Actions vs. Outcomes

April 24, 2019 / Oskar Cymerman

I recently did a TEDx Talk. Don’t worry I’m not about to say I was honored to do it. Honored is the wrong way to describe it. It would be an insidious way to say: “Hey I did this TEDx and I want you to watch it to increase my YouTube view count.” And don’t get me wrong - I want people to watch it. I want you to watch it. But it’s not out yet so you can’t.

My participation in TEDx Woodbury High School was an accident. Doing a TEDx Talk was not a bucket list item. I did not do any of the things required for it. I did not apply nor create an entry video. And while I did not “wing it” when the time came you could say I cheated the system. I was asked by Michael, the leader of this student-organized event to do it. I don’t remember how the conversation went exactly but he claimed I “do some interesting things” and “have this unique foreign experience.” My guess is he heard me blasting Iron Maiden in chemistry.

But I wasn’t honored. Rather, I felt ambivalent, apprehensive, and anxious.

What was I scared of?

Not having something important enough to say.

Not being ready in time.

Forgetting what to say.

The audience.

Why was I scared?

I’ve never done anything like this before. It seemed enormous and important.

I’ve never spoken to a crowd of 100-200 people. What if they hate me?

I’ve never tried to convince a crowd of professionals to consider my views. What if they hate what I have to say?

I put a lot of pressure on myself to absolutely kill it. What opportunities can doing this create for me?

Focusing on the Outcome

If you’re one of the few who never experience fear and anxiety stop reading now.

But if you do then it’s entirely possible you often look ahead and visualize what could come to pass as a result of you taking a leap.

The TEDx was a leap for me. Perhaps it’s human nature or perhaps it’s just me but even before agreeing to speak my head filled with grandiose alternate futures in which I was more - more accepted, more recognized, more respected, more expert, more in-demand etc. The problem was that for those grand futures to happen I had to absolutely crush my talk. The topic had to kill it. I had to be funny, smart, and informative. Most of all, I had to murder the other speakers with my delivery. In my mind, the event was a competition I had to win.

Looking at it now I’d be lying if I said I stopped caring about being seen as the best speaker at TEDx Woodbury High School. I am ambitious and push myself toward peak performance and one of the best ways to measure it is by comparing your performance to those of others. This is just as true in the corporate world as it is in sports. But my TEDx journey taught me that focusing on the outcome (or delusions of grandeur) increase anxiety and kill productivity.

Focusing on Actions

As you dream and scheme more neurons wire together and completely forgetting your grand plans that bring on the pressure to perform becomes futile. In fact, forgetting isn’t necessary nor advisable because goals motivate. Getting rid of all anxiety is impossible as evolution outfitted the human brain with the ever threat-detecting, fear-perceiving, and survival-seeking amygdala.

As a result, focusing solely on actions is difficult when you decide to take a big leap into the unknown. But it’s possible. The usual stress-relievers such as sleep, exercise, meditation, deep breathing, and reducing caffeine help but I found two things especially useful: accepting the anxiety (or feeling the fear) and mindfulness.

Feeling the Fear

Fear is an unwanted and unpleasant emotion but it can be understood. Theo Tsaousides Ph.D., a neuropsychologist and author of Brainblocks: Overcoming the Seven Hidden Barriers to Success explains that when fear is real we tend to act immediately, but when it’s imagined, such as in the case of my public talk we often worry a lot and do little.

Thus, to avoid procrastination it may be best to simply accept anxiety as a human condition but realize that most fears you experience are figments of your imagination.

I found asking myself What’s the worst thing that can happen? and imagining it to be a good strategy for controlling anxiety and preventing the procrastination it induces. For example, I was able to (correctly) convince myself that my audience would be very receptive and the chances of it hating me were slim. This motivated me to keep improving my talk, to practice it every day, and to create a memory palace as a memory fail safe in case I froze or got stuck in the midst of my talk (which never happened).

Conversing with your future self and asking If I were to fail at it, how much will this perceived enormous endeavor matter a week, a month, a year from now? is very helpful toward realization that the actual outcomes are never as bad as you anticipate.

Mindfulness

Integrative Medicine defines mindfulness as the awareness that emerges by way of paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment.

