubjectmeansthatyouneedtothinkcare-fullyaboutwhatyouarelearning.Ifyourunderstandingisfuzzy,thiswillbecomeimmediatelyobvious.Itisanexcellentwaytomakesureyoureallygetagriponanewtopic.Whenyoualsorankthesepointsinorderofimportance,andnumberthem,youstarttothinkevenmoredeeplyaboutthem.

ANALYZEWHATYOUARELEARNING

Whenyouaresystematic,youuseyourlogicalintelligence.Whenyouareanalytical,youalsouseyourlogicalintelligence!Sowhenyouuseasystemtobeanalytical,youarereallyusingyourlogicalintelligence!

Whenyouanalyzewhatyouarelearning,youexamineitindetail.Youdonttakeitatfacevalue,youexploreitindepth.Andthatseffectivelearning.Thefollowingsystematicapproachhelps.

AWhatASSUMPTIONSarebeingmade?Hasanythingbeentakenforgranted?Hasanythingbeenleftout?Hastheauthorusedanisolatedexampletomakeageneralsweepingconclusion?EWhatstheEVIDENCEforthis?Arewedealingwithfactsoropinion?IfitsopinioncanItrustthesource?Ifitsfactisthisalwaystrue?Whatotherexplanationscantherebe?Ifthisistrue,whatelsefollows?ICanIthinkofagoodILLUSTRATIONorexampleofthis?DoesthisfitanyothercategoryorclassofthingsImfamiliarwith?IswhatImreadingorhearingconsistentwithmyexperience?OWhatOPINIONorconclusionscanIdrawaboutthis?Aretheyjustified?UWhataretheUNIQUEpointsinthis?Whatarethekeyandnewpoints?Whatisessentialtoknowandwhatisjustpadding?

Thesequestionshelpmakesureyoualwaysstopandthink.Itsalltooeasytoacceptyourfirstreactionorthought.Butinitialconclusionsmaynotalwaysberight.Whatsmore,authors,teachersandtrainersarehuman.Theyarenot

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Applyingyourlogicalintelligencetothisprogramcouldalsoinvolve:

Tryingouteachofthe14ideasonpage67andgradingthemtoestablishwhichcombinationsseemtosuityoubest.

Listingthekeypointsoftheprogramandsortingthemintoalogicalnumberedsequence.(Wedothatonpage94.)

Thevalueofasystematicapproachisthatitmakeslifeeasier.Youknowthatifyoufollowtheplan,youwillachieveagoodresult.Abitlikeassem-blingamodelfromakitorpaintingbynumbers!

Maketheuseofthesequestionsahabitofmind.Youcancopythequestionsontoacardorevenontoaposterforyourwall.Usethemuntiltheybecomeautomatic.

RememberthesequestionsbyrecallingthevowelsofthealphabetA.E.I.O.U.thefirstletterofthekeywords:Assumptions?Evidence?Illustrations?Opinion?Uniqueness?

IFYOUARENOTASKINGQUESTIONS,YOUAREPROBABLYNOTLEARNING!

Linguisticintelligenceisimportantbecausethemorevocabularyyouhave,themoreaccuratelyyoucanexpressyourself.

Ithelpstojotdowneveryunfamiliarwordyoucomeacrossandlookitupassoonasyoucaninadictionary.

ThecivilrightsleaderMalcolmXeducatedhimselfinprisondoingjustthis.

Hebecamehighlysuccessfulasapublicspeaker.

Youneedwordsinordertothink.Ifchildrenlackanadequatevocabulary,theyareforcedtoexpressthemselvesinotherways.

Sometimestheylashoutattheworldbecausetheyfeeltheyhavenootherwaytocommunicatethanphysically.

Thatswhyreadingtoyoungchildrenandconversationissoimportant.TVisapassivemediumandcannotgivethedepthoflanguageskillsthatreadingprovides.

alwaysrighteither!EXPLORINGWITHYOURLINGUISTICINTELLIGENCE

Itisextremelyhardworktolearnaseriesofwordswrittenbysomebodyelse.Thinkofhowdifficultitcanbetolearnapoemorthelinesofaplay.Learningthewordsparrotfashioncertainlydoesnotmeanyouunderstandthem.Butputtingwhatyouhaveheardorreadintoyourownwordsdoesrequireyoutounderstandthem.

Herearetwopossiblewaystoapplythislearningstrategytothisprogram.Chooseoneandtryitout.

1.Brainstormallthethingsyoufeelyouhavelearned,i.e.writedownorsayintoataperecordereverythingyoucanthinkof.Avoidbeingcriticalofideaswritedownorsayeverythingthatcomestomind.Next,skimthroughthepagesofthisbooktojogyourmemoryandaddfurtherthoughts.Becarefultoputtheseintoyourownwordsdontcopyoutormerelyrepeatchunksofthetext.

