Mind Control: Conversations with Colleagues about THE SHALLOWS

F.    CONTROLLING YOUR MIND
“ . . . according to attention restoration therapy, or ART, . . . when people aren’t being bombarded by external stimuli, their brains can, in effect, relax.  They no longer have to tax their working memories by processing a stream of bottom-up distractions.  The resulting state of contemplativeness strengthens their ability to control their mind. (219)

p.s. I prefer "contemplation" to Carr's term; I ma not sure his sentence needs the hyper-extended noun.

Problem-Solving: Conversations with Colleagues about THE SHALLOWS

E.    SOLVING PROBLEMS
“As we ‘externalize’ [sub-contract] problem solving and other cognitive chores to our computers, we reduce our brain’s ability ‘to build stable knowledge structures’—schemas, in other words—that can later ‘be applied in new situations.’” (216)

p.s. Note today's New York Times featured article in "Education Life"--about the College Board's sweeping changes in the AP tests towards developing stronger problem-solving skills  (n.b. the Board's increased attention to depth over breadth, in response to feedback from classroom teachers).

Memory: Conversations with Colleagues about THE SHALLOWS

D.    USING MEMORY, AS CRUCIBLE—NOT JUST A CONTAINER
“To him [Erasmus], memorizing was far more than a means of storage.  It was the first step in a process of synthesis, a process that led to a deeper and more personal understanding of one’s reading . . . Memory, for Seneca as for Erasmus, was as much a crucible as a container.  It was more than the sum of things remembered.  It was something newly made, the essence of a unique self.”  (178-9)

Balance: Conversations with Colleagues about THE SHALLOWS

C.    BALANCING MINDS
We are losing our ability to balance efficient retrieval of information and open-ended reflection. (166-8)

Schema: Conversations with Colleagues about THE SHALLOWS

B.    CREATING CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS
Deep understanding comes from transferring our “cognitive load” of information from working memory into long term memory—a process central to forming schemas or patterns of concepts.  The internet’s encouragement of “extraneous problem-solving” and “divided attention” (see A above) overburden the memory load and undermine our ability to create meaningful schema. (123-6)

p.s.  Carr imagines transferring information from working memory to long-term memory as filling a bathtub with a thimble.  His analogy informed my decision to offer these talking points one at a time, over several days.

Conversations with Colleagues about THE SHALLOWS: Introduction

Last summer, I read Nicholas Carr's book, The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains (see July 2010 post about this book).

This month, BAY School colleagues and I are holding a series of conversations about ideas from that book.

This week, I will be posting the topics one or two at a time.

As the conversations occur, I may post summaries and/or reflections.

Below is the title and first topic from the sheet I recently distributed to colleagues.
(The "attached excerpts [from Carr's book]" will not appear in any of these posts.)

Nicholas Carr’s The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains (Norton 2010)

What do you think about any of these ideas I have quoted or summarized from Carr’s book?
For example, which ones seem true to your personal experience or your work with students?
Carr’s context for each idea appears in the attached excerpts.


A.    SUSTAINING CONCENTRATION
“The redirection of our mental resources, from reading words to making judgments [about which links to click or sidebars to read], may be imperceptible to us—our brains are quick—but it’s been shown to impede comprehension and retention, particularly when it’s repeated frequently . . . Our ability to make the rich mental connections that form when we read deeply and without distraction remains largely disengaged.” (122)

"The Rocks of Recklessness"

The last day before vacation presents challenges in a building teeming with teenagers.  The writing exercise described below engaged students more than I had anticipated.  

In an upper level literature elective, "The Drama of Math and Science," we had first read Inherit the Wind.  As preparation for Marlowe's Faust, we read the morality play, Everyman.  

To end the week, teams of students wrote a short scene in the manner of a morality play.

A scene from the Moral  Play, “The Rocks of _____________”


After their ship has narrowly escaped shipwreck on the Rocks of ____________,
several shipmates discuss why they almost crashed their vessel and how they can avoid such danger in the future.  (Fill in the blank with a noun that reflects the mindset(s) or behavior(s) that caused the ship to nearly shipwreck.)

Choosing two or three characters from the lists below (at least one from each list), write a page or two of the shipmates’ dialogue.  Follow the formatting used by our text of Everyman.

LIST ONE
KINDNESS
HONESTY
BOUNDARIES
RESPECTFUL RELATIONSHIP
CLEAR MIND
HEALTHY BODY
KIND SPEECH
DIVERSITY
COMMUNICATION
GENEROSITY
PATIENCE


LIST TWO
WASTEFULNESS
RUSHED JUDGMENT
HOARDING
ANGER
ILL WILL
BULLYING
GOSSIP
INTOXICATION
ABUSE
THIEVERY
DECEPTION