LECTURE - A common & Widely used method in EDUCATION - IMPLICATIONS OF THIS IN RELIGION !!!!

'Modern Researchers' say that the self-reported average amount of concentration during lectures was a mere 10 minutes, as per a report in the Science & Tech. column of the Hindu dtd 27/02/2014. Apart from educating us about  the ineffectiveness of lectures (Robin Sharma, Sean Smith !!???) ,the researcher's point out towards an interesting insight, which were already  known to Indians for ages . Quote "Another insight from neuroscience research is the surprising finding that learning is a highly individualised process — after hearing the same set of facts, every student creates his /her own meaning and a unique set of memories, based on his/her own beliefs and experiences. In other words, information cannot simply be transmitted passively from one mind to another, like say we can with a music file. "

That means for each one of us , there is a very private world (lokam), a fortress which  none can penetrate and invade. This knowledge was commonplace with Indians and majority carried themselves around accordingly. Through the following   two statements of Gandhiji coupled with  the 'above modern research finding', superstitious Indians stand vindicated on this Shivrathri day !!!!!
(1) There are some things  which are known only to oneself and one's Maker. These are clearly incommunicable.(Gandhiji's own introduction to his autobiography dtd 26 Nov. 1925, para 4)
(2) In reality there are as many religions as there are individuals. (Hind Swaraj, Chapter X, para 3)

From many quarters, scorn had been poured over the poly-theism of Indians !! But it can be easily discerned that , from the 'modern research findings' and as per Gandhiji's statement, when the population of India was 33 crores and odd, we had as many GODS and now that figure will be approx 120 crores !!!! That is the total population of India including Muslims and Christians. X's Jesus & Heavenly Father will not exactly match Y's Jesus & Heavenly father. Similarly A's Allah & Prop. Muhammed with B's. 

CONCLUSION :That means there exists only POLYTHEISM in this world !!!!!!

Link http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sci-tech-and-agri/revamping-education-why-we-dont-learn-from-lectures/article5731066.ece

Revamping education: why we don’t learn from lectures

In a recent poll of 1,000 students, the self-reported average amount of concentration during lectures was a mere ten minutes

Breaking tradition:Active or experiential learning — that requires students to reflect and apply ideas in solving problems is an alternative to conventional lectures.— Photo: n. rajesh

“Some people talk in their sleep. Lecturers talk while other people sleep”. Albert Camus

The lecture — a one-two-hour-long, one-size fits all, largely passive, transfer of information — remains the most widely used method of education at schools and colleges worldwide. It is a ritual that has been repeated for hundreds (if not thousands) of years. Students, parents, and educators assume the lectures have been very helpful (especially if the lecturer is famous or a great orator).

However, beginning in the 1960s, research in cognitive neuroscience and psychology turned these assumptions upside down. Thirty five years ago Johnstone and Percival observed students in over 90 lectures, given by 12 different lecturers. They noted the longest attention span in a lecture was about 18 minutes and that during a lecture there were many periods of inattention such that by the end of the lecture, attention had dropped to 4 minutes. Hartley and Davies, in a 1986 paper, noted that after a lecture, student’s recall of facts from the first 10 minutes of the lecture was more than three-fold higher than from the last 10 minutes. These studies suggest that how good or bad a given lecturer is has only a small bearing on how much information students retained after a 60 minute lecture — much of it is determined by how our brains are wired to process information.

Another insight from neuroscience research is the surprising finding that learning is a highly individualised process — after hearing the same set of facts, every student creates his /her own meaning and a unique set of memories, based on his/her own beliefs and experiences. In other words, information cannot simply be transmitted passively from one mind to another, like say we can with a music file. Research also shows that passive teacher centric instruction does little to develop problem solving skills — a reason why companies increasingly find that today’s graduates are not prepared for the work force and end up having to retrain them.