Youwillnowhavealistofpoints.Youcannextorganizethesepointsinanywaythatismeaningfultoyou.Forexample,youcandrawoutwhatyouconsidertobethefivemostimportantpoints,orputthemonpostcards.

2.Makeashortsummaryofwhatyouhavediscoveredabouteachofthethreestagesoflearningwehaveintroducedsofar,usingtheheadingsbelow.

Makingasummaryisaveryusefulskillbecauseyouhavetoreducewhatyouhavelearnedtoitsessentials.Thatmeansdecidingwhatsimportant,andthatensuresyourememberitwell.

1.Gettingintherightstateofmindtolearn2.Gettingthefactstosuitmyself3.ExploringwhatImlearning

Whenyouarereading,stopattheendofeachmainsection,layyourbookasideandrecallthekeyideasinyourownwordsfrommemory.

Then,ifrelevant,expressin

HOTTIP

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yourownwordsanynewopinionsorconclusionsthathavebeentriggeredbythatsection.

EXPLORINGWITHYOURINTRA-PERSONALINTELLIGENCE

InterestcreatesmotivationWhatisyourfavoritehobby?Idoubtifanyonehadtonagyoutolearnit!ifyouareinterestedinasubjectyouremotivatedtolearn.Butsupposeyouarefacedwithasubjectthatcurrentlyyouthinkis,frankly,boring.Whatthen?

Aresearchertestedstudentsmemoryforpaintings.Somejustlookedatthepaintings;othersweregiveninformationaboutthepaintingandthepainter.Thelattergrouprememberedthepaintingstwiceaswell.

Theyrememberedbetterbecausetheycreatedtheirowninterestinthesubjectbydiggingdeeper.Theydidnottakeitatfacevalue;theyexploredthesubjectonapersonallevel.Hereswhatyoucando.

Whateverthesubjectyouarelearning,askorreadaboutthebackgroundespeciallythehumaninterest.Ifthesubjectisart,musicordrama,whatwasinthecreatorsmind?Whatdidhedodifferentlyfromanyoneelsebefore?Whatnewtechniquedidsheevolve?

If,forexample,youstartthinkingofhistoryintermsofthecharacters,theirambitions,weaknesses,strengths,headlinesandpoliticalskullduggery,italsobecomesreal.Ifhistoryweretaughtlikethat,itwouldbemostpeoplesfavorite!

Howaboutmath?Cantherebeanemotionalinterestinthissubject?Indeedtherecan.Justlookatthemargin!Orhowabouttechnicalsubjectsorlearninginanindustrialenvironment?Thesameadviceapplies.Lookforthehumaninterest.Whodevelopedthesystem?Whatweretheirinitialdifficultiesandfailures?Whyisthesystemdesignedthewayitis?

Thesecretofcreatinginterestinasubjectistolookforsomethingthathaspersonalsignificanceforyou.Anythingtocreatethatfirstsparkofinterest.Thenthegenuineinterestfollows.Peoplemakesubjectsinteresting.Theunusualmakessubjectsinteresting.Unexpectedconnectionsmakesubjectsinteresting.

Aboveallwebecomeinterestedwhenwecananswerquestionslike:Whydoesthismattertome?HowcanIusethisidea?WhatsignificancecanIfindinthisforme?

Onefinaltip:Whynotaskyourteacher,lecturerortrainerwhatheorshefindsinterestingaboutthesubjectyouarestudying.Afterall,heorshechosetodoitfulltime.Orseekoutsomeonewhoisexcitedbythesubjectandaskwhatintrigueshimorher.Everysubjectcanbemadetohavepersonalinterest,andthatsthesecretofmotivation.61

Keepingadiaryoralearninglogthatrecordsyourreactionstotheideasinthisprogramisagoodintra-personalactivity.

Recordhowithashelpedyoutowardyourgoals.

Howmayyourfuturebechangedbyit?

Dotheideasfitintoyourpersonalbeliefsaboutpeople?

Ifworldpopulationisgrowingat2%-howmanyyearswillittakebeforethetotalpopulationdoubles?

Quickanswer35years.

Why?Becausethereisasimple,usefulmathrule.Divideanypercentagerateofgrowthinto70tofindoutthetimeittakesforsomethingtodouble.

702=35

Worldpopulationwas5,000,000,000people(i.e.5billionpeople)in1987.

Ifitweretogrowat3%ratherthan2%,thenthetimeitwouldtakeforourplanettohavetoaccommodateyetanother5billionpeoplewouldbejustover23years.

Sobytheyear2010theworldpopulationwould,onaverage,beincreasingby200millionpeopleayear.

EXPLORINGWITHYOURVISUAL/SPATIALINTELLIGENCE

THEBOOKWORM

Fourvolumesofanencyclo-pediastandside-by-sideonashelf,inorder.

Volume1isontheleft,VolumeIVisontheright.

Eachbookisabout4thinkandthecoversare1/16thick.