As such, being mindful includes focusing on the moment and completing the task at hand. When preparing for TEDx Woodbury I alleviated a lot of the self-induced pressure by reminding myself of the purpose of my talk which was to inspire parents, teachers, and other education professionals to consider a few different, non-traditional views on schooling. I simply wanted to show others that changing the school culture to help students be more successful in the future isn’t all that tricky. Shifting focus in this way allowed me to focus on writing a better presentation and gave me more confidence.

Evidence-based research shows mindfulness as an effective prescription for anxiety.

It is also important to realize that looking at the possible outcomes in advance can lead to making emotional decisions or decisions driven by the excitement of the moment.

The Outcome

I killed that TEDx Talk. I haven’t seen it yet but I felt it. It wasn’t perfect but it felt really good. I don’t know if mine was the best presentation but I got a lot of positive feedback afterwards.

I was anxious for two weeks prior to it. I was anxious the day of. I got there three hours early and I was anxious still. I was anxious in the green room. When they asked me to run through my speech to time myself I was so anxious I kept stumbling through it and forgetting. I was anxious and breathing deeply when waiting in the queue behind the curtain to go on next.

Then I was introduced and given the clicker. I came on stage. I stepped on the big red dot.

And… I wasn’t anxious any more.

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Virtual Reality Learning

January 18, 2019 / Oskar Cymerman

“The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.”

— Jean Jacques Rousseau

We say "a picture is worth a thousand words" and then ask our students to imagine things they cannot see.

In chemistry, we show two-dimensional representations of atoms, create crude drawings of molecules on classroom boards, and use abstract notations to show where the electrons are. We constantly look for videos - some better than others - to show things and processes so small terms such as "nanotechnology" were invented to classify them. As technology miniaturization becomes more extensive the understanding of it becomes more paramount. But how can we make learning of such concepts more real, more vivid, and more effective?

Virtual reality.

Envision seeing the invisible. Imagine a student being able to enter a world of the atom and explore it thoroughly all the while being the hero of her own journey. Virtual reality (VR) headsets coupled with 3-D chemistry simulations and expeditions allow every student to not just see but experience the atom or the behavior of the gas inside of a helium balloon.

Later, we can place students in the middle of the action as ionic, covalent, and other bonds that make up everything are being formed. Later still, we give them the opportunity to make their own atoms or molecules from scratch. The possibilities are endless as VR knocks down the two-dimensional barriers of traditional technology and provides a fully immersive learning experience.

This can be done in any subject. How about taking your social studies students on a walk along the Great Wall of China? Or, helping physics or engineering students investigate how Burj Khalifa - the tallest building in the world - was built and why its design is appropriate for the hot desert it stands in. English teachers can incorporate virtual reality experiences while teaching students text analysis or writing. Check out a poetry analysis lesson and this persuasive writing one.

Students can even tour universities they might be interested in and skip the travel, lodging, and meal costs associated with traditional college tours. While a virtual college tour might not replace the full experience that includes talking to academic advisors and asking questions it gives a prospective student a realistic feel for what the campus is like and whether it is a good fit. Check out this UCLA virtual tour, but imagine being inside and looking around instead of just scrolling with your mouse or finger because this is what a good pair of VR goggles allows.

There are many more free and paid lessons and educational VR experiences available. As abstract as VR technology might seem, it can be used to improve student understanding of abstract concepts, difficult to reach locations, and things invisible to the naked eye by enhancing instruction with visual, interactive experiences that are more memorable and ultimately less abstract.

Above are just a few of the reasons why I decided to venture into virtual reality with my chemistry and engineering students and while I’ve been doing a lot of research in the last two months it is a new and largely unexplored education frontier for me. However, I am certain that full immersion and experimentation is one of the best ways to learn anything, VR included.

Thus, I started a Donor’s Choose campaign to help me fund 6 VR headsets I can use in my chemistry and engineering classes and I am asking for your support.

There are two ways you can help.

One, you can donate an amount of your choosing here knowing that your entire contribution will be used toward providing better, more progressive education to high school students.

Two, you can share this project on your social media. I have included an easy way to do this on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn below. All you have to do is click on the link and share it.

