Filtering by Category: Learning

How To Organize Information - Infographic

January 24, 2018 / Oskar Cymerman

Organization is key to learning effectively. Logically organized information is easier for our brain to understand, remember, and recall.

But chances are that our students don't know the 5 ways they can organize information because it isn't something taught in school. At least it wasn't when I was in.

In any case there's no reason not to teach them. In fact I believe we should. To make it easier I've created just the tool to help you show them.

Remember the acronym LATCH to recall the 5 ways to organize information.

Location, Alphabet, Time, Category, and Hierarchy.

They've been around.

The infographic below describes them in more detail.

I hope you enjoy it and use as you see fit.

5 Ways to Organize Information Infographic

Alas! Let's teach students how to organize stuff. let's teach them how to learn.

You have the power to change lives. Use it often so they can change the world.

Oskar

Thanks for reading! If you found my article useful you might want to sign up for my newsletter below. If you are looking for a new book that can help you add to your teaching arsenal and help teens learn check out my books on Amazon.

Hi! I'm Oskar.

I teach, write, speak, rant to make the world better.

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categories / Learning
tags / focus, teaching teens, deeper learning, learning, teaching

3 Easy Ways To Hack Sleep To Improve Your Performance

November 20, 2017 / Oskar Cymerman

Hacking Sleep: How To Get The Most Out Of Snooze Time

Neuroscientists suggest that kids need 10-12 hours of sleep and most adults 7.5-9 hours. But let's be real: When was the last time you consistently got 8 or 9 hours of sleep? Then, ask a room full of teens how many got 10 hours of sleep and count the number of hands. If you teach in a high school, you'll be lucky to see one hand raised.

Luckily, not every student you encounter looks like a sleep-deprived saliva-drooling zombie. Somehow, they are able to survive and learn on whatever limited amount of sleep they get. Of course, lack of sleep, or rather rest, is not the way to go long term. You want to get more sleep!

But if you just can't... because life and bad habits keep getting in the way you might as well find alternatives. So if you just can't get enough of the good thing...

Hack Sleep to Make It More Efficient

Here's how:

Exercise Early.
Supplement with Vitamin C and Mg.
Meditate Before Bed.

Hack Sleep with Early Exercise

Exercise helps your brain get more oxygen and operate better. Morning exercise helps regulate cortisol which is a steroid hormone our body needs to function. When its levels are too high you might have trouble sleeping. A few minutes of exercise in the morning increases cortisol at the beginning of your day. Then it progressively decreases throughout the day.

While it may be hard to start, as few as 5 minutes of vigorous exercise each morning will aid your sleep at night. Your sleep cycle will improve when you hit the pillow with a lot less cortisol present in your body.

Hack Sleep with Vitamin C and Mg

Besides being used in a lot of biological processes, magnesium manages the "sleep" hormone melatonin and your brain chemistry. This helps your body and brain relax so you can achieve higher quality sleep.

Vitamin C lowers cortisol, which as described above you want to be low before going to bed.

Hack Sleep with Meditation

Imagine you're working on an important project on your computer and you just can't stop multitasking. The more browser tabs you have open the more distracted, unfocused, and stressed out you become. What if you closed all of them, took a break, and reopened just the one tab you really need?

Meditation is like closing all of those open brain tabs so you can focus on the present. It's great anytime, but can really help you relax before bed so you can get higher quality sleep.

Can you envision 5-10 minutes of closing your eyes and listening to yourself just breathe right before bed?

Hack Sleep To Improve Your Performance

It's no secret quality sleep improves your brain function and performance in school, work, and life. An optimized brain thinks more clearly, learns more effectively, and creates more vividly.

So if you can't get enough sleep hack it with Early Exercise, Vitamin C and Mg, and Bedtime Meditation.

But don't just stop there. Tell your kids. Tell your students. Tell your friends.

You have the power to change lives. Use it often.

I frequently share brain-based teaching and learning strategies, lessons, and visuals. If you don't sign up for my newsletter below you might miss them. Worry not: I don't eat spam. I don't send it either!

Hi! I'm Oskar.

I teach, write, speak, rant to make the world better.

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categories / Learning
tags / focus, teaching teens, deeper learning, learning, teaching, sleep, hacking sleep, rest

The Best Cramming Advice You Never Got

October 30, 2017 / Oskar Cymerman

Learning is like playing the blues.

If you wanna get really good at it and be able to improvise, you must practice playing the blues a lot. You must also understand it. The scales, the chord progressions, the beats, the turnaround, the stories, the mood; the "how to blues."

If you wanna get really good at learning you must practice learning. You must also understand it. The brain, the habits, the strategies, what works, what doesn't; "the how to learn."

If you understand how your brain learns you might be able to hack your learning; to improvise and modify sketchy study strategies that mostly don't work and make them more effective.

Today, I attempt to do that with cramming and if you read my last post What's The Brain Deal With Cramming? you know that I don't recommend it and instead advocate for smart spaced practice.

But today...

Just today, I AM PROMOTING CRAMMING. Not because I believe in it but because I find that many students cram, and as unfortunate as teachers find it, many will continue to cram their way through school. And, as my mission is to help everyone learn, I want to take this opportunity and attempt to make cramming more effective - perhaps effective enough that students can retain more information longer - even weeks after they cram it into their brains.

Is this even possible?

There's only one way to find out so...

Let's Hack Cramming!

So there you be! Crazy? Perhaps. But just consider this:

My wife just gifted me the new Van Morrison LP. I played it yesterday for the first time. It's good. It's blues above all else this favorite poet-musician-artist of mine crammed in there.

"The thing about the blues is you don't dissect it – you just do it," said Van Morrison. That's true, but it's also a lie. The truth lives in the idea that blues is performance driven. The lie is that you can't improvise well (cram) without a whole lotta love, know-how, and practice.

You see, his dad bought him an acoustic guitar when he was 11. Starting with learning basic chords and then forming bands before playing as a solo artist, Van Morrison has done a lot of spaced practice over time. And because of this he can cram and do it well.

So, I'm not saying you should cram. I'm not saying your students should cram. But if you or your students will cram y'all might as well learn to do it good. Like the blues... I'm just sayin'

You have the power to change lives. Use it often.

Did you dig this article and infographic? It's the kind of information we don't teach in schools that I am putting in my upcoming all-in-one book, guide, and workbook Crush School Notebook: 12 Weeks To Better Learning. Sign up for my newsletter below to be informed when it comes out and to get my other cramming hack that uses spaced practice. Oxymorons? We shall see!

Hi! I'm Oskar.

I teach, write, speak, rant to make the world better.

BOOKS & TOOLS

Buy on Amazon

CONTACT ME

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categories / Learning
tags / focus, deep work, productivity, teaching teens, parenting teens, CRAMMING, procrastination, deeper learning, learning, teaching