AbookwormstartseatingatpageoneofVolume1,andeatsitswaythroughtothelastpageofVolumeIV.

Howmanyinchesdiditchewthrough?

Answeronpage65

Thinkingisthehardestworkofall.Perhapsthatiswhysofewchoosetodoit!HenryFord

CreatingalearningmapThroughoutthisprogramwehavesummarizedtheinformationwehavegiventoyouonlearningmaps.Theseareevenmorehelpfulaidstolearningwhenyouhaveconstructedthemyourself.

Makealargelearningmapwhichsummarizesallthatyouhavelearneduntilnow.Youwillbeabletoaddfurtherinformationasyoureadon.

Sometimesallyouneedisabriefsketch.Manymathematicalconceptsareeasiertosolvewhenyoufindawaytovisualizethem.Trytheprobleminthemarginnow.

Therearelotsofwaystoexploreasubjectvisually.Dependingonappropri-ateness,considermakingupacoloredposter,acartoon,avideooratimeline.Usesymbolsinsteadofwords.

Thinkofyourintelligencesasyourteam.Youaretheplayermanagerwhosejobitistogetthebestoutofthem.

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EXPLORINGWITHYOURINTER-PERSONALINTELLIGENCE

HaveadiscussionDiscussingwhatyouarelearningisanexcellentwaytocheckyourunder-standingofsomethingnew.Youwillalsogainfromtheotherpersonsexperiencesandinsights.Thisisparticularlyhelpfulifthatpersonwillaskyouquestionsandevenchallengeyouropinions.

1.Informaldiscussionsarevaluable.Thesecanoftenhappenatcoffeeormealbreaks.YoucancasuallydiscusswhatyouhavediscoveredwithothersinthiswayIfoundthisinterestingwhatdoyouthink?Itiseasiertoinvolvepeopleindiscussionsaboutsomethingwhenyouaskthemabouttheirpersonalexperiences...DidyoufindwhenyouwerelearningXthat...?

2.Getadiscussiongoingbyaskingaboutsomethingwithwhichyourcolleaguesdisagreed.Oneoftheothersislikelytoagreewithit,andthediscussionhasstarted.Wetoooftenconsiderthatlearningneedstobeformal,asatschool,inlecturesortrainingrooms,orfrombooks.Thisisquiteuntrue.Someofthemostimportantlearningofallcantakeplacearoundafamilydinnertable.Youcandonothingmorehelpfulforyourfamilythantoregularlydiscusswhateachofyouisdoing,andhowyoucanalllearnfromtheseexperiences.

3.Heresapracticalwaytocreatesolutionstothesortofeverydayproblemsthatinevitablyariseatwork.Takealunchhourandgettogetherasmallgroup.Havesomeblanknotecardsready.Youcantakeanotecardandwriteonitaproblemthatisbotheringyoulargeorsmall.Thenthewholegroupdevotes10minutestocomingupwithasolution.Yes,youcantheoreticallyjustsitanddiscussyourproblemswithoutorgan-izingitinthiswaybutthetruthisyourarelydo.Thissimplebitofinformalteamworkworkswonders.Andifyoupersistwiththeidea,youllfindthatproblemswillincreasinglybesortedoutbythistypeofinformalgroup,ratherthanofficiallyoralone.4.ToparentsInvolveyourchildrenAskyourchildrenwhattheythinkofsomeideasinthisprogram.Letthemtellyoutheirfeelingsandexperiencesaboutlearning.Dotheydowellinaparticularclass?Whyisthat?Doesthewayitstaughtmatchthewaytheyliketolearn?Dotheyfindanyoftheseideasuseful?Dontbetooalarmediftheyinitiallyreactnegatively.ItsasadfactthatmanychildrenwhoareexperiencingwhatHowardGardnercallsthesingle-chanceapproachtoschoolingareswitchedoffbyanymentionofstudybecausetheyfeeltheycannotsucceed.Theyaretheveryoneswhowillmostbenefitfromtheseideas.63

Itseasytothinkyouunderstandsomething,butwhenyouhavetoexplainittosomeoneelse,itforcesyoutoclearupanywoollythoughts.

Whatsmore,learningwithothersisusuallymoreenjoy-able.Theirquestionsandinsightsalsobringafreshview-pointtothesubject.YouuseyourInter-PersonalIntelligencewhenyouconsiderhowthisprogramcouldhelpyourfamily,yourschooloryourcommunity.

STUDYBUDDYSTRATEGY

Heresaprovenwaytolearnbetter.a.Teamupwithacolleague.b.Youeachagreetolearnthesamechapterorsectionindependently.c.Whenyounextmeet,youbothsummarizewhatyouhavelearnedtoeachotherandnoteanddiscussdifferinginterpretations.

Youbothlearnbetter!

TOSTUDENTS

Ifyouareafull-timestudent,involveyourparents.Discusstheimplicationsofthisprogramwiththem.

Anounceofexperienceisworthatonoftheory.Benja