Friday, October 16, 2009

Condition Your Cognition

“The more you practice what you know, the more you shall know what to practice.” W. Jenkin

What did you think about the quote? Did I just hear you say, “What quote?” You skipped over it, didn’t you? You thought, “Oh, there is a quote, I don’t need to read it.” Or maybe your eyes read the quote but your mind didn’t think about it.

Your mind is not a light switch you can turn on with the push of your finger; it’s more like a muscle. It needs time to warm up and it loves to be stretched. Read the quote again, and then give your mind the space it needs to warm up and build meaning.

The author’s message can be applied to any activity you want to do well. Do you remember the first time you tried to drive? In the beginning, you didn’t know what you were doing. You were overwhelmed with every little movement, button, or flashing light. However, the more you practiced, the easier the activity became. You knew what you needed to practice, only because you practiced.

Research suggests professional athletes will practice 500 more times than armature athletes because they strive to improve their performance. To practice means; to do or perform (something) repeatedly in order to acquire or polish a skill. In other words, every time a baseball player stands in the batter’s box he learns what actions help and which actions hinder hitting the ball. Once the baseball player knows which actions are successful, he repeats them over and over again causing his mind to build stronger and stronger connections between neurons. As soon as these neuron connections are strong enough, they will respond automatically without having to think about the spacing of his legs, squaring his shoulders, and raising his arms. As a result of this automatic response, the baseball player is able to focus on more important information like the path and speed of the ball.

When it comes to reading, mature readers practice applying strategies to create meaning until the neuron pathways become automatic. Instead of thinking about the sound each letter makes, the meaning of each word, and the message behind each sentence, a mature reader’s mind makes these decisions automatically. Therefore, her mind is able to identify areas that were difficult to understand, generate meaningful conversations with the author through talking to the text, and notice when her mind is distracted.

What is your reading stamina? Can you read in a quiet room for long periods of time, without feeling fatigue? You are fooling yourself if you think you can improve your reading without reading. Mature readers know increasing their stamina, or conditioning their cognition doesn’t happen overnight. Just like training for a marathon, you have to be willing to start with small chunks of text and slowly build up your thinking muscles. If you try to do too much, too fast, you could get overwhelmed or worse, quit. Over time you will be able to increase the length of time you read and the cognitive steps required to FLIRT and DRIVE will become automatic.

Coach your mind by noticing which strategies create the most meaning before, during, and after you read. Give your mind a pep-talk when it wants to quit. Suggest a better game plan when the text seems too difficult to comprehend. Push your mind to dig for the deeper meaning. And never, ever give up! Albert Einstein said, “I think and think for months and years. Ninety-nine times, the conclusion is false. The hundredth time I am right.”

Thinking is a process that takes practice, stamina, and determination. However, once you’ve established a reading routine, your mind will automatically and consistently perform the high levels of thinking required for academic texts. Remember, if you don’t use your muscles, you lose them. Begin to condition your cognition today!

32 comments:

  1. What i think about the Quote yes i read pass it at first but then i went back and re read what it said. I practice things about 100 times and i would prefer complete silence i automatically make choices with sometimes not thinking about the answer first. I use the technique that we used in class with flirting with the text and now I am starting to use drive a lot more often.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The author states that my mind is not a light switch; it is more of a muscle. I agree that the mind should be warmed up before reading (reading in smaller chunks); otherwise, how can the brain soak in all the information? Therefore, I believe that you should give your memory time to soak in the information. In addtion, in the text it says that when reading, one should start small and work their way up. I already know that I already did this in college. So I wonder why that is the most beneficial resource for success?

    Andrew Thompson Section 1

    ReplyDelete
  3. I definitly agree that if you dont keep reading you will not improve, just like if you work out but then stop, your muscles will not improve. i also think it is really cool how we dont take time to sound out every letter in word in order to out it all together, instead we just group it together automatically.

    katie bricker section 1

    ReplyDelete
  4. I already know that without pratice you will not improve. In the text it states that a professional athlete pratices five hundred times more then normal athletes. This example explains that the same goes for reading. If you want to become a better reader, pratice is required.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I agree, to become better at something you have to practice and for reading the more you practice the better you will read and understand what's going on.

    Het Gandhi

    ReplyDelete
  6. The author describes that being a good reader is like being an athlete. An athlete trains and practices to get better. This is the same for reading...to be a better reader you have to practice reading over and over again just like an athlete does. I can see the more you read the better a reader you will be. I will remember to read on my own time, this is like practice to get better by learning new words and vocab and be an all around good reader.

    ReplyDelete
  7. The author describes practice-to do pr perform something repeatedly. I can see how practicing helps your schema. I will remember everytime you practice your schema is activated.

