Week 4

Studies have been conducted to show the possibilities of training our brain. These studies focus on two types of intelligence. Fluid intelligence is the ability to reason abstractly, grasping unfamiliar relationships and solving new problems (Brown, Roediger and McDaniel, 2014). At this time, studies have not determined that fluid intelligence can change. However, crystallized intelligence has been shown to improve with learning strategies and mental tools discussed in this book. Crystallized intelligence accumulates over time and can increase into old age (Brown et al., 2014).

Memory athletes are using mental tools to help them remember vast amounts of information. Mnemonics devices such as rhymes, memory palaces, and acronyms can help retain a significant amount of information. The peg method is a method for remembering lists which pair each number 1 through 20 with a rhythm (Brown et al., 2014). Memory palaces are more complex and better for organizing and remembering more significant amounts of information. In a memory palace, you imagine yourself in a familiar place such as your office and associated features in the room to something you want to remember. These devices help organize and cue information for immediate recall, and deliberate and repeated practice provides a deeper encoding and results in mastery and expert performance (Brown et al., 2014).

Dweck explains that mindset is learned and changes with experience. Furthermore, her studies show that praise affects the way the child learns. The child is less motivated to learn the more difficult material if told that they were smart versus being told that they made a lot of effort. In the last two studies in the video, she worked with seventh graders in a school with aggressive adolescents and a group of Middle Easterners. She found that relationships can also be affected by mindset. Her studies show people with a growth mindset are more positive and willing to compromise.

Retrieval practice has shown to increase the ability to organize and apply knowledge to solve complex problems (Agarwal et al., 2017). Retrieval practice lets us know what we have mastered and what needs more work. It is essential for the teacher to offer feedback so the students can correct mistakes or work harder to improve the learning. It is vital for the teacher to include all the students when asking to recall information. The benefit of using retrieval practice in the classroom is the efficiency without any increase in teaching time. The best time to use retrieval practice is after the lesson and spaced out over time. The best way to keep the retrieval practice focused on learning is to have low stakes or no grade quizzes including short answer, multiple choice, and clickers.

Our aging workforce has a substantial amount of crystallized intelligence, and this population is growing. Older workers are still valuable, and their accumulated knowledge benefits the younger worker with opportunities to mentor and offering feedback. Also, learning by generation and elaboration becomes a vehicle that provides an ongoing improvement in performance in all areas of the workforce.

Agarwal, P., Roediger, H., McDaniel, M., & McDermott, K. (2017) How to use retrieval practice to improve learning. Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. [Article]. Retrieved from http://www.retrievalpractice.org/download/

Brown, P. C., Roediger, H. L., & McDaniel, M. A. (2014). Make it stick: The science of successful learning. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Happy & Well. (2013, Oct. 20). Carol Dweck 'Mindset - the new psychology of success' at Happiness & Its Causes 2013. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGvR_0mNpWM

What are the two types of intelligence? (LO #1)

Retrieval: Crystallized intelligence and fluid intelligence.

Reflection: As we age, our crystallized intelligence accumulates. It has been shown that using the learning strategies we can increase our intelligence. Professions that require continuing education and professionals with a life-long learning attitude will continue to increase their intelligence through out time. Thinking abstractly and trying to think of creative ways to solve problems is fluid intelligence. When you think about a policy that needs to be changed because it has become outdated, you look at many different areas that don't seem to be connected, but all play a part in the solution to a problem.

Building Learning Structures: Book, Chapter 7 p. 176. Content Summaries, Chapter 7, paragraph 1 and 2.

What are three strategies or behaviors that boost your employees' performance of intelligence? (LO #2)

Retrieval: Growth mindset, deliberate practice, and memory cues.

Reflection: The idea that intelligence is adaptable is called a growth mindset. We can increase our intelligence with effortful learning. Studies performed by Carol Dweck show that when students develop a growth mindset, they become more aggressive learners and higher achievers than students that hold a conventional view.

Deliberate practice is the achievement of an expert level of performance through many hours of focused practice. It is building a website with a small amount of knowledge about instructional design. It is the acquired knowledge of each element that all come together in the end to reveal a result that is a powerful learning tool. The site is an example of failed attempts, problem-solving, and renewed attempts using valuable feedback. Studies of experts performed by Ericson's revealed it took 10,000 hours or 10 years of practice to achieve an expert level.

Memory cues are mental tools used to help hold the material in memory, cued for immediate recall. Mnemonic devices are mental tools, such as memory palaces, acronyms, images and rhyme schemes.

Building Learning Structures: Growth mindset; Book, Chapter 7, p. 178, Chapter Summaries, Carol Dweck video. Deliberate practice; Book Chapter 7, p. 183-185, Chapter Summaries, Chapter 7, paragraph 1. Memory cues; Book, Chapter 7, p. 185, Chapter Summaries, Chapter 7, paragraph 3.

What are two mental tools that can be used to hold the material in memory for immediate recall? (LO #3)

Retrieval: Rhyme schemes, memory palaces, songs, images acronyms, etc.

Reflection: Memory cues are used to help you easily retrieve information. When I went through sorority rush, we had to go around a circle and add a word to our name. The word had to start with the first letter of our names and had to be something we liked. Mine was "My name is Judy and I like Jelly Beans." Then, we had to go around the circle and repeat everyone's name and what they liked.

You can use a memory palace to remember and organize substantial volumes of material. If you are studying for your real estate license which required a large volume of new vocabulary words, you can use a memory palace to help you easily retrieve the words and their meanings. You can drive around a familiar neighborhood and associate the features with a visual image of the word you want to remember.

Building Learning Structures: Book, Chapter 7, p. 185-189, Content Summaries, Chapter 7, paragraph 3.

List some ways that trainers can use the strategies of learning that make learning stick? (LO #4)

Retrieval:

• Use training platforms such as Qstream or Osmosis to periodically text out quiz questions to the employees that attended the workshop.
• Choose images for your material that will help your employees' build memory cues.
• Create acronyms, memory palaces or rhymes when designing your workshop.
• Explain what a "growth mindset" means and that it takes effort and persistence to achieve higher levels.
• Create opportunities for your employees to practice what they have learned in the workshop.
• Use a variety of retrieval practices throughout your workshop.
• Copy the PowerPoint presentation and give it to your employees to quiz themselves on the key ideas.

Building Learning Structures: Suggestions for Implementation