Clearly there are many factors that affect learning, and as with any field there are disagreements about some of the research findings. But in today’s hyperconnected environment with an abundance of distractions, the attention span of a student is likely to be compromised even further than it was several decades ago. In a recent poll of 1,000 students, the self-reported average amount of concentration during lectures was a mere ten minutes!

If students zone out for significant portions of most lectures and if what was learned in the first part is erased during the second half of the lecture, then clearly long lectures are not the most effective tool. Why then is the 60 minute lecture so prevalent?

Before printed books were widely available, note taking during lectures, with or without understanding the material, was a means of gathering information. Lectures became widespread in the 1700s when the Kingdom of Prussia launched an 8-year basic primary education programme to prepare the masses for a growing industrial workforce. Subsequently this model of education spread throughout the world for both school and college education, and remains largely intact today due to habit, resistance to change, and ignorance of the alternatives.

What’s the alternative? Active or experiential learning — a form of learning that requires students to reflect and apply ideas in solving problems. It is more student centric and often involves collaborative (peer) learning. How good is the evidence that active learning is better?

One of the most impressive demonstrations is from a 1998 study that compared 2084 students taking 14 traditional science courses versus 4458 students taking 48 “interactive” active learning courses. The study found that measures of conceptual understanding were vastly superior in the active learning group — by a margin of 2 standard deviations! Many other studies, across multiple fields, show that active learning outperforms passive teaching.

Change is coming and many leading institutions are beginning to de-emphasise passive learning. For example, at Duke-NUS medical school in Singapore, unlike traditional medical schools, students learn before coming to class (through online materials and lectures), take a test when they come into class to ensure they do the pre-reading, sit through a short 15 minute lecture and then retake a test. They then apply the knowledge to solve case problems in small teams.

An active peer learning model is also now being adopted by high schools — at the Spectra Secondary School in Singapore, several weeks of class lectures are made available online so students can progress at their own pace and even ahead of the class. Quick learners of mathematics can help their fellow student slower learners individually.

By reducing time spent in passive lectures, colleges can free up time with more active problem solving and team based learning strategies. The return on investment from tuition and education would then be greater to both the student and society. To empower the next generation of students, we would do well to heed the observation by Sophocles that, “ one must learn by doing the thing, for though you think you know it, you have no certainty until you try”.

DR. P. MURALI DORAISWAMY, DR. MOHAN CHILUKURI, DR. K. RANGA KRISHNAN

(Murali Doraiswamy is a Professor at Duke University;

Mohan Chilukuri is a physician and educator with the University of North Carolina;

Ranga Krishnan is the Dean of the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore)

SUCCESS FORMULA - ANOTHER PEDLAR FROM THE WEST !!!!!

Should we listen to 'typical' success stories from the West and gulp down potions concocted, as per success formulas, invented by Western shamans !!!!???? Considered w- holistically , is Western Civilization a success story ? Culturally is the yardstick for measuring success the same for Western & Eastern Civilizations !!???
Awestruck while coming face to face with a white-skinned-man, we fail to ponder over such fundamental questions !!!

Corporate honchos in metropolitan India are seeking enlightenment from another "premier breakthrough coach' named Sean Smith. His programme is named 'Just Jump' is on 27/02/2014.(tomorrow).His tickets are priced VIP-Rs.5,000/-, Gold-Rs.2,000/- and Silver:Rs.1,000/-(Sold Out).

Like certain clinics treating sexual disorders advertises sexual-satisfaction for its clients, post-treatment , here Sean Smith offers solutions for those unsatisfied with their jobs. He says there are very many of them around. Details can be had from his interview to the Hindu on 25/02/2014 - Quote "To those who are yet to find professional satisfaction, what is your advice? Why are so many people today unhappy with their jobs?
Ans :I believe many people are unsatisfied with their jobs because they aren’t clear on exactly what they want in a career.........."

