- Look for what can be learned. We can start by searching our memory for what has worked in the past. We can examine the situation and seek out elements and aspects over which we have control. We can look for new skills and strategies that others have employed effectively. The key is to view the situation as one that invites learning rather than tolerance.
- Focus on progress and accomplishment Setting goals, marking progress, and celebrating even small wins can provide energy, meaning, and purpose in our lives. Experiencing progress and success can also increase our confidence, provide a sense of control, and renew our commitment.
- Embrace hope. We can take the long view on our current situation. Almost every circumstance will improve over time. Seeing a point in the future where we will get beyond our current troubles, experience greater stability, and achieve success can keep us going even when current circumstances are difficult to manage.
- Act. We may not always know what to do. But doing something is almost always better than doing nothing. In fact, when we try something, we often learn more about what else we can do that would make a bigger difference and be even more successful.
- Choose how to respond. When we are emotional, feel pressured and stressed, or uncertain, we can react to what happens around us with little thought or intention. When we do, we give up our ability to choose. We cannot always control what happens to us, but we always have a choice in how we will respond. In that choice can reside considerable influence over what happens next. When we choose how to respond we inject a degree of control that can be sacrificed in “knee jerk” reactions. In fact, thoughtless reactions can often make the situation worse.
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In Your Corner, Thinking Frames
An Empowering View of Resilience
A popular understanding of resilience is that it is the ability to tolerate and survive despite challenges and setbacks. While this perspective is correct, it is incomplete. Resilience is more than hanging on and surviving. Resilience includes learning, adjusting, and responding. While it might be enough to “hold on” and “weather the storm” in the short-term, this approach offers little in the face of sustained pressure and long-term changes. In fact, this approach risks weakening our relationships, shifting our outlook on life, and compromising our future success.
There is another dimension to resilience that is more empowering, effective, and even growth evoking. This approach adopts a learning, adjusting, and engaging view of what it means to be resilient. Rather than “hunkering down” in response to pressure and stress, we can view the situation through a lens of what we can learn from the experience, how we can adjust our perspective and strategies, and where we can engage more effectively going forward.
We see repeated examples of the second dimension of resilience in nature. As living conditions and environmental factors change, animals and even insects adjust. When some sources of food disappear, the search begins for other sources and shifts in diet. When predators threaten, potential victims develop new strategies to counter the danger. While the pressures and stresses we experience may be less existential, they are serious, and our health and well-being depend on us responding in ways that are effective and sustainable.
In this context, we might define resilience as our ability to adapt effectively to the difficulties life presents to us. We are not freed from pain, grief, and anger, but we identify and adopt ways to respond and stay healthy. Of course, each of us needs to discover and adopt what works best for us. Nevertheless, here are five strategies to consider:
In Your Corner, Student Learning
Five College-Level Study Tips to Share with Your Students Now
This is the time of year when students often face the challenge of preparing for major exams; exams that ask them to synthesize various concepts, recall a wide range of information, and demonstrate competency with a variety of skills. We have coached students throughout the year to develop learning strategies to assist them to absorb, retain, and retrieve important content. Now, they will be asked to pull everything together in preparation for important end-of-year assessments.
Of course, the task students face is not new. Students have faced this annual challenge for generations. However, it can be motivating to students to expand their repertoire of study techniques by incorporating some tips often shared with college-level learners by their professors as these advanced learners prepare for high-stakes career preparation and licensing assessments. The good news is that the tips work equally well for younger students. Here are five time-tested and research-based tips you can share.
First, encourage students to choose or create a focus-supportive environment. The ability to focus is among the most important elements contributing to successful study. The exact conditions optimal to support mental focus may vary from person to person. Some people focus best when they experience complete silence. Others may find music in the background to assist with focus. Some people may benefit from a view of the outdoors. Others may focus best without visual stimulation beyond what they are studying. Some people do their best when isolated from people. Others may benefit from some movement around them such as they might experience in a coffee shop. However, there is wide agreement that cellphones and social media turned off and out of sight contributes to the ability to focus. The key is for the student to find the optimum focus-supportive environment for their needs.
Second, advise students to take frequent breaks – at least every thirty minutes – to think about what they are studying and how best to organize it for storage in their minds. Interestingly, researchers have found that learning breaks to synthesize and organize content and skills can play as important a role in learning as practicing preset processes and completing problem sets.
Third, encourage students to move from one position or location to another occasionally, especially as they move from one element or aspect of study to another. The shift may be as little as repositioning at a desk or table, or as significant as moving to a different room or new location. As we study, our brains absorb more information than we may be aware. While we are focusing, our brains note objects around us, noises we hear, and movements that cross our vision. This information can help to “anchor” memories and assist recall of content connected to the experience. As a result, our attempts to recall what we have studied can be enhanced by memories of where we were when we encountered information, developed a new insight, or reached a conclusion. Shifting locations can ground memories in the environment where they occurred.
Fourth, share with students the benefits of pausing occasionally to explain or summarize what they just read or reviewed. Research indicates that explaining to yourself can be enough to make a difference. Explaining to a “study buddy” can be even more beneficial. The process of explaining organizes information and prepares the brain for storage. This technique can also surface elements and aspects of what is being studied that are not clear and need more attention and clarification.
Fifth, encourage students to draw pictures or create maps to depict connections and relationships among items and elements they are studying. Images are often easier to recall than lists of words or highlighted text. The process of drawing and positioning information also provides opportunities to interact more deeply with content and helps to place information in a more complete context. Later, when attempting recall key concepts and information in isolation, graphics can offer a memory shortcut to information that has been placed in a retrievable format.
Of course, each of these tips require a level of effort and discipline. However, they can make studying more interesting as they add variety and novelty to the process. They also can be motivating because they work.
In Your Corner, Thinking Frames
In Your Corner, Leadership and Change Management
Communication, In Your Corner
In Your Corner, Student Learning
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Share your story and the tips you have for getting through this challenging time. It can remind a fellow school leader of something they forgot, or your example can make a difficult task much easier and allow them to get more done in less time. We may publish your comments.
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We can attempt to shut down disruptive student behavior with quick admonishments and directives, but this approach is more likely to prolong such behavior than prevent or extinguish it.
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