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Title: The Power of Mindful Learning by Ellen J. Langer ISBN: 0-201-33991-9 Publisher: Perseus Books Group Pub. Date: 01 April, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.08 (13 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: More difficult than it seems at first glance...
Comment: This book exemplifies the post-modern trend in psychological thinking, i.e., (i) There are no universally valid "givens," other than this one; (ii) Truth depends on perspective and context; and (iii) Validity stems from a proposition's meaning, and so forth.
Langer happens to be one of the more articulate proponents of this kind of thinking, namely: (i) conditional teaching and (ii) creative distractions increase the "mindfulness" of a person's learning; that (iii) rote learning is verboten, (iv) that one should help youngsters move toward "mindfulness," and (v) that "flexibility" in thinking, not raw intellect, is favored as an indicator of intellect.
Some of her techniques can be useful to educators and teachers: (i) conditional questions and presentations, (ii) mindful scanning, (iii) reading from more than one perspective, (iv) searching for differences, (v) shifting questions from "obvious" to "not so obvious," and so on.
Despite the post-modern flavor, the embedded educational philosophy here is Progressive and Romantic, not Basics, so if you want something that will tell you how good it is to memorize the multiplication tables, this book is not it. While I have do doubt that Prof. Langer is a very creative and unique person, the unstated educational philosophy here is as elite and as unfulfilling as a Bordeaux cookie.
Rating: 4
Summary: Challenging typical thinking about learning
Comment: Ellen did a great job with this book, giving us the why-to's explaining why we need a different attitude against learning. At large I agree with her analysis that traditional education feeds us 7 beliefs which aren't very useful once we leave the classroom to go to the school of live. Actually, these beliefs aren't useful for the classroom neither, but they seem designed into the way schools teach. As such it should be required reading for anyone considering a career in education or as trainer in a business context.
Next to the analysis and showing what goes wrong, you'll get a partial solution, consisting of guidelines of how one can do better. These guidelines are useful for teachers or trainers as well as for learners. As teacher it boils down to avoiding the 7 myths, and teaching students to learn more mindfully. The book backs up this recommendation with the research findings that proves this approach is far more effective. As learner, the recommendation is that you start having a more mindful attitude while learning.
The book only gets 4 stars, because it would have been more useful if it had been more of a how-to book as well. That might be an idea for the next edition. Meanwhile, other how-to books which are compatible with notion of emotional intelligence and which will complement this one are Don Blackberry's "Rediscover the joy of learning" and the books by Michael Grinder.
Patrick Merlevede -- author of "7 Steps to Emotional Intelligence"
Rating: 5
Summary: Mindful learning leads to mindful teaching
Comment: I read this book from the perspective of a college teacher, looking for new ways to think about what goes on in the classroom. My eyes were opened! Langer argues that learning need not be boring and students don't have to think of education as "work." She suggests ways to re-frame activities in ways that engage students in what they are doing and give them a reason to care about the outcomes.
Langer attacks the myth that rote learning & blind memorization are the foundation for higher-order skills. She makes a strong case that "forgetting" is often a good thing. Teachers should be concerned about students understanding the contextual limitations of what they learn, rather than with "covering the material."
Coupled with Bob Boice's several books on mindfulness in teaching, this book changed the way I think about college teaching.
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Title: Mindfulness by Ellen J. Langer ISBN: 0201523418 Publisher: Addison Wesley Publishing Company Pub. Date: 01 March, 1990 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded Edition by John Bransford, Ann L. Brown, Rodney R. Cocking, National Research Council ISBN: 0309070368 Publisher: National Academy Press Pub. Date: 15 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: The Skin That We Speak: Thoughts on Language and Culture in the Classroom by Lisa Delpit, Joanne Kilgour Dowdy ISBN: 1565848209 Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: May, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Why Fly That Way?: Linking Community and Academic Achievement by Katherine Greeley ISBN: 0807739804 Publisher: Teachers College Press Pub. Date: 01 January, 2001 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Uncommon Sense : Theoretical Practice in Language Education by John S. Mayher ISBN: 0867092475 Publisher: Boynton/Cook Pub. Date: 23 October, 1989 List Price(USD): $28.50 |
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