Unit 3 Learning to think
Inside view
Conversation 1
Mark Hi, what're you doing?
Janet Oh, nothing much ... Well, I'm just doing this quiz here in the newspaper.
Mark Let's have a look then.
Janet Here. It's called, "How much do you know about memory?" I've just done it. Do you want to have a go?
Mark OK, might as well. I'm not busy.
Janet Right. Look, I'll read the statements. Then you have to answer "true" or "false". Ready?
Mark Yea.
Janet OK. Physical exercise improves your memory. True or false?
Mark True, I suppose. It sounds like the right answer.
Janet You're right, exercise does improve your memory. Next statement: 30 per cent of people have a visual memory.
Mark That sounds about right. True?
Janet No, wrong, I'm afraid. In fact, 60 per cent of people have a visual memory.
Mark Really? Actually, I've got a pretty good memory.
Janet Have you? OK ... Next one ... When you're tired, it's more difficult to remember things.
Mark That's true, obviously. I can't remember a thing when I'm tired.
Janet Correct! If you do one activity for a long time, your memory will improve.
Mark I'm not sure ... True?
Janet Actually, it's false.
Mark Oh!
Janet Eating fruit and vegetables can improve your memory.
Mark I read something in The Times about that. True.
Janet True, it says here.
Mark Oh, no! I've got a lecture. I'd forgotten. I'd better get going!
Janet Oh, Mark! What a good memory you have!
Conversation 2
Kate You're looking a bit down, Janet. What's up?
Janet Well... I'm finding studying at Oxford quite hard.
Kate You're telling me! There's so much work!
Janet It's not the amount of work - but everything's so different. In China, generally we have large classes, we don't have tutorials. And mostly, our teacher tells us what we should do. So I'm not used to asking questions or discussing things. I find it difficult.
Kate You have to memorize a lot, don't you?
Janet Yes, but I'm good at that.
Kate You're lucky. There's so much to remember studying law! I have difficulty sometimes, I really do.
Janet Yes, well, we've been trained to do that. But we don't have so much training in critical thinking.
Kate What do you mean by critical thinking?
Janet Let me think ... I think it's giving your opinion and then justifying it.
Kate Yes, I suppose that's what our teachers have always encouraged us to do.
Janet I am getting better at it, I suppose.
Kate Hey! How about this? Let's pretend I'm your tutor. I'll make a statement. Your task is to examine it and then ask questions.
Janet OK.
Kate Everyone is capable of learning a second language. Go on, ask a question!
Janet Why do you say that?
Kate That's what the research tells us. Now ask another one.
Janet Can you give an example of some research?
Kate Um ... No! Look, I'm starving and I can't think at all when I'm hungry.
Outside view
Part 1
Teacher Good morning, class.
Students Good morning.
Teacher What we're going to do today is start off looking at mind maps or mind mapping. Now have any of you heard about mind maps before?
Students Yes ... No ...
Teacher Yes. Some of you have, some of you haven't. OK. Have any of you actually used mind maps in the past?
Students No ...
Teacher No? OK. Who can tell me what a mind map is?
Student 1 It's a way of thinking.
Teacher It is a way of thinking. Mind maps are diagrams which help us to generate ideas, and also to organize or structure our ideas related to a topic. What I'd like to do next is look at some of the uses or the reasons for using mind maps. What are some of the reasons for using mind maps?
Student 2 To make a list?
Teacher To make a list? Yes. We could say to brainstorm ideas. Everyone contributes then-ideas as many ideas as quickly as possible, from everyone in a shorter time, er, as, as we can manage. OK, brainstorming is one of the most important um, um, uses of mind maps. What might be another use or another reason for using mind maps?
Student 3 It can help me take notes in the class.
Teacher OK, for the note-taking, a very good reason. Mind maps help us to get an overview or a, a quick understanding about a subject. By using mind maps to collect the main ideas from what the teacher says, you can keep a, a very general understanding of a topic and understand connections quite easily and um, quickly. What are some other uses of mind maps?
Student 4 Preparing for exams?
Teacher OK. Preparing for exams. That's a, a very good reason. We might call this, er, revision. Before an exam, after having studied for many, many days or even weeks, you might want to capture the, the, the very general understanding about the subject. Are there any other uses that you can think of for mind mapping?
Student 5 We can also use it for finding answers.
Teacher For finding answers. That's, that's a very good, good answer. We could call this problem-solving. We can use mind maps to, to see other possible alternatives, or options to, to, to solve a problem. OK. Next, I'd like us to talk about some of the advantages or the benefits of using mind maps instead of just writing everything on a piece of paper. One of the most obvious advantages, as you can see, is that mind maps are very visual. They give us um, almost a picture, a, a different perspective in terms of a picture, or a diagram of understanding information or understanding connected ideas, which is very helpful for people who like to learn from a different way. Are there any other advantages that you can think of for mind mapping?
Student 4 It lists the main points.
Teacher They do. They do list the main points. We could call this um, a quick summary. As you can see, we have main ideas throughout our mind map, not long texts. And in this way, it helps us to grasp the, the key ideas and the key connections for mind maps or for our given subject. Are there any other advantages you can think of?
Student 1 To think creatively.
Teacher To think creatively. That's, that's a very good point. We could call this creative thinking. And what we mean here is basically thinking outside of the box or thinking laterally. Mind maps are illogical and by being illogical they encourage us to think creatively, you might say.