But whether you are able to help or not I promise you that I will share everything my students and I learn from this project here. I hope our experiences, failures, and successes will inspire and inform you to use virtual reality or look for new ways of helping your students learn.

Thanks for reading and remember that if you endeavor to change their experiences your students and your children will come away more prepared to change the world.

Click here to donate.

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tags / teaching teens, deeper learning, independence, skills, learning, making life easier, kids, VR, AR, virtual reality, augmented reality

Best Practice Checklist

November 29, 2018 / Oskar Cymerman

“What you stay focused on will grow.”

— Roy T. Bennett

Blood everywhere, the nurse frantically switching one blood bag for another. Empty. Full. Empty. Full. Empty and a full one again.

Utter chaos, the doctor rhythmically squeezing the heart with bare hands to pump blood to the patient’s brain. Squeeze. Release. Squeeze. Release. Life and death.

Life wins but it was close.

Performing a surgery he has successfully attempted many times before Dr. Atul Gawande accidentally cut his patients vena cava, the blood vessel that carries deoxygenated blood from the lower half of the body to the heart. The amount of blood the patient lost was lethal ten times over. A checklist is why he lives.

The story above and the subsequent a-has it evokes are part of the Hidden Brain podcast episode You 2.0: Check Yourself. The podcast takes on the subject of checklists in a non-traditional sense. Rather than looking at checklists as a tool that merely helps one remember a list of things to do the show host, Shankar Vedantam explores the ways in which checklists help highly competent and skilled professionals such as doctors or pilots minimize procedural risk and improve performance.

This article looks at designing simple, general checklists professionals such as teachers can follow to help them improve their craft.

Checklists Do More Than Help Memory

I don’t know about you but I sometimes forget to do this or that in the classroom as a result of the morning I’m having. Maybe I’m rushing and my mind dismisses things that are routine. Thus, a simple 5 - 7 item checklist - an agenda of classroom (or office) routines repeated daily - can be a helpful tool preventing their consignment into oblivion.

All we need to do is decide on the absolute must haves, write them down, and display them as a checklist to follow daily. Next time your mind is drawing a blank go to your list. You will not just maintain consistency. In fact, your process and outcomes will improve just as it did in aviation, medicine, and other industries. A checklist also saved the crew of Apollo 13.

Your checklist might not save lives of patients, pilots, or astronauts but it will illuminate your way. Though they may seem rudimentary, checklists are often designed for highly skilled professionals who know their respective crafts well. Checklists not only help prevent mistakes but lead to continual improvement of the process, the professional, and the profession they are applied in.

Designing a Classroom Checklist

The checklist below is my attempt at designing an easy to use tool that promotes best practice in the classroom. It can be customized to what you do and your teaching style.

Before learning: Opening activity intended to help students recall key concepts from the previous lesson. I usually ask my students to solve problems or recall concepts in small groups first as I walk around the room. Then, the answers are recorded on the classroom board.
School announcements: Is there anything that needs to be passed on to the students such as charitable drives, assemblies etc.?
Class announcements: Is there a test or an assignment deadline approaching? Just because it’s written on the class board doesn’t mean the students know/remember it. Most likely do not.
Front-loading: What’s the most student-friendly way for my students to receive today’s material? Does this topic call for direct instruction and modeling? Or, can students use technology and discovery? Project? Lab?
Learning: What can my students do to learn? How can they apply the information they received to construct understanding? This calls for doing (active learning) - practicing, problem-solving, drawing diagrams, recording video, modeling etc.
Review: Quick activity that summarizes or reviews the key concept(s) such as asking students to compare or contrast or scribble down or tweet a summary of what they’ve learned.

And while it may not be feasible to do everything on my list every day, having a checklist helps me be a better teacher.

It helps me remember to design lessons that minimize “me talking” and maximize “them doing.”

It brings focus to the fact that receiving and learning information are not the same.

It reminds me to include continual repetition (items 1, 5, 6) and, as I often forget to announce school- and class-related information, the checklist is there to save it from oblivion.

Try it for yourself. Or make your own. Checklist your plan. Follow it. Grow.

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