    Sam Swank, Section 2

    ReplyDelete
  8. The text says "your mind is not a light switch you can turn on with the push of your finger; it’s more like a muscle". I already know I need to practice reading to get better. I can clarify this if I continue to practice so I get better at reading.

    ReplyDelete
  9. mike Forstoffer the post above sorry i keep forgetting that

    ReplyDelete
  10. The author describes how my mind is like a muscle and not like a light switch. I can see the pictures of the two things in my mind compared to my brain. I will remember that my mind needs time to warm up and stretch.

    ReplyDelete
  11. In the text it says, "Yor mind is like a muscel not a light switch." I already know that your brain is a very strong muscel. As a result I wonder can you over work your brain by learning to much?

    Tyler Adcock-sec. 1

    ReplyDelete
  12. The author states that to practice means to do something over and over again until you are good at it. I agree with this statement therefore; i believe that if you practice reading over and over again you will get better at reading.
    -Lance Conley

    ReplyDelete
  13. The author states that practicing reading will make you a better reader. I already know that reading is very important in life. Now that I know this, I should read more often.

    ReplyDelete
  14. ^ Anthany Heindel, my fault.

    ReplyDelete
  15. In the text it says that your brain is a muscle and I already know that muscles need strength training to become stronger and more useful than before. So I wonder how many different ways are there to help pump up my brain?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Your mind is not a light switch that you can turn on with the push of your finger; it's more like a muscle. I already know you need to worm up muscles before using them efficiently. I'm curious to what steps you need to do to warm up your mind.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I like relating my brain as a muscle because if you want to keep your muscles toned you need to continue to work out. So same goes for the brain if you want to be smart you constently have to be reading and studying.
    Abbie Forry
    Section2

    ReplyDelete
  18. Relating my brain to a muscle makes alot of sense. You can just go out and start doing rigorous activities. You will most likely injure yourself and not be able to play for a while. You need to start out light and warm yourself up. Than gradually get faster and faster and more rigorous. Just like the brain. You cant just start everything with a flick of a switch.

    Nourdean Bentajar

    ReplyDelete
  19. In the text is says when stamina is built by reading over a period of time. I already no that when reading for a period of time your brain builds up strength. I wonder what other types of this i could do to get my brain and myself a better reader.

    ReplyDelete
  20. In the text is says that your brain is a muscle not a light switch. I already know you can gain muscle memory when you do things long enough. As a result I wonder if you read something over and over will you remember everything that you read or just parts?

    ReplyDelete
  21. In the text it says your mind doesn't have a cruse control. I already know that cruse control is so on the highway when you don't make a lot of stops you can keep your car at a certain speed without pressing the pedal. As a result I wonder, how I can help remeber that there is no way to just set my mind on cruse control while I read.

    ReplyDelete
  22. In the text it says, If you try to do too much, too fast, you could get overwhelmed or worse, quit.I already know this process can be overwhelming and difficult for some people as well as myself at times. As a result, practice and DRIVE can help increase your mind to become more familiar with knowledge and words or concepts of books or reading materials.

    ReplyDelete
  23. In the text it says your mind is like a muscle. My brain is a important muscle. How many ways can i help my brain to stay good.

    ReplyDelete
  24. In the text it says(To practice means; to do or perform.)

    I already know how to practice.

    As a result I wonder(Can I practice and improve on my reading?)

    David Crisfield

    ReplyDelete
  25. In the text it says tha you cant turn your mind on and off. I already know that if you could, nothing would ever get done. I wonder how you can keep this said switch on all the time and not waste energy.
    Jake Carr

    ReplyDelete
  26. In the text it says, To Practice; is to do or perform. I already know that to get better at something you either love or hate, you must go the extra mile and practice. i also know that to be consistently great at something you must practice everyday. as a result, i plan on trying new and different ways to practice my reading skills because reading is the most important skill i need to become successful.


    Dustin R. Wagnon

    ReplyDelete
  27. In the text it states that I cant turn on and off my mind. I already know the only way to get better is to practice. As a result I wonder if I can do it or not.

    ryan d.

    ReplyDelete
  28. In the text it said that doing to much to fast could be overwelming. so i thought about the times when i got overwelmed and looked at why. as a result i aggreed that doing so much so fast does get a person overwelmed.

    -Latifah Pittman

    ReplyDelete
  29. The author states that practicing means doing something over and over again until you are good at it. I agree with this statement because I know the more I read the better reader I will become.

    -Ryan Althoff

    ReplyDelete
  30. practice and respond
    I will remember:
    -Respond automatically.
    -Reading stamina.

    Adam Vetere section 2

    ReplyDelete
  31. 2 words would be practice and repetition

    I will remember:
    practices makes perfect
    2)taking breaks

    ReplyDelete
  32. I will remember:
    1. To coach my mind
    2. Practice makes things come automatically

    ReplyDelete