Leg 3a – The Lion’s Lair Difficulty: Not So Easy The Zoombinis encounter a dimly lit cavern where a large, stone lion guards the only way onward. Below the lion is a path consisting of 16 stones. The Zoombinis must be placed on the path, in order, according to certain characteristics, which are shown on the wall. If a Zoombini is placed on the wrong stone, that Zoombini is transported to the correct stone and a peg holding up a large gate pops free. When all the pegs are gone, the gate falls and the Zoombinis behind the gate cannot continue. The Zoombinis which are placed correctly on the path are allowed by the lion to continue their journey. As the difficulty increases, characteristics disappear from the wall until no characteristics are shown. Source: en.wikipedia.org Video Rating: 5 / 5
Leg 1a – Allergic Cliffs Difficulty: Not So Easy Puzzle type — Logic, Set theory. There are two bridges hanging over a cliff supported by six wooden pegs. The Zoombinis can only cross one of the bridges, and the bridge they are allowed to cross is determined by their characteristics. If the wrong bridge is selected, the face embedded in the cliff will have an allergic reaction and the Zoombini will be sent tumbling or flying back to the other side. As a result, a peg will spring loose and drop down the cliff. If all six pegs come loose, the bridges will collapse onto the faces and the Zoombinis who did not make it to the other side will be stranded, unable to cross between the cliffs. Assuming the player actually moves the same Zoombini to each of the two bridges (where the first bridge was wrong and the second bridge is the correct one), the player is guaranteed five Zoombinis to the other side. Source: en.wikipedia.org
Emotional Intelligence was the name that Peter Salovey of Yale University and John Mayer, of the University of New Hamshire, called the collection of personal and social abilities that they were trying to measure, when they began their research. The concept was later popularised by Dr Daniel Goleman. Thus, the emotional intelligence quotient, or EQ. is the intelligence we have that helps us to know and manage ourselves well. It is also the intelligence we have that helps us understand man-age and motivate other people. It has two major forms — that is intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligence.
Intrapersonal intelligence is the name of the intelligence we nave that enables us to make sense of the things we do the thoughts we have, the feelings we feel — and the relationship between all these things. With it you can learn how to slay in charge of yourself and your emotions. No more counter-productive outbursts or unhelpful emotional withdrawals that leave you misunderstood, furious and unsupported by your staff. Interpersonal intelligence is the name of the intelligence we have that enables us to tune into other people, to empathise with them, to communicate clearly with them to inspire and motivate them, to understand the relationship between you both.
With it you can inspire other people, develop their trust in you very quickly, create a team that performs rather than storms, and get innovative projects completed to deadlines.
Two of the best examples available of the practical success of EQ tests, relate to Metropolitan Life and American Express. At Metropolitan Life they had great trouble in keeping sales staff. It cost them $ 30.000 per person to recruit and train a new representative and they recruited around 5.000 per year. Half of these would leave within one year and 80 per cent would be gone in four years Metropolitan Life decided to look at the emotional intelligence aspects of optimism in their prospective recruits, since this quality had been shown to equate with success. They recruited people who scored high on this EQ scale. The lest paid off big. The optimists outsold the pessimists by 21 per cent in their first year and by 57 per cent in their second. They stayed because they were doing well and could easily ride the rejections that are part of the job.
In American Express they decided to do a test. They took a group of their sales people and put them through a 20-hour training on only one aspect of emotional intelligence. This was on coping skills They also selected a control group who did not do any extra training. After six months, they measured the sales of the sales persons in these two groups The results showed the trained group had outperformed the controlled one by 10 per cent, adding significantly to the American Express bottom line.
Emotional intelligence can be used by managers to make flexible and multi-skilled teams It can help to get the best out of everyone, to motivate subordinates make them dedicated to you and your company, give them constructive feedback and understand their motivation and feelings Your people need to use emotional intelligence too so that the team functions smoothly and productively, and can solve conflicts together rather than always involving you.
People who use EQ on an everyday-basis soon get noticed by the management. Management sees them as people who keep the team ticking, who do not invite conflict but who can manage it when it’s happening. Management tends to remember the person who remained optimistic and understanding when the company went through a downturn. Having managers and company executives aware of you and your worth, is the way that one can get promoted quickly for management will not want to loose such a good team player.
Apart from all this using emotional intelligence also helps you during staff reviews, recruitment and managing peer relationships People with a high EQ arc people who can understand others well and keep up with them. Thus they are good and understanding husbands and wives as well great team players Nowadays in management, it is widely accepted that it is emotional intelligence which is a more important attribute to management success, than IQ which relates more to rational success and linguistic abilities A higher IQ may mean you are well suited for a computer software job. than for a job which relates to people more. Managers who need to get a job done from others need a higher EQ than IQ. IS
(The writer Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri is the dean. Centre for Economic Research and Advanced Studies, IIPM, as well as the founder of Planman Consulting)
Learning a foreign language is easier, such as Chinese, when understanding how you learn. The science of learning is based on several theories and include: multiple intelligences, right-brain/left-brain/whole-brain, and brain-based learning. Understanding how you learn new information becomes the keystone to effective study patterns and habits. Many people who attempt to learn a new language give up, primarily because they pick a program that does not fit their learning style. These people unknowingly try to fit their learning style into a program. The following discussion focuses on learning styles, ways of learning, and how to master second language usage.
Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles
The theory of multiple intelligences, by Howard Gardner (Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences., 1983), provides the foundation for the seven learning styles associated with this theory. They are:
- Verbal – Linguistic: use language and words to understand
- Logical – Mathematical: inductive and deductive reasoning in using numbers abstract patterns to analyze information
- Visual – Spatial: visualize objects/dimensions and create internal images/pictures to understand how something will or might work
- Body – Kinesthetic: control your body’s physical motion
- Musical – Rhythmic: recognize tonal patterns
- Interpersonal: person-to-person communications, relate with others
- Intrapersonal: spiritual, self-reflection, and awareness
Everyone has many styles of learning and one is dominate over all other learning styles. Knowledge of your dominate learning style helps identify which program to select for learning a second language. See the first link at the end of this article to spend a few minutes answering questions to determine your dominate learning style.
Left-Brain, Right-Brain, Whole Brain Learning
Most instruction in educational settings is left-brain oriented, which means a focus on logic and reasoning (Logical – Mathematical learning style). This approach does not emphasize understanding, because traditional education emphasizes rote memorization of facts. Right-brain activities focus on creativity, such as feelings and the arts (Sperry, R.).
A foreign language program needs to focus on a whole-brain approach to support dominate and non-dominate learning styles. This whole-brain approach focuses on comprehension, as learners are encouraged to describe a visual image, draw pictures, use reasoning, and act out situations in which the language is used to understand new language context. This is a very good method for learning new language vocabularies through contextual settings. See the second link at the end of this article to spend a few minutes answering questions to determine if you are left-brain or right-brain dominate.
Brain-Based Learning
According to brain-based learning research (McClean, P.), although each brain is unique, everyone can learn a foreign language such as Chinese. Better foreign language programs take advantage of brain-based research and dominate learning styles to using a whole-brain approach with the following techniques:
- Orchestrated – immersion into learning environments
- Relaxed – elimination or reduction of anxiety and still challenging
- Active – internalization of new knowledge by processing information
A program should not be strictly lecture-based and depend on rote memorization of knowledge. The best programs use many different instructional strategies that fully engage you in the learning process. Based on this brain-based research to support internalization of new knowledge, emersion in cultural and personal experiences with a new language is important to relaxed and active learning. With the wide diversity of people in this country, there are many opportunities to use the new language in an appropriate cultural setting that helps you process and internalize the language.
Mastery Learning of Chinese
Another key to selecting a foreign language program is allowing you all the time you need to learn and master the language. Mastery of learning moves beyond rote memorization of vocabulary to a level that the new language becomes second nature. After reading the different theories of learning you can see that everyone uses different strategies and techniques to learn, even if they do not understand why. Another aspect with knowledge of your learning style is that you do not learn at the same pace as everyone else. The Chinese program we offer supports learning at your own pace and giving you time to master the language. Mastery is attributed to how we learn and the ways we use a new language (Glasser, W.). The following demonstrates level of mastery when Chinese is:
- 70% – Discussed with Others
- 80% – Experienced Personally
- 95% – Taught to Someone Else
Examples of Mastery Learning
An example of 95% mastery is to teach someone else the meaning of yi gong which means all together in Chinese. This is accomplished by having the person take scattered items and place them together while saying the Chinese word. This helps you to internalize and learn as you observe using a whole-brain approach in an orchestrated/active environment. This example uses dominate learning styles that are Logical-Mathematical or Visual-Spatial.
A second example of 95% mastery is to teach someone else the meaning of yi gong by having them follow your actions. This is accomplished by having someone else emulate your motions as you both gather scattered items and bring them together. Again this uses the whole-brain approach in an orchestrated/active environment. This example uses dominate learning styles that are Verbal – Linguistic, Body – Kinesthetic, or Interpersonal.
A third example of 95% mastery is writing a short song that uses yi gong in a pattern or change the words in a musical lyric to include yi gong. Keep the meaning of yi gong in context at all times in the song or lyric. After completing one of these actives, think about how this fits within any of your other actions or situations. This example uses dominate learning styles that are Verbal – Linguistic, Musical – Rhythmic, or Intrapersonal.
Science of Learning and Our Program
My Chinese Lessons provides all the tools that fit within any learning style to help you master Chinese. Visit our online library of Chinese Lessons, Chinese Games, and Teaching Methodology to learn more how we can help you learn Chinese. Do not forget to complete the online questionnaire and quiz below to quickly discover the ways you learn.
Mark Piscopo offers free Chinese lessons on his website. His lessons are developed based on his personal experiences in studying Chinese. You can visit his site at www.mychineselessons.com
Kate Fanshawe, the head of drama at performing arts college Queensbridge School in Birmingham is leading a drive to incorporate drama into subjects throughout the curriculum. The idea is that by incorporating drama skills into their lessons, teachers are helping students to develop their kinesthetic, inter- and intra-personal and language skills. Using drama in science is explored in detail as Kate works with science teacher Louise Maddam to plan a series of lessons on the digestive system for Year 9. The students are seen actively engaging in the subject matter in the science classroom and drama studio and giving feedback about their view of the lessons.
