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Don't Read Educational Books This Summer. Read These Instead.

June 14, 2018 / Oskar Cymerman

Don't Read Educational Books. Read Game-Changing Books

“Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.”

— Edward de Bono

You don't become an innovator by reading books on innovation.

You can learn what the process of innovation looks like by reading a book on innovation. It might even give you a starting point to innovate.

But you only become an innovator when you innovate.

Dean Kamen, the inventor of Segway and co-founder of FIRST Robotics, explains that "every once in a while, a new technology, an old problem, and a big idea turn into an innovation." But how? What is the process for creating something new or turning something old into an innovation?

Perhaps the author of the Harry Potter series can answer this best. J.K. Rowling believes imagination is what drives all invention and innovation. According to the author, imagination is the "transformative and revelatory capacity to envision that which is not," because it "enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared."

But how do we see what doesn't exist? How do we find the "that which is not" trail; the Diagon Alley? How do we grow our imagination?

The answer, cheeky as it may sound, is you have to practice imagination; do imaginative things.

One way is to differentiate. Do uncommon things or common things in uncommon ways. The education example I want to use here involves reading.

I'm about to hop on your summer reading list so beware.

if you're a teacher, chances are you've put together a list of books to read this summer or have one or two books you plan to read. You want to learn - and that's great - but what are these books? How many are directly related to education? How many are fiction? How many are non-fiction and seemingly unrelated to something school?

There are many great written-by-educators books on Amazon. I've read a few this year and would recommend them. But here's the thing: If you want to grow your imagination faster, produce more unique and more ideas, and innovate more effectively, read something else.

“Don’t read education-related books this summer”

This may sound crazy to some of you so let's take a closer look at how ideas form in the human brain.

When studying how the human brain forms original and creative ideas, University of Haifa researchers found that such idea formation requires the simultaneous firing of different neural networks. They observed that the brains of individuals who gave the most creative ideas had "associative" and "conservative" brain regions fire together. You may know "associative" as "diffuse" or "unconscious" thinking and "conservative" as "focused," "conscious," or "analytical" thinking.

Succinctly, the more you can tap into your unconscious while ideating, the better and more original your ideas will be.

Since drugs can help with that but are the less acceptable way, the question becomes: What gets stored in your unconscious and how do you make it more diverse?

And, if you've been paying attention you know where I'm going here. And I could but I'll just say this: If you read mostly or only education-related books you're severely undercutting your brain's capacity for original thought and... innovation. This is similar to always staying home - not experiencing the outside and fearing change - but you get to know your home really well.

But that's not fair, because most of us want to learn and get better! That's why we focus on getting better at our craft. We've only been encouraged by friends and admins and never told that this approach might limit us! And it's a good one if you want to become an expert!

But if you want to innovate... you know...

So, read what you want and do read an educational book if it's of benefit to you. But throw in a bunch of game-changing books and take notes when your brain unexpectedly fires off an idea related to your classroom, subject, ideology, or education at large. Then, create something new - a lesson, PD session, classroom procedure, technology use, or a new school - anything just a little bit different. You know... innovate.

Oskar

In my future posts, I will describe why the educator in me wants to read the books below and how I plan to apply what I learn in my classroom and give you ideas you can apply in yours. Up next: Smartcuts. I'm almost done with it. Sign up here and I'll be back in your inbox with it Tuesday.

Here's the rest of my summer reading list:

Smartcuts by Shane Snow
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
Brain Rules by John Medina
Contagious by Jonah Berger
Smarter, Faster, Better by Charles Duhigg
Perennial Seller by Ryan Holiday
Unshakeable by Tony Robbins

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

Brainstorming Is Beautiful. Here's How to Make It Better

June 07, 2018 / Oskar Cymerman

Photo by Bas Emmen on Unsplash — Photo by Bas Emmen on Unsplash

“No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking.”

— Voltaire

It is fortunate most brainstorming does not take place in life and death situations because most groups do it wrong.

Brainstorming is beautiful; there's no denying. It's a kind of a creative clash of brain powers of the collective and that's why it's more effective than individuals deciding things in isolation.

Typically, it goes like this:

"Let's brainstorm," says the leader and everyone gathers. Around the table or in a circle we hurl ideas forward and at each other while someone hopefully records. If we stay open and respectful that's not too bad. We generate ideas. But we can do it better.

Brainstorming is beautiful but it's possible to make it more so.

Brainstorming Alone

The idea of brainstorming alone is counterintuitive. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines brainstorming as a group problem-solving technique that involves the spontaneous contribution of ideas from all members of the group and Wikipedia calls it a group creativity technique.