Link http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/live-in-harmony/article5723547.ece

Live in harmony

Sean Smith, who will present a seminar, Just Jump, in Chennai, talks about faith, life, work and more

Sean Smith, who is called ‘the premier breakthrough coach’ works with business owners and helps them “find their purpose”, besides helping identify what’s holding them back from success. He hails from Southern California and will be in Chennai to talk about the ‘seven deadliest mistakes in goal setting’ and the ‘5 Fs — Fascination, Feedback, Fun, Faith and Fight,’ among other things.

Your seminar will focus on 5Fs, one of which is Faith. At a time when the word is looked at with much scepticism, why, according to you, is faith important?

You are absolutely right about the scepticism in the word “Faith” nowadays. The actual definition of faith is belief or trust in something that cannot be seen. And if you think about it, when we are overcome by fear, we are also believing in something that cannot be seen. So, one of the tricks to overcoming our fears is to simply switch the belief to something positive instead of something negative. For example, people can put their faith into religious views, the Universe, personal growth, oneself, etc.

For instance, if somebody is afraid of taking a risk in business, he can have faith in the belief that he will either succeed with that particular business, or learn some very valuable lessons along the way that will help him with his next business venture.

If somebody is afraid of making a decision as to which career to pursue, he can have faith in his intuition. .

So in essence, when we have faith in the growth process and believe that there is no such thing as failure, only valuable feedback, our fears will be diminished or completely dissolved.

To those who are yet to find professional satisfaction, what is your advice? Why are so many people today unhappy with their jobs?

I believe many people are unsatisfied with their jobs because they aren’t clear on exactly what they want in a career. And since they are not clear about what they want, they settle for a job that may fulfill some of their desires, but not all of their desires. It is ultimately an individual’s responsibility to find a job that is fulfilling. And if the current job isn’t completely fulfilling, he should constantly be trying to find a way to add roles within that job that are fulfilling or continue looking for a new job.

Also, from the other perspective, many employers don’t truly understand what makes employees happy. Most employees want to contribute, be appreciated for their effort, and ultimately be valued as people. But employers tend to think they just want financial rewards. When I speak to employers, I always teach them how to find out what their employees want so they feel included and important, which increases employee loyalty, engagement and retention infinitely.

What, according to you is the secret to achieving the perfect work-life balance?

Flexibility and boundaries. It’s important not to expect our lives to be in perfect balance. In fact, I don’t think that should be the goal at all. Life is always in motion and constantly evolving. Balance usually means equal, still and calm for people. A scale is balanced if both sides are equal in weight. But our lives will never be that way.

Instead of searching for balance, I think one should search for harmony. Think of an orchestra. The instruments don’t play in balance, where each instrument gets an equal amount of time. But they do play in harmony, where each instrument plays its own unique role and supports the sounds of all the other instruments.

In our lives, we should strive to have all the various roles and responsibilities support each other, even though they are not equal in time allotted, importance or intensity. However, even if you only have 10 per cent of your day devoted to a certain task, you can still give 100 per cent of your effort with that small time frame.

This leads into the concept of healthy and clear boundaries. When you have your responsibilities separated appropriately, it is critical that you are fully present and focused when you are inside each individual responsibility. If you are doing one thing, but thinking of another, you will always be less effective in each arena and create the feeling of continually being out of balance.

You have written about finding the support of your spouse for things that move you. How important is it for one’s significant other to believe in your work for you to succeed? Is it important at all?

It is not necessary for our spouses to support or believe in our work, but it certainly helps. Support always feels good for anyone wanting to achieve a goal. But even though our spouse’s support would be great, if you don’t have it that does not mean you should quit your goal if it’s truly significant for you. It is your responsibility to find support for your highest goals, even if certain people won’t give it to you. And the belief you have in yourself is most important, not the belief that others have in you. In other words, your self belief is the cake and other people’s belief in you is merely the icing.

When we expect our spouses to support us, we will often look for ways they are ‘not’ supporting us. And anything we look for we will find. So instead of silently expecting it, clearly ask for the support you are seeking. Many times, our spouses are not aware of how important it is for us to receive their support. Or in some cases, they actually are supporting us the best way they know how, but it is not being received as support by us. So having a clear understanding of what support means to each of you is crucial. It is not worth ruining a relationship over a misunderstanding.

What advice will you give people who are looking to set goals this New Year for themselves? Professionally and personally.

First, take ample time to consider what your goals are and write them down. Studies always show that people who write their goals down are many times more likely to achieve them. The clearer you are, the more chances you have to achieve them as well.

Second, visualise and affirm the achievement of your goals daily. The unconscious mind is a very powerful achievement mechanism, but it does not get engaged unless the goal is clear and inspiring. The more you imagine yourself achieving the goal, the more motivated you will be.

Third, create a clear action plan for each goal. Most people who do set goals stop there. They don’t design a path to get where they want to be. It is usually very inspiring when you see the “how” illuminated for a goal that is important to you.

Fourth, create public accountability by telling other people what you are committing to achieve. I often place my goals in a public forum such as Facebook and even offer consequences for not doing the necessary activities.

Fifth, set yourself up to succeed with a success team. I believe a good success team has five components — a mastermind group, a daily accountability partner, a mentor, a private life or business coach, and constant studying through seminars, books and audio programmes.

Finally, appreciate yourself for your efforts, not just your outcomes. Most people put too much pressure on themselves to achieve their tangible goals, and in that process either sabotage themselves because of the pressure, or create a pattern of always having to achieve another goal to feel happy and important. Give yourself praise for trying, not just for achieving.

(Just Jump will be held on February 27, 6.15p.m. at Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Hall. For details, call 9677077991)

LAKSHMI KRUPA

Just Jump will be held on February 27, 6:15 Pm at Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Hall, Chennai.

ROBIN SHARMA- PRICEY New-age GUIDE !!!!-FISHING IN TROUBLED WATERS !!???

If you wish to hear Robin-Sharma at Chennai ITC Grand Chola, in your individual capacity, you have to shell out min Rs.15,500/-. The seats are priced from Rs.15,500 -30,500/- WHOA!!!

The English media is offering him good support. The Hindu has published his recent interview. Excerpts " Question: Why do you think the world is rapidly developing this insatiable fascination for ‘new age gurus’ from Rhonda Bryne to Tony Robbins. Would you define yourself as one?
Ans :With such disruption, distractions and uncertainties in our world, many people feel lost or unhappy and are looking for guides. Even people who are successful are always looking for new ideas and valuable tactics to become more focused, creative, excellent and happy. So these people you mention have met a need ......."

Sharma has identified the problem.Now,what are the root causes/reasons for the "disruption, distractions and uncertainties in our world" -which is the problem!!?? Who are primarily responsible for the same ?--The 'well-to-do & influential people" from corporates as well as Govt who could afford to attend Robins expensive sessions & who constitute the 'decision makers/takers' .These people dictate policy, design new business practices & frame new 'working' styles. These same people are goaded further by this motivationist Sharma to become more and more successful. That will definitely entail difficulties for employees down the line and even those ordinary citizens who are not directly connected to the business. Thus a vicious cycle is generated. A common-place knowledge is that only contented people can be happy and make others happy. People who need shots of steroids physical as well as 'motivational' ,occasionally, can never look forward to happiness of self and others. There is more to work/karma than livelihood and pursuit of profits.

Link http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-
metroplus/newage-guide/article5720073.ece

new-age guide

SHONALI MUTHALALY

  

You probably know him as the ‘monk who sold his Ferrari.’ Bestselling author and popular motivational speaker, Robin Sharma is the founder of Sharma Leadership International Inc. His clients include Microsoft, NASA and Nike. His books have been published in over 60 countries and in nearly 70 languages. Ahead of his Chennai seminar ‘Lead without a title,’ Sharma talks to Shonali Muthalaly about his influences, dealing with cynics and that inescapable ‘new age guru’ tag.

