Product Description
Presenting keen insights into and applications of a number of diverse skills and fascinating experiments–from investment analysis to CPR to playing a musical instrument–this original work transforms readers’s outlooks on methods of effective, fun learning. Tour.Amazon.com Review
Remember those all-nighters back in college–staying up till all hours memorizing the plu-perfect form of the verb avoir or the names and dates of succession of all the… More >>
#1 by Anonymous on January 22, 2010 - 5:31 am
Ironically although the author uses fairytales as parables, she misses the one which best describes this book: the story of gThe Emperor Who Has No Clothesh. Starting out, the first 6 pages raised my interest, and I was looking forward to the exploration of gthe mindsets that undermine the process of learningh. I guess that as an Executive I am a professional learner, but not an active and intense reader on this topic. Langerfs book simply caught my eye, and the encouraging testimonials by folk of renown persuaded me to buy it.
What I found was a rambling discourse. And the author would have us believe that this meandering through all manner of trite is sheltered by the very notion of mindfulness itself i.e. gdifferent contextsh, gmultiple perspectivesh etc. Yes, the ideas are important, and they are certainly worth thinking about. But the style of the discourse reminds me of a Faculty Room conversation, fully laden with neuroses of political correctness and egalitarianism. Furthermore that Faculty Room could only be in America, with a decay of true mindfulness of other contexts and perspectives as an exponential power of the distance from Harvard. For example practitioners of Accelerated Learning across the globe have been applying Langer’s ideas to real learning for years, yet are ignored in her discourse.
So what is this book? It is not a textbook. It is not report of experimentation, the validity of gpolling 25 Harvard studentsh, and the authorfs childhood, provides no grounds for believing that we are talking about any sensible basis of experimental design. It is not gself-helph, or ghow-toh, despite the suggestion that it might be. Quite frankly, despite the eminent testimonials, the Emperor has no clothes.
I read it a second time and sketched a mind-map in an attempt to temper my negativity, but unfortunately there is no doubt – its a dud. For enlightened and constructive insights into similar ideas I would refer readers to practical thinkers such as Edward DeBono.
Rating: 1 / 5
#2 by Stephen Armstrong on January 22, 2010 - 7:27 am
This book exemplifies the post-modern trend in psychological thinking, i.e., (i) There are no universally valid “givens,” other than this one; (ii) Truth depends on perspective and context; and (iii) Validity stems from a proposition’s meaning, and so forth.
Langer happens to be one of the more articulate proponents of this kind of thinking, namely: (i) conditional teaching and (ii) creative distractions increase the “mindfulness” of a person’s learning; that (iii) rote learning is verboten, (iv) that one should help youngsters move toward “mindfulness,” and (v) that “flexibility” in thinking, not raw intellect, is favored as an indicator of intellect.
Some of her techniques can be useful to educators and teachers: (i) conditional questions and presentations, (ii) mindful scanning, (iii) reading from more than one perspective, (iv) searching for differences, (v) shifting questions from “obvious” to “not so obvious,” and so on.
Despite the post-modern flavor, the embedded educational philosophy here is Progressive and Romantic, not Basics, so if you want something that will tell you how good it is to memorize the multiplication tables, this book is not it. While I have do doubt that Prof. Langer is a very creative and unique person, the unstated educational philosophy here is as elite and as unfulfilling as a Bordeaux cookie.
Rating: 3 / 5
#3 by Anonymous on January 22, 2010 - 8:43 am
Langer compares the rote method of learning and performing (as a musician, teacher or student) with mindful learning which includes the dynamic variable of context. The context of the event is a part of the event and has an impact on what happens during the event. Teaching and learning is a dynamic process involving multiple communications in a combination of languages. If you want to improve your learning or performance of almost anything, read The Power of Mindful Learning by Ellem J.Langer. Better yet, invite her to your school district for a seminar. Look for her in the Psychology Department at Harvard University. I would like to obtain a list of her other books and papers. I am looking for a copy of her Psychology of Control. Any offers?
Rating: 5 / 5
#4 by Anonymous on January 22, 2010 - 11:40 am
It is a useful book for the seeker of what and how it happens. For the delving mind it is an enjoyable excursion into the mirror of self. For how is there self without memory. How is there growth without learning?
If discovery, growth, learning, or self-knowledge is (are) your burning interest(s); get this book. Otherwise, it will probably be taken up by the “dumbing down crowd” as their rationale for the insipid stupidity that passes for education in the public schools today. It isn’t, of course, but given the general inability to think independently, who will notice
Rating: 4 / 5
#5 by L. Byrne on January 22, 2010 - 1:24 pm
I would not recommend this book. I am an avid reader and hate to put a book down without finishing it. But I couldn’t get through this one. I had to skim it after chapter 2 just to be able to be done with it. The reading is haphazard and not very informative. I would highly recommend many other texts over this one including: The Joy of Teaching, Learner-Centered Teaching, Education for Thinking, Thinking about Teaching and Learning.
Rating: 1 / 5