Learning to learn more, thinking again!

This blog post is about learning to think differently, and as Jill Suttie says in the title of her interview with Adam Grant: Think like a scientist - which is about his book Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know. I’m showcasing her interview with Adam:

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/why_thinking_like_a_scientist_is_good_for_you/

This helped me (again) to think, and think differently - I hope it helps your thinking and learning…

I already have Adam’s book and have started to read it – learning so much! WE all learned in 2020 that we needed to change, in many different ways. I am STILL learning, have been learning most of my life and feel great when I learn something new! Often, that’s because I want to improve how students learn, and when I succeed – that is what makes me feel great. And, yet, I’m still learning – and have learned so much since my doctoral research.

Now, almost 20 years down the track, I’m learning that my curiosity, and how I use evidence of what I already know, helps me to learn more – and I admit I’m still learning how things can be changed to help students (and sometimes teachers?) learn more.

I used to think facts and data, from research, was enough to change what people do – and Adam’s book, along with this interview, has confirmed what I’ve been learning from experience – I need to learn more! I STILL need to learn more about how to convince people (mostly teachers, sometimes parents) to change how they do things – how they teach their students, and how they plan what to teach?

It’s been humbling for me, in some ways, to be told by teachers that my content wasn’t working well, in this lesson, or in that way? And THAT is my learning – I have taken many teachers’ advice and comments and feedback on board – and the result is my work is better – simply because I listened and took on board what they said! I’m still learning – both by reading research and by listening to teachers, along with colleagues and academics, and my friends. Any feedback is as good as we let it be – if we listen well, think about it and learn from it! This quote is actually about who I have become:

“If you can embrace the joy of being wrong, then you get to anchor your identity more in being someone who’s eager to discover new things, than someone who already knows everything” ―Adam Grant, Ph.D.

I know that I’ll NEVER know everything, and I’m OK with that – as long as I keep learning!

I hope you have enjoyed this short post, and you can read more about Adam’s interview here – and it will make my day if you have learned something too! Let me know, by commenting on this post, or emailing me on gailbrown@designedlearning.com.au or posting on Facebook... You know, there are so many ways to communicate - sometimes that's scary!