One of the many biographies of women artists that I listened to on my daily walks this year was Dorothea Lange: A Life Beyond Limits by Linda Gordon. Lange was a complicated, talented photographer committed to social justice. There were a couple of things about the book that annoyed me but mostly I loved it and was sad when it ended with her death from esophageal cancer at the age of 70. It seems like she wasn’t done contributing to the world. I have always admired the work of the FSA photographers, Lange among them. Her photo, Migrant Mother (below), is one of the most iconic images of the 1930s Depression. I love the idea of the US government paying artists of various types to document life in the US, especially during a time like the Depression.
Category: Education
Talking out loud to oneself is a technology for thinking that allows us to clarify and sharpen our approach to a problem
I ran across this article this evening and some of the ideas resonate strongly with me. The article mentions some areas of psychology research and a few papers I hadn’t seen before.
I’m also particularly interested in the idea of embodied cognition within cognitive psychology. Has anyone delved into these areas in their research or memory-related work? @LynneKelly’s research and written texts encourage singing, dancing and performing (I don’t recall specifically speaking or walking in her contexts, but I’m sure they’re all closely related), but has anyone else experimented with these additional modalities in their practice?
Most of the Western-based mnemotechniques I’m aware of are focused almost solely on internalized speech/thought. Can anyone think of any which aren’t?
I’ve seen several works in which Nassim Nicholas Taleb propounds the benefits of the flaneur lifestyle for improving thought, though his mentions are purely anecdotal as I recall. I’d appreciate any additional references to research in these areas if others are aware.
Like many of us, I talk to myself out loud, though I’m a little unusual in that I often do it in public spaces. Whenever I want to figure out an issue, develop an idea or memorise a text, I turn to this odd work routine. While it’s definitely earned me a reputation in my neighbourhood, it’s also improved my thinking and speaking skills immensely. Speaking out loud is not only a medium of communication, but a technology of thinking: it encourages the formation and processing of thoughts. ❧
I’ve noticed speaking out loud also seems to help me in practicing and acquiring a new language.
Annotated on December 28, 2020 at 09:52PM
The idea that speaking out loud and thinking are closely related isn’t new. It emerged in Ancient Greece and Rome, in the work of such great orators as Marcus Tullius Cicero. But perhaps the most intriguing modern development of the idea appeared in the essay ‘On the Gradual Formation of Thoughts During Speech’ (1805) by the German writer Heinrich von Kleist. ❧
Some of this is at play with the idea of “[rubber ducking](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_duck_debugging)” as a means of debugging programs
Annotated on December 28, 2020 at 09:55PM
In both cases – speech and writing – the materiality of language undergoes a transformation (to audible sounds or written signs) which in turn produces a mental shift. ❧
There’s surely a link between this and the idea of thought spaces in the blogosphere or the idea of a commonplace book/digital garden/wiki.
Annotated on December 28, 2020 at 10:06PM
Mute inner speech can appear as an inner dialogue as well, but its truncated form encourages us to create a ‘secret’ abbreviated language and deploy mental shortcuts. By forcing us to articulate ourselves more fully, self-talk summons up the image of an imagined listener or interrogator more vividly. In this way, it allows us to question ourselves more critically by adopting an external perspective on our ideas, and so to consider shortcomings in our arguments – all while using our own speech. ❧
I’m also reading this and wondering about memory techniques and methods and how these may interact beneficially.
Annotated on December 28, 2020 at 10:07PM
It’s no coincidence that we walk when we need to think: evidence shows that movement enhances thinking and learning, and both are activated in the same centre of motor control in the brain. In the influential subfield of cognitive science concerned with ‘embodied’ cognition, one prominent claim is that actions themselves are constitutive of cognitive processes. That is, activities such as playing a musical instrument, writing, speaking or dancing don’t start in the brain and then emanate out to the body as actions; rather, they entail the mind and body working in concert as a creative, integrated whole, unfolding and influencing each other in turn. It’s therefore a significant problem that many of us are trapped in work and study environments that don’t allow us to activate these intuitive cognitive muscles, and indeed often even encourage us to avoid them. ❧
I’m curious if Lynne Kelly or others have looked into these areas of research with their Memory work? She’s definitely posited that singing and dancing as well as creating art helps indigenous cultures in their memory work.
Annotated on December 28, 2020 at 10:10PM
Doomscrolling takes on a whole new meaning when your class is on Instagram.
I'm no English major, but as a writer and consumer of loads of educational (mostly tech) writing, I've come to notice a number of words and phrases that
In a district where parents are epidemiologists and health policy experts, the meltdown happened one Zoom meeting at a time.
This book examines a collaborative partnership model between academia and Indigenous peoples, the goal of which is to integrate Indigenous perspectives into the curriculum. It demonstrates how the authentic and creative approaches employed have led to an evolution of curriculum and pedagogy that facilitates cultural competence among Australian graduate and undergraduate students.
The book pursues an interdisciplinary approach based on highly practical examples, exemplars and methods that are currently being used to teach in this area. It focuses on facilitating student acquisition of knowledge, understanding, attitudes and skills, following Charles Sturt University's Cultural Competence Pedagogical Framework. Further, it provides insights into the use of reflective practice in this context, and practical ideas on embedding content and sharing practices, highlighting examples of potential "ways forward," both nationally and globally.
https://robinderosa.net/uncategorized/my-open-textbook-pedagogy-and-practice/
https://2020.indieweb.org/east
Really excited to host this #OpenEd20 panel tomorrow showcasing some great examples of DIY open courseware from Adeola, Michelle, and Brenna. Come see how they (and you) can use @pressbooks + @H5PTechnology to make engaging, interactive, openly licensed learning happen! https://t.co/geTQRncp4C
— Steel Wagstaff (@steelwagstaff) November 9, 2020
Pixton is the world's most popular comic maker and storyboard creator for teachers and students. Create an account for free and make comics for English language arts, history, social studies, math or science assignments.
Furman professor resigns suddenly after an anonymous critic outs her as white, not Chicana, as she'd claimed.
"They sued me to silence me."
Just got invited to edit a special issue of a journal. The title they have planned is the subtitle of my @OUPAcademic book. For me, the article processing fee will be waived, but the up to ten people I recruit to submit will each pay ~$1100 to publish their pieces. Who's in?
— Ellen Muehlberger (@emuehlbe) October 21, 2020
I have been asked a few times for a blog post on how to conduct a proper literature review. This is hard to do sometimes because a lot of people have different methods to do their reviews of the literature (see examples here, here, here and here). I tweeted a few of the steps I undertake, but I figu...
How to undertake a literature review https://t.co/TZEegZtbEY
This, and my next 10 tweets, are pre-scheduled, and point to blog posts of mine that might be useful for graduate and undergraduate students (or faculty or practitioners/ECRs)
Good night!
— Dr Raul Pacheco-Vega (@raulpacheco) October 22, 2020
If you are looking for my Reading Notes of Books Related to How to Write a Doctoral Dissertation, you can find all those posts by clicking on the hyperlink above.
There is some advice that is useful for both undergraduate and graduate students, but I find that these posts fit more the needs of Masters’ and Doctoral candidates. Obviously, if you’re looking for advice on Academic Writing, Literature Reviews, Reading Strategies, Organization and Time Management, all of these can be found in their own sub-pages.
The Dissertation ‘Two Pager’: A strategy to sustain a “big picture” view of a doctoral thesis https://t.co/cV4D9gc7IG
— Dr Raul Pacheco-Vega (@raulpacheco) October 22, 2020