Part2
Teacher Next, I'd like us to think about aspects of design or constructing mind maps. So far we have completed three quarters of our mind map about mind maps. And then I'd just like you to have a look at this mind map and tell me what some of the most noticeable or striking features are that we can talk about.
Student 2 There is a centre.
Teacher There is a centre. There is what we call a central word, a central word or a phrase. It might also be a sentence or a question. You might have that in the centre of the board and your related thoughts spiraling or radiating out. What else do you notice about the design of this mind map?
Student 1 There are only words, not sentences.
Teacher Exactly. There are many what we call key words as they capture the main thought of, of an issue rather than a long sentence or, or a passage. This helps us to concentrate on the main issues and find connections between these issues as well. What other aspects of design do you notice here?
Student 5 It looks like a tree.
Teacher It does look like a tree because it has branches. By having branches, it shows how, um, thinking is radiating out or spiraling out from key ideas or central ideas to key words to sub-words and, and so forth. Are there any other aspects of design which you notice in this particular map?
Student 2 You used a lot of colours.
Teacher I did. I perhaps use too many colours. I have used different colour to show the different key words or different aspects of mind mapping. You might like to use different colours to highlight different sections of a mind map or key information. Or you may, you may choose to have it all in one colour. It's very much a personal choice, depending on how you like to, to think and, and plan your thinking. You might also like to use images or pictures related to some of the key words. Or you might even use symbols. We'll put a question mark because this again is a personal choice and how you like to design your mind maps. For example, I might choose to use a thought bubble as a symbol, highlighting or identifying my central phrase, mind maps. This could be a, a feature of my own mind maps. Whenever I design a mind map, I highlight my central thought using a speech bubble symbol.
Listening in
Passage 1
Interviewer With us today is Martin Downes, a carpenter, who's 51. A year ago, Martin had a stroke. But he's been lucky enough to make a full recovery from it. Can you tell us how it all began, Martin?
Martin I'm very happy to - not that I remember much at all. I was at a customer's house, building a cupboard, and the next thing I knew, I woke up in hospital with people in white coats bending over me.
Interviewer It must have been very frightening.
Martin It was. But what was really frightening was that I couldn't speak. I couldn't say a word. And I couldn't understand much that people said to me.
Interviewer How awful!
Martin Yeah! I don't know what would have happened to me if I hadn't had my family. But they were there for me, they really were. I had something called aphasia, where the part of your brain gets damaged that affects your speech and language. But they started treatment for the condition almost immediately. This speech and language therapist came to see me every day for 12 weeks. They made me do all these exercises.
Interviewer What kind of exercises?
Martin I had to match words and pictures and say their names. You see, I'd also forgotten the names of a lot of things. She had this thing called a word board and I could point to words and phrases on it that I wanted to say. I had to repeat words up to 20 times - boy, it was hard, so hard.
Interviewer Could you say anything to begin with?
Martin I could say three words. "Hi", "Yes" and "No". That was all. And there were a lot of words I couldn't understand -1 had to learn their meanings all over again.
Interviewer It must have been very frustrating.
Martin It was, but I was determined to get better. I was in hospital for three and a half months. When I got home I got a special computer programme that I worked with every day. And slowly my language came back to me. It was a struggle, a big struggle. I had to learn to read and write again too.
Interviewer Why do you think that you were able to recover completely? It's not that common, is it?
Martin I was lucky. I was given the right drug at the right time. And I had 12 weeks of therapy, five days a week. That's very important, apparently.
Interviewer And now that you're better how do you feel about your life?
Martin What can I say? I'm just grateful to have my life back.
Passage 2
Interviewer In 1907 an Italian educator called Maria Montessori opened a school in Rome that taught young children using methods that were very different from traditional teaching. Today, the Montessori method, as it's known, is used in nursery schools in countries such as America, Canada, Britain and Germany. Recent research shows that children educated at a Montessori nursery do better later on at school than other children in all subjects. We asked two Montessori teachers, Claudia Rosella and Sarah Harrington, to explain what makes their nursery school different. Sarah...
Sarah I think the first thing to say is that a Montessori classroom is very quiet, very clean. Everything stays in the same place. So the children are calm and quiet as a result.
Interviewer So they're not encouraged to be noisy.
Sarah No, definitely not...
Interviewer Claudia?
Claudia Yes, the classroom's very important. Another important principle is that children direct their own learning. They choose what they want to do.
Interviewer So the teacher doesn't tell the child what to do?
Sarah Not at all. While a child is doing an activity we observe them. Then we work with the child for a short time and then leave them to work on their own.
Interviewer That sounds excellent. And what about your equipment? It's often made of wood, isn't it?
Sarah Yes, and a piece of equipment is often designed for one activity only.
Claudia Right. It's so that the child can see if they're getting something right or wrong.
Interviewer So they don't need the teacher so much"?
Sarah That's right. Another Montessori principle is the importance of physical activity. Children learn by doing, so when they're learning to read, for example, the letters are made of sandpaper so that children can feel the shape of the letter.
Interviewer Do you think there are disadvantages with Montessori methods?
Claudia Yes, there are. Maria Montessori didn't understand how important it is for children to use their imagination. If she was alive today, she would recognize that. But still, the fact is, her methods are very successful.
