A Whole New Mind Part 1

1. What is L-Directed and R-Directed Thinking? Does my subject require more of one than the other? How could I try and reach a balance?

R-Directed Thinking is “simultaneous, metaphorical, aesthetic, contextual, and synthetic.”  L-Directed Thinking is “sequential, literal, functional, textual and analytic.”  As a single subject Humanities teacher parts of both these areas are covered in my classroom, though not evenly.  The areas I'll be covering in my classroom that require more L-Directed Thinking are reading in terms of the alphabetic principle, decoding and literal comprehension, and grammar.  The ones that require more R-Directed Thinking are Creative Writing; History; Social Studies; and Reading in terms of inferential and evaluative comprehension.  The balance is somewhat skewed in favor of R-directed thinking, but in the PBL curriculum I currently work in collaborative projects between subject areas are common, and I'm excited to explore joint projects with science and other subject area teachers to reinforce well-rounded thinking in my students.

2. How do Abundance, Asia, and Automation affect the dominance of L-Directed thinking in business and schools?

The three A's have a negative impact on L-Directed thinking by tilting the balance towards R-Directed thinking .  Due to Abundance, Asia, and Automation, L-Directed thinking is now not enough to get by on.  The abundance in society has created a higher standard for products that must face stiff competition from a variety of sources, which allows consumers to be pickier when choosing what to buy and forcing products to find new ways to outperform competition.  Asia refers to the ability of other countries, particularly in Asia, to produce knowledge based employees at a significantly lower cost of resources. These workers will now perform similarly to American workers for less pay, driving down the wages and worth of Americans in competing jobs.  Automation is the increasing mechanization and computerization of previously human-powered tasks, for which companies and industries no longer have to pay workers for, creating a lack of jobs in an skill area.

3. What is High Concept and High Touch. What is the impact of this on my teaching?

Abilities that require high levels of creativity are High Concept. Abilities that are centered in social adeptness and people skills are High Touch.  The High Touch abilities that are so commonly praised throughout the education sphere are important, but without complimentary High Concept skills my students will struggle in a rapidly evolving world that will require those skills for success.  Developing these skills is restricted in many ways by a traditional classroom which adheres to content standards and is chained to the results of standardized tests that do not test student understanding of these skills.  One of the greatest challenges and opportunities of my career in education will be how to teach skills such as these based within a content framework that is also important to my students.

4. What are the flaws of an education system that only values IQ? Is there also a role for EQ in education?

A major flaw in an education system that only values IQ is that it is testing and preparing students for a limited kind of success that not all students can achieve.  If we make the ultimate goal of our teaching to give students the tools to build a successful life of their own definition, we must first prepare them to be able to define their personal meaning of success.  If the only definition of success students are exposed to is one based on IQ, then we are limiting their ability to achieve it.  EQ is a start in broadening our definition of success, but it is only the beginning.  We must acknowledge and embrace all the various ways our students might achieve their personal success to help students realize all of the directions in which they can choose to be successful.