So there it is. We tend to think of brainstorming as a group activity. But it does not have to be limited to or by group thinking. In fact, turning brainstorming into a two- or three-tiered approach will lead to more ideas and better solutions.

It's best to brainstorm alone first. Whether you're a teacher or the boss, you can ask those you lead to write down their ideas before the group brainstorming session. It's important to encourage a range of ideas, starting with reasonable and ending with ludicrous.

This step and the subsequent sharing of all ideas no matter how disparate is what prevents groupthink. Because an individual has an unconscious need to be accepted by the group, he tends to agree with the group more often than he should. As a result, he might shy away from presenting his own, at times more divergent thoughts that could help progress.

Groupthink squashes uniqueness and creativity. Opposite of individual thinking, groupthink curtails the evaluation of alternatives and can lead to irrational decisions if a few dominant personalities can impose their will on others. This can be prevented by individuals generating their ideas before coming to the group table.

Brainstorming With a Partner

One on one brainstorming with someone trusted allows us to share ideas freely. Such partners can debate and disagree respectfully, which is often more effective for vetting and refining ideas than brainstorming in a large group. Being open to hearing each other‘s ideas but challenging them generally leads to better outcomes as well.

The partners can run through all individually-generated ideas providing feedback and working together to combine some thoughts while refining others. Then, they are ready to contribute at the big table.

Brainstorming in a Group

A group consisting of 8 individuals who did their homework has a higher chance of succeeding in making the most rational and beneficial decision. If every participant generated a list of ideas and then partnered with someone to review these ideas she is more likely to share the more polished ideas with the group.

Because many ideas already exist, they can be proposed by all individuals simultaneously and recorded. This will give rise to new ideas to be added to the list. Then, ideas can be evaluated and refined further wherever deemed viable.

For brainstorming to work, we must defer judgment on the quality of ideas until the evaluation stage. In addition, ideas that seem crazy and those that build on others' ideas should be encouraged. No one "owns" an idea in brainstorming so others can feel free to create ideas that branch out from another's original idea.

Thinking and Brainstorming

The three-step approach to brainstorming allows each individual to generate many ideas and spend time thinking about and refining those ideas before the group decision on which idea should be tested first is made.

First, individuals are asked to brainstorm (generate ideas) on their own. Then, they partner up to receive and give feedback on each others' ideas and to combine and refine their thoughts. Finally, they meet as a group to present their individual ideas, come up with new ones, and to make a decision on the proper course of action.

Thus, what we know as traditional brainstorming, a spontaneous group process, is enhanced by adding layers of individual thinking and one on one analysis. In a way, group brainstorming becomes a middle stage in the decision-making process. It is no longer what a group of students or a team of professionals working on a project begins collaboration with.

The benefits of such a layered approach include a higher number and quality of ideas, more developed ideas, and ultimately more informed and effective decision-making.

Or we can just keep throwing a bunch of people in a room together telling them to brainstorm. Hopefully they know how to do that. But I'm not so sure they do. Are you?

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Hi! I'm Oskar.

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

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categories / Learning, Teaching
tags / teaching teens, learning, teaching, brainstorming, groupthink, thinking

How to Improve Your Critical Thinking

May 24, 2018 / Oskar Cymerman

As a teacher, I often expect my students to think critically. If you're a teacher I bet you expect the same.

As a parent, you wish for your kids to be able to critically evaluate the choices an important situation offers to make the smart, most beneficial decision. I know I do and while I realize my son and my students will not always make the best decision in every situation, I want them to be equipped with the tools that increase their chances.

Critical thinking is such a tool.

It can, and perhaps should be applied in both personal and professional life.

But in school, critical thinking is expected but not taught explicitly. Just do it works for a shoe brand but rarely for people.

Turns out, improving your critical thinking involves following a few deliberate steps. This, in turn, improves your decision-making which improves your success in school, work, and life.

Check out my infographic summary of Samantha Agoos' TED-Ed Video 5 tips to improve your critical thinking. I highly recommend watching the video as well.

Imagine what this world would be like if every person used the above 5-step critical thinking approach when making substantial decisions.

Instead of jumping off the cliff at the word go we'd ask questions.

Instead of just doing what we know we'd look for more information.

The number of selfish decisions would decrease if we only looked at their possible impacts.

We would learn to find alternatives. Can you see the SICK CREATIVITY?

Let's infect our kids with critical thinking 'cause it's the best disease they'll ever have.

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

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Hi, I'm Oskar. I teach and write about learning for success.

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categories / Learning
tags / teaching teens, deeper learning, learning, teaching, deep work, productivity