Forgetting What You Think You Know

It's 2011. 

Seriously. 2011.

Where does the time go? Well, it goes away, never to return unfortunately. 

As I was going through articles from last year, this one really hit home in terms of what we think we know about how we learn versus what cognitive psychologists know we know about how we learn. The article is  fascinating, supports what we learned about Brain Rules, and gives some real food for thought.

Here's a synopsis: In recent years, cognitive scientists have shown that a few simple techniques can reliably improve what matters most: how much a student learns from studying. The findings can help anyone, from a fourth grader doing long division to a retiree taking on a new language. But they directly contradict much of the common wisdom about good study habits, and they have not caught on. For instance, instead of sticking to one study location, simply alternating the room where a person studies improves retention (remember the experiment from Brain Rules where people were taught in a pool?). I would encourage all of you to read it. The full article in the NEW YORK TIMES can be found here.

Speaking of articles, I would also encourage you to take 20 minutes and watch Mohammad Yunus speak and what he talks about in his struggle to help the poor in Bangladesh. He's our person of the month and you can find the video on YouTube here.

Have a great start to the 2011 year everyone.