An Exercise in Critical Thinking

Over the last seven years, while teaching at the Army’s Command & General Staff College, I strove to ensure my students departed as better critical thinkers than when they arrived.

critical thinking (n): the mental process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information to reach an answer or conclusion (1)

One aspect of critical thinking is looking at the situation from another perspective. Numerous phrases describe this problem solving approach: “put yourself in the other person’s shoes”, “think outside the box”, “think like the enemy”, etc.

Early on in the course, usually within the first two months, I presented a vignette to test how well they used that approach. The results, from over a dozen iterations, clearly revealed a failure to apply that approach to everyday decision making.  Below is the executive summary of my vignette, as sent to BG Mark O’Neill (then CGSC Deputy Commandant) in August 2006.

Executive Summary

A Colonel is briefing a group of Majors and they are very restless because they’ve all heard the exact same brief in the recent past.  The Colonel doesn’t know they have received it, but has noticed they are inattentive.  Eight have passouts saying they are one of the Majors, the other eight are the Colonel.  There are two choices that boil down to: A) raise hand and interrupt or B) do nothing.  Inevitably, a majority of the “Colonels” choose A and a majority of the “Majors” choose B.

Execution

Assuming a staff group of 16 students, I print out 8 of each of the two handouts (student.doc and cos.doc).  I then pass them out on separate sides of the room.  By splitting them up that way, it helps to minimize the chance of comparison between students next to each other and discovering the handouts are different.  Also, during the follow on discussion, it is easier to compare the two groups (“this side of the room said…”, for example).

TTP: If there is a LTC student (perhaps the section leader), or some other known strong personality, I’ll pass out the Colonel handouts on that side.  That person may be more likely than the others to consider the other point of view if assigned as the Major. [TTP = Tactics, Techniques & Procedures]

This is not tied to any particular lesson, just a hip pocket CE that I bring in sometime early in C200. When I do this, I usually do it as the very beginning of the first hour. [CE = Concrete Experience] [C200 was Strategy block of instruction in the core curriculum]

Prior to passing out the handouts, I tell them that it is to be done with no talking, write their answer on the sheet of paper and turn it over when they are done so that I know they are finished.  (Again, doing that to minimize possibility of compromising the “secret” that they have different sheets.)  I then put up the Power Point slide (choices.ppt) and wait for them to finish.

When they are done, I ask:  “How many chose A?” and/or “How many chose B?”  Then I’ll go to the side of the Majors, and ask one of them why they chose “B” (do nothing); after that I’ll do the same with one of the “Colonels” and ask them why they chose the “A” option. Somewhere during this process one or more of them may figure out that they are answering from different points of view.  If not, I lead them to it by asking “Why do you think there was such a divergence in the answers?”

At the end, I relate it back to CR/CT by emphasizing that when faced with a problem or dilemma, they are still not habitually looking at things from a different point of view. For if they had, nearly all of them would have chosen the “A” option.  (Usually I make this melodramatic, pointing out how “I failed” as their CR/CT instructor, etc.)

See my Critical Thinking Exercise presentation on SlideShare for more information, including instructions and materials necessary to execute the exercise.

(1) Dictionary.com, “critical thinking,” in Dictionary.com’s 21st Century Lexicon. Source location: Dictionary.com, LLC. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/critical thinking. Available: http://dictionary.reference.com. Accessed: August 15, 2009.

Bits ‘n Pieces – Series Origins & Gmail Tips

In keeping with the name of my blog, Thought Spray, I was trying to come up with a name for a series of posts that offered random tips, favorite links, etc. I considered Odds & Ends, but that seemed too cliche. Another idea was Random Thoughts, which I also discarded as it was too similar to the my blog’s name. So I opted to go with Bits ‘n Pieces.

My next dilemma: How do distinguish between various installments of Bits ‘n Pieces? I could serialize them, as in Bits ‘n Pieces #1 or I could date them, as in Bits ‘n Pieces (9 May 2009). Neither of those options appealed to me, serializing seems boring and the posts already have a date stamp, so it would be redundant. Ultimately I decided to got with Bits ‘n Pieces – Descriptive Theme as the naming scheme. That way I can try and provide some description of the contents in the title.

Gmail Tips

Create a Bookmark to quickly access Unread Mail

Last month I created a new shortcut (or bookmark) on my toolbar to quickly filter & display unread mail. I often found myself repleating the same search, looking for unread email in the inbox or, in Gmail search terms: in: inbox is: unread

The URL for that same search, used for the Unread Mail bookmark, is:

http://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#search/in%3Ainbox+is%3Aunread

Now a single click on the toolbar displays all unread email. Then I can quickly flag new messages for achiving or deleting and more easily identify priority messages.

Customize Gmail with Firefox and Greasemonkey

If you’re accustomed to working with folders and sub-folders, you may have wished you could use nested labels with Gmail. Well, that is possible thanks to the Folders4Gmail script.

Using Folders4Gmail, nested labels are creating using the same base name and using a back slash (/) to specify the sub-label. The image on the left illustrates the nested format.

The one on the right shows how it looks when Greasemonkey is not enabled. That is also how it will appear when accessing Gmail from a public computer, with Internet Explorer, etc.

Add a Custom Signature, with Links & Formatting

Last weekend I wrote about how to Gmail’s Signature Limitations using a Greasemonkey script.

Public Diplomacy – Adrift Without a Rudder?

