Kennan Thompson-Coyle-Ch.1&2

Summary Ch.1:

One of the main ideas of chapter 1 that resonated with me is this idea of a sweet spot. A place where you are working on something that isn't too hard that you become overwhelmed and isn't too easy that you become bored. This idea of helping our students find this sweet spot is so important for any teacher to help their students reach their goals and genuinely enjoy what they are working towards. Coyle mentions multiple examples of people who are "purposely operating at the edges of their ability, so they will screw up." This consistent challenge will help learners build skills that will help them improve, consistently.

Application:

After reading this chapter I found myself trying to rethink the idea of failure and changing it to think of growth. When something is just hard enough that we can't quite succeed at first or succeed easily will do more for us than if we are able to go through the motions and succeed. For example, when I looked at the two different sections of words (ocean/breeze and bread/ b_tter) it was amazing how much easier it was for me to remember the words in the second category. I've always struggled with memorization and using simple techniques like this (causing me to struggle at first) will help me in something as basic as memorizing my text.

Summary Ch.2:

Myelin is such a fascinating thing to study. The best way to improve at something is to make the neurons in your brain fire and travel faster. Myelin insulates those fibers that will increase the signal strength, speed, and accuracy. In order to build this Myelin, we have to struggle. Struggle is essential. Myelin wraps but does not unwrap. This requires deep practice in the correct way. If you make a mistake, stop, fix the mistake, continue. Consistently refer back to the more difficult sections to build the myelin to help your circuits fire in the correct way.

Application:

This helps me be more aware of my practicing. If I am consistently practicing the wrong way, this will cause my circuits to fire incorrectly making it more difficult to do things right. I have to be able to address my mistakes right on the spot. If I am singing through a piece and I notice that at a certain part I raise my larynx and become tight, I need to stop (sing it down the octave if need be), address the issue, and fix it. Never keep making the same mistake over and over again without fixing it. Going along with the first chapter, I need to look at mistakes as an opportunity to become better.