"I can live with doubt and uncertainty and not knowing. I think it is much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers that might be wrong" (Richard Feynman)

Saturday, June 5, 2010

How to become the consumer of your own Productivity?

This semester is over.

Take a moment to look back and ask if you participated fully.

Being a mere listener and reader in class is not enough.

Asking questions, challenging others' views (including the professor), and sharing insights and reflections as well as triumphs and failures without any loss of power, all are VITAL to learning.

You cannot learn simply from listening. Remember the expression in the syllabus?
What I hear, I forget.
What I hear and see, I remember a little.
What I hear, see, and ask questions about or discuss with someone else, I begin to understand.
What I hear, see, discuss and do, I acquire knowledge and skill.
What I teach to another, I master.
Mel Silberman, Active Learning (1996)
This is based on the following Chinese philosophical expression:
"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand."
by Xunzi (340-245 BC), one of the three greatest Confucian scholars of early years.