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CRUSH SCHOOL

5644 1st Avenue South Minneapolis, MN, 55419

I blog on Brain-Based Learning, Metacognition, EdTech, and Social-Emotional Learning. I am the author of the Crush School Series of Books, which help students understand how their brains process information and learn. I also wrote The Power of Three: How to Simplify Your Life to Amplify Your Personal and Professional Success, but be warned that it's meant for adults who want to thrive and are comfortable with four letter words.

Filtering by Category: Teaching

Mastering Difficult Concepts the Easy Way

July 24, 2018  /  Oskar Cymerman

Mastering Difficult Concepts the Easy Way

In my previous article How to Make Learning and Life Easier for Your Kids I shared this FREE sample lesson on Mastering Difficult Concepts. Today, I want to explain how parents and teachers can use it to help kids approach learning challenging topics and avoid becoming overwhelmed and frustrated while at it.

The lesson, just as each of the 65 contained in my newest book Crush School Student Guide begins with the Big Idea. All learning should begin with a goal - a sense of purpose and the understanding what one wants to know more about when the learning session is finished.

I chose to use a video to deliver the information on The Feynman Technique, which is a 4-step approach to understanding difficult topics. But while the link will take the student to the video she does not merely watch it - I used a program called EdPuzzle to embed reflection questions so the student can process the information as she is receiving it.

After the 3-minute video concludes, the student is asked to name the 4 steps and represent them graphically. By recalling what the steps are she can remember them better and if she forgot any she can return to the video to find them. By stretching her mind to represent her understanding of the steps graphically she develops a better understanding of them and forms more connections in her brain, which aids both understanding and memory. As a bonus, creating graphics with descriptions allows the student to practice creativity, communication, and critical thinking.

Finally, the lesson walks her through the process of mastering a difficult concept she's currently learning in one of her classes. By applying what she learned immediately after the learning session the student's brain begins forming long-term memories. While weak at first, these memories can be made stronger with repeated use of the learning strategy.

The student isn't just told: "Use The Feynman Technique." She is guided through the process step-by-step, which deepens her understanding and turns the learning into a skill. The only thing left is to improve the skill by continually using it when learning. Because the student has the book and the completed lesson at her disposal she can refer to it and use it as a reminder whenever needed.

When she masters the technique and internalizes and uses it consistently she will begin to notice that learning difficult concepts is becoming easier. This is because she will have at her disposal an effective learning strategy that gives her brain a way to process the information it is learning multiple times and in a multitude of ways. As the brain uses more brain cells to store the information and forms new connections between these neurons, learning new, more difficult information becomes progressively easier. This is due to experience and increased brain mass.

This is what the process of "getting smarter" looks like.

Please feel free to use the Mastering Difficult Concepts Lesson any way you want. It is my gift to you. It will help anyone understand challenging concepts more effectively. 

I structured each lesson of the Crush School Student Guide: Learn Faster, Study Smarter, Remember More, and Make School Easier in the same way to maximize understanding, application, and retention - or what I call "true" learning.

The book comes out on Amazon this Friday.

Here are the FREE Bonuses it comes with:

BONUS 1: PDF copy of my book Crush School 2: 10 Study Secrets Every High Schooler Should Know ((also available here)

BONUS 2: Project Completion Template PDF (with directions)

BONUS 3: Create a Killer Presentation Template (with directions)

BONUS 4: Cush Tests Checklist (also available here)

The Crush School Student Guide might or might not be for you but it can help pre-teens, teens, and young adults learn faster and smarter and improve their memory. You can get it here. 

And don't worry, if you're not sure if you can use the book, you don't have to buy it now. I will be sharing more lessons and resources it contains in my next few posts with no strings attached. 

Thanks for taking a look!

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

NOTE: The final 20 seconds of The Feynman Technique video on YouTube contains inappropriate content which I cut out for the book to include only the technique.

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Hi! I'm Oskar.          

I teach, write, speak, rant to make learning better.

BOOKS & TOOLS

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categories / Teaching
tags / teaching teens, parenting teens, deeper learning, independence, lifelong learning, simplicity, skills, success skills, learning, making life easier, kids

Create Killer Presentations Your Audiences Will Love

July 16, 2018  /  Oskar Cymerman

The 3 types of presentations we've all been a part of:

  1. The kill me now type: Presentations done for the sake of filling time with an activity that seems productive but is a waste of time for everyone involved, including the presenter. We've all been there and want to forget. Luckily, they don't happen all that often and when they do, we've learned to use the weak bladder excuse to periodically stop the brain pain (the flight response). 

  2. The I think I heard something about it but forgot type: Content-rich presentations delivered in such a way that we forget most of what was taught even though we might have stayed engaged throughout. This is the type we experience most often. The presenter has good intentions but lacks the understanding of how to deliver a killer talk or multimedia presentation. 

  3. The killer type: Engaging presentations full of valuable content presented in such a way that we can remember and apply it to our work or personal life. They don't kill us. They kill IT. They cause us to have strong, positive, and hopefully appropriate feelings toward the presenter. We feel thankful, inspired, and challenged to action.

The infographic below is about the elusive presentation type - one that showcases the speaker's knowledge as much as skill. One, that proves he or she can communicate ideas in a way anyone can understand and apply them. One, that leaves us in awe of the presenter and wanting more because somehow, some way the presenter understands how the human brain learns and leverages it when creating the presentation. One, that we'll talk about to others. One, that leads to professional success because everyone wants that person on their team.

When employers talk about communication skills they specifically want an employee who communicates effectively, is engaging. and energizes others to act.

Below, is a start. My future posts will explain how to practice and deliver killer presentations. I hope I communicate my ideas effectively...

My new book Crush School Student Guide: Learn Faster, Study Smarter, Remember More, and Make School Easier contains 4 lessons designed to help students create, practice, and deliver effective presentations and avoid the dreaded "Death by PowerPoint." Each lesson contains exercises and examples. But I don't just tell students how to do it - I walk them through the process and provide a plan and a template to follow so they can create their presentation right in the book.

It's kind of like having a coach who helps you practice a skill after it's shown to you. In fact, all 60 chapters/lessons are designed for students to use the skills after they're described. The infographic below is merely an "information-delivery" medium. Applying it is the key to learning. Check it out!

Creating Killer Presentations Audiences Love

When writing Crush School Student Guide: Learn Faster, Study Smarter, Remember More, and Make School Easier, I wanted to create a resource a student can use for school and beyond. My goal was not only to write a book that helps teens learn more effectively while stressing less about school - I also set out to create a guide that helps them learn transferable skills they will need in college and later work. 

The infographic above is one of a series of three I use to teach students how to create, prepare for, and deliver more effective presentations.

If you're like me, you've sat through hours of mind-numbing PowerPoints or Google Slide presentations you remember little from. This is because the presenters did not know how to do it better. They were asked to give presentations in school but not taught how. They just did what their teachers did. I bet their information was valuable but it was delivered ineffectively.

Skills, such as effective presentation and communication of ideas are the biggest reasons why some individuals achieve great success and others stay stuck on the first few rungs of the professional ladder. As these skills are often an afterthought in high school and college, students who choose to learn them on their own rise above the average and advance in their future professions. 

Just take a look at the list below and think about how many of the skills below were deliberately taught in your high school and how much class time was spent analyzing how to improve them.

  • Creating, Preparing for, and Delivering Effective and Engaging (Killer) Presentations

  • Improving Critical Thinking

  • Better Decision-making

  • Becoming More Open-minded

  • Creativity and Innovation

  • Teamwork Basics and Creating Effective Teams

  • Setting Goals and Creating Plans

  • Understanding and Developing Habits

  • Training Memory

  • Speed Reading

  • Problem Solving

  • Project Completion

My guess is... not much. Chances are you were expected to use them but not explicitly taught how to or given a plan to improve. This realization of how inadequate schools are at skills instruction is what guides my writing.

The Crush School Student Guide is an all-in-one book, guide, and exercise manual that contains a series of short, fun, and easy to follow lessons designed to teach students skills needed for school and work success; skills required but not explicitly taught in today's schools.

Imagine your kids having a book that gives them:

  1. Over 60 strategies they can use to learn faster, study smarter, and remember (a lot) more of what they learn. 

  2. A self-paced fun way to learn how to learn and acquire success skills they'll be able to use in school and beyond.

  3. A reference guide that shows them how to use brain-friendly strategies to do better at school (understand difficult concepts, complete school projects, and study for tests).

It is now available on Amazon for pre-order. Just click here.

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

Oskar

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Hi! I'm Oskar.          

I teach, write, speak, rant to make learning better.

BOOKS & TOOLS

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categories / Teaching
tags / teaching teens, parenting teens, brain, sharpness, clarity, brain rules, neuroscience, presentation, communication

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