At this time of year many of us are preparing our bodies for the rigours of the summer season : getting into last year’s beachware, increasing stamina for all that air travel, looking good in public.

We sometimes neglect our minds though, forgetful that they need a bit of routine maintenance and TLC as well as the physical envelope.

Here’s an excellent checklist of how we might go about it :

1. Choose your direction
2. Make it happen
3. Slow down
4. Lose the negativity
5. Break your routine
6. Play to your strengths
7. Get out of your comfort zone
8. Surround yourself with inspiring people
9. Take control
10. Keep it fresh.

Number 8 might also include reading inspiring authors, watching inspiring films etcetera.

The list was compiled by Lizz Brocklesbury of www.themindgym.com

Teach students how to think for themselves and they will learn more and perform better. That’s the startling conclusion of Steve Rissing,a professor of evolution, ecology and organismal biology at Ohio State University, who presented his findings during a talk at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Francisco.

First year biology students were previously being taught using what Rissing called the “cookbook method” which gave them step-by-step instructions on how to carry out an experiment and display their results. They were also provided with a standard, prepared enzyme solution.

Rissing conducted his own experiment, by dividing 300 students into two groups, one that used the cookbook method and a second group that was given less instruction and more room and freedom to use critical thinking and hands-on discovery. They also had to prepare their own enzyme solution from a piece of raw turnip.

Following the experiment, students were all asked one simple question “Where are enzymes found?” The answer is: from living tissue. Of the students in the cookbook group, only 23 percent got the right answer. But 83 percent of the students who had less instruction and therefore developed their own method, answered the question correctly.

The real discovery is that when allowed to discover and think, students increase knowledge and perform better than when given step-by-step instructions.

Rissing’s overarching goal is to teach students to be independent and objective thinkers, to create a group of scientifically literate citizens who can intelligently discuss multi-faceted issues such as stem cell biology, evolution, genetically modified organisms and the like. This applies to science majors and non-majors alike.

Scientific Literacy Happens…When Students Think for Themselves - Ohio State University Research News