Daniel Pink and A Whole New Mind October 18, 2009

When I saw the required book list for this course I was pleased to see Daniel Pink's book on the list. Having already read the book for another course eased my cluttered mind. I thoroughly enjoyed it the first time and re-reading through the first few chapters I am seeing things I had not before. I was also very fortunate to hear him speak at the 2009 Texas Music Educator's Convention. It was a wonderful speech and can be heard here. I recommend the longer version and remember that he is speaking to an auditorium full of musicians.

Being what most would consider an "artsy" person, simply because of my field of music, I was thrilled to hear Daniel Pink exclaim that R-Directed Thinkers would rule the world! Well not exactly, but that the creative nature, that has been for so long neglected, would rise to the front of the line. They are not to replace L-Directed thinking but to work alongside. We seek beauty in our lives not simply functional purpose.

One of the topics he writes stands out for me most is the discussion on the SAT which measures L-Directed thinking. My own children never tested well on the SAT or any other standardized test. They are all very creative people, being artists and musicians. They always did well in school where they were given opportunities to show their understanding of a subject matter in a way that was not always a written test. By having this means of assessment they were successful in school. But to move forward in their education, and to receive academic scholarships, they would need to score much higher than they ever could on the college entrance tests. One of my children took the ACT 4 times just to score high enough to earn an academic scholarship (which he did get). I don't know that he really learned any more information from test to test but more that he learned to beat the test. So what did that all prove? Absolutely nothing. The concept of an alternative test to the SAT, such as the Rainbow Project by Professor Robert Sternberg to measure those high-touch abilities, would give R-directed thinking students a better chance to show their skills.

In my studies about brain research and learning, I am always drawn to the ways that I can help my own children and my students learn better and to remember what they learn. I think that Daniel Pink's writings suggest that by embracing whole mind thinking we can advance ourselves in society and culture.

Pink, D. (2006). A whole new mind: Why right-brainers will rule the world. Riverhead Trade.

 I actually held these brain halves. Way cool.










November 19, 2009
I have not been very faithful to updating my posts for this class. It is not a required part but I had hoped to note the highlights of my readings here. This has been a very fascinating course discussing our brain, how we learn and how we make those memories. As I go through each week's readings and videos I am frequently taken back to my own memories of school and how I learned and remembered the information for my classes. Sadly there are some classes that I barely remember taking and cannot recall much from the class. I will need to consider the class situation and what made certain times more or less memorable. I also must analyze my own classes that I teach and have to question how memorable am I making them for my own students?