When you wrote your first book, you were forced to self-publish. Your mother edited the book, and you stored the first 2000 copies in your kitchen. What prompted a successful lawyer to quit and do what — at that point — must have felt like tilting at windmills?

I was a successful lawyer but I was completely empty on the inside. And what’s the point of being a success in the world and a failure at being yourself? So I set about to discover how truly successful people think, behave and live. The ideas I learnt transformed me and inspired me to share the lessons I discovered. That was the beginning of the life spent helping companies become legendary and helping people live amazing lives.

You were in your early 30s when you wrote the The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari . Looking back, do you think you would have done it differently?

The ideas and success tactics in The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari came from conversations I had with authentically successful and fulfilled people as well as all I learnt from studying what makes the greatest amongst us truly great. I believe we can accelerate our acumen, performance and success by leveraging our associations and spending time with people better than us. So — to paraphrase Isaac Newton, I stood on the shoulders of giants and walked with people whose lives I wanted to be living. I wouldn’t do anything differently. My difficulties have served and strengthened me. My successes have fuelled and energised me. It has all been a fascinating and exciting ride so far.

You’ve written 11 books so far — do you have a favourite?

The Leader Who Had No Title — and I share that with respect and humility as it’s hard for an author to suggest which of his books is his favourite. I wrote the book while living in New Zealand for a month. I’d ski in the mornings, and then write late into the night. And as I wrote, my goal was to distill the best ideas I’ve learnt working with the Picassos of business and the icons of life into a 200-page book people would love reading because of its story.

Why do you think the world is rapidly developing this insatiable fascination for ‘new age gurus’ from Rhonda Bryne to Tony Robbins. Would you define yourself as one?

With such disruption, distractions and uncertainties in our world, many people feel lost or unhappy and are looking for guides. Even people who are successful are always looking for new ideas and valuable tactics to become more focused, creative, excellent and happy. So these people you mention have met a need.

As for whether I am a ‘new age guru’, I am not at all. I help companies build employees who lead without a title and become high performers. I help individuals maximise their talents and build lives they are proud of. Most of my ideas are based on the latest research on productivity, performance and mental mastery — that’s why so many iconic companies bring me in to help them grow and win.

Definitely not ‘new age’. And I’m certainly no ‘guru’.

How do you deal with the cynics?

True, some people are cynical and they think the ideas and tactics I teach don’t work, even though millions of people have used them to achieve big things and make their personal breakthroughs. But some people don’t like change and they feel more powerful when they bring others down. I pay no attention to cynics. I just focus on being helpful and an instrument of service. I just try to follow my mission and stay loyal to my values. And I always remember that cynics are just dreamers who got scared and gave up.

Do you feel a connection to India, given your roots? Has it influenced your philosophy in any way?

Yes, very much. I adore India, its culture and all the beauty of the nation. My father is

from Jammu and he’s had a profound influence on my mindset and way of being. I’m currently on an eight-country tour. I visited him before I left for the trip. His parting words were: ‘Help people’.

What’s the most important lesson you’ve learnt along the way?

To lead is to serve. Investing in your personal development and professional education is the game changer. Because as you know more you can achieve more. All it takes is one idea or insight to change the game — no matter what your current conditions are. Of course, ideas are worthless without flawless execution. Focus and hard work (on the right priorities and opportunities) always yield excellent dividends.

What is the most important thing Chennai will learn from you when you visit next week?

How to shift from being distracted to being beautifully focused on the few most important things in business and life.

Eyeball Events presents Robin Sharma with his seminar ‘Lead without a Title’ on March 2 at ITC Grand Chola from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. For details on participation call 8754472686 or 9500079488. You can also book tickets online by logging

on to www.ceolifestyle.in