The Honorable James Glassman delivers Keynote Address at InfowarCon 2009

The Policy Coordinating Committee (PCC) on Strategic Communications has been dissolved and the Global Strategic Engagement Center (GSEC) is sitting around waiting for leadership. The problem is the “lack of a broad constituency in Congress for Public Diplomacy.”

So said the Honorable James Glassman, former Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, in his Keynote Address to the InfowarCon 2009 attendees on Friday, April 24th.

In his speech he remarked:

“The business that many of you have chosen is influence. It is not exposition; it is not explanation. It is information with a purpose. It is using words, images, and non-violent deeds to get people to behave in ways that help America achieve its national security objectives. We define public diplomacy as understanding, engaging, informing, and influencing foreign publics. But it is the fourth gerund that counts – influencing.

As an article in the New York Times last week indicated, the business in which you are engaged and in which I used to be engaged can be contentious in a free society. There is, in some quarters, a squeamishness about using information to influence.

But it is absolutely necessary. It is a noble calling. And it is changing. As a result, much of what we think we know about this endeavor is wrong.”

[Excerpted from Glassman's prepared speech as posted in Stop Explaining! (29 April 2009) on his blog Economics, Investing, Public Diplomacy, and More]

In April, the position of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Support to Public Diplomacy was eliminated, staff members were reassigned and the office was closed, as reported in “White House Closing Controversial Pentagon Office.” This action was initiated by Michele Flournoy, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy. She said that, going forward, the White House and State Department will take the lead in dispensing information abroad, and the Pentagon will play a supporting role. 

Note the future tense, “Will take the lead”?  Is that like “the check is in the mail”?

Should we not establish the new capability before eliminating the old?

Matt Armstrong (@mountainrunner) authors MountainRunner, a blog about public diplomacy and strategic communication in the 21st century. Earlier today he Tweeted a link his new blog post directly related to this topic:

Matt Armstrong (@MountainRunner) Tweets his latest blog post

The piece he refers to by Nick Cull, LUGAR TO THE RESCUE: SENATE COMMITTEE BACKS ‘SCIENCE ENVOY’ PLAN, states:

“Long an enthusiast for public diplomacy, Lugar led off his campaign to save America’s public diplomacy on 13 February, 2009 with SR 49 which called for attention to public diplomacy and a revival of the old network of American cultural centers. An excellent staff report entitled U.S. Public Diplomacy: Time to Get Back in the Game appeared on the same day. Then on April 21, 2009, Lugar introduced SR 838 “a bill to provide for the establishment of science envoys.” This bill seeks to make better use in public diplomacy of the undisputed leadership of the United States in the fields of science and technology; to expand the existing science component of State Department exchange activities, and specifically to add a new category of cultural ambassador called a ‘Science Envoy’.”

Matt summed up the situation very well in his post, Recommended Reading: Cull on Lugar’s leadership in America’s leaderless Public Diplomacy:

“The bustling going on behind the curtain is not much and it will not make up for the last 100 days of opportunity lost.”

Are these initiatives sufficient to take Public Diplomacy in the right direction?

How can the Department of Defense “nest” information operations and strategic communication within a non-existent broad U.S. Government policy?

What is a Symposium?

“What is a Symposium?” – a question received from my mom after recently telling her of the events I’d been attending over the last several months. She was not interested in the book definition, but an explanation in my own words. This is what I came up with:

Good question. I’m not entirely sure of the “book definition” myself, but I can describe my perception of the differences between these various events. (listed in increasing order of attendee participation)

Conference – Tends to be mostly individual speakers (or panels) to large audience event. Some question and answer (Q&A) time, but not much – very little attendee participation.

Symposium – A hybrid between Conference and Seminar. Some portions Conference like, other (breakout sessions) more like a Seminar.

Seminar – Mostly smaller groups, led by a subject matter expert or panel, many opportunities for attendee participation.

Workshop – Much like a Seminar, but with a very focused objective. All attendees participate and the goal is to produce something (a recommendation or a report) that will be used for someone else to make a decision or change policy.

Those are not “book definitions” but my perspective based on attending all of the above at one time or another. 

Because I wanted to put it in my own words, based upon my perceptions, I purposefully did not look for any formal definitions.

Are those summaries accurate?  How would you explain the differences between the various venues?

Conquering Gmail’s Signature Limitations

This weekend I finally decided I was going to overcome the limitations of Gmail’s plain text signature format. I’d like to think it was a good justification to practice my JavaScript coding. But I”m sure my family, and others that know me well, would suggest it was “work in lieu of” my resume I need to finish!  While true, I’d respond that it adds to my justification for including JavaScript skills on the resume, which will still be finished this weekend.

Gmail Signature Formatter Script

Click here to view a larger version of the above image

Download the GmailSignatureFormatter script from the userscripts.org script repository.

Requires the Greasemonkey Add-on for Firefox.

Collaboration Squared

Tonight I wrote my first blog post over at GovLoop – the premier social network connecting the government community.

In Collaboration Squared, I ask where to find success stories of those that have succeeded in implementing change within their organization in adopting new media, social media and Web 2.0 tools (or whatever term you want to use to describe “networked enabled collaboration”)

A (not so) Brief Bio

I grew up in mid-Michigan, in a small town (Birch Run) half-way between Flint & Saginaw. Upon graduation from Birch Run High School in 1983, I attended the University of Michigan on a Navy ROTC scholarship. Due to a variety of reasons (mostly immaturity involving alcohol and irