Doodling is Good!

To Doodle: to make spontaneous marks to help yourself think.
–Sunni Brown (2011): Doodlers, unite! (at 3:19) in TED.

Unfortunately, teachers are usually opposed to doodling in class. (Image from Sunni Brown's TED talk.)

Doodling on a notepad is often seen as evidence that a student is not paying attention. Very much to the contrary, argues Sunni Brown in this TED talk:

Studies show that sketching and doodling improve our comprehension — and our creative thinking.
— TEDtalksDirector: Sunni Brown: Doodlers, unite! on YouTube.

She describes doodling as a, “preemptive measure to stop you from loosing focus.” In addition, doodling helps integrate all four modes of learning (visual, auditory, reading/writing, kinesthetic) as well as helps provoke an emotional response, all of which greatly aid retention of information and creative thinking. Finally, doodling is most useful when we’re trying to process a heavy, dense load of information.

Brown has more details in her article in .net, Why the Doodle Matters.

(hat tip: The Dish)

Between reticence and loquaciousness

Montessori normalization lies somewhere between the extremely reticent and the overly loquacious. I have both endmembers in my classroom, so I’m wondering it would help or hurt to use Lucius Aemilius Paulus’ speech as a topic for a Socratic dialogue.

In every circle, and truly, at every table, there are people who lead armies into Macedonia; who know where the camp ought to be placed; what posts ought to be occupied by troops; when and through what pass that territory should be entered; where magazines should be formed; how provisions should be conveyed by land and sea; and when it is proper to engage the enemy, when to lie quiet and they not only determine what is best to be done, but if any thing is done in any other manner than what they have pointed out, they arraign the consul, as if he were on trial before them. These are great impediments to those who have the management of affairs; for every one cannot encounter injurious reports with the same constancy and firmness of mind as Fabius did, who chose to let his own ability be questioned through the folly of the people, rather than to mismanage the public business with a high reputation.

I am not one of those who think that commanders ought at no time to receive advice; on the contrary, I should deem that man more proud than wise, who regulated every proceeding by the standard of his own single judgment. What then is my opinion? That commanders should be counseled chiefly by persons of known talent, by those who have made the art of war their particular study, and whose knowledge is derived from experience, by those who are present at the scene of action, who see the enemy, who see the advantages that occasions offer, and who, like people embarked in the same ship, are sharers of the danger.

If, therefore, anyone thinks himself qualified to give advice respecting the war which I am to conduct, let him not refuse the assistance to the State, but let him come with me into Macedonia.

He shall be furnished with a ship, a tent, even his traveling charges will be defrayed, but if he thinks this is too much trouble, and prefers the repose of a city life to the toils of war, let him not on land assume the office of a pilot. The city in itself furnishes abundance of topics for conversation. Let it confine its passion for talking to its own precincts and rest assured that we shall pay no attention to any councils but such as shall be framed within our camp.

— General Lucius Aemilius Paulus (229-160 B.C.), from Livy’s The History of Rome, Book 44, Chapter 22.

Poverty on the Brain

This book I should read, “Teaching with Poverty in Mind“, sounds like it’s based on Ruby K. Payne’s framework for understanding poverty. I’ve already written a little about the controversy surrounding her work. Payne’s practical activities seemed useful at the very least, so it should be interesting to find out how Eric Jensen extends the theories to the classroom.

Mindset: Set to grow

Carol Dweck’s book on the importance of your mindset. Fixed mindset – not good; Growth mindset – effort creates ability –> reward effort, perseverance, and character. When you praise you praise growth qualities like effort, and not fixed qualities like intelligence. It sounds like it ties in with all of the research on praise and rewards. It’s a book I should read.

Non-verbal communication: Micheal Grinder

To communicate an important or difficult message, it is important that your non-verbal communications, gestures, body language, align with the words you speak. Micheal Grinder who teaches courses on presentation skills and classroom management has a few good YouTube videos like the one above.

His blog is also a good resource.

Fierce leadership: Not wimping out

In my new “Books to Read” series, Susan Scott’s book Fierce Leadership. This was recommended by Mary Yenik who’s been teaching classroom management at HMC. Scott is the author of Fierce Conversations, which is about enabling people to have challenging conversations (parent-teacher conferences can be contentious sometimes) effectively. According to my notes, the new book is about “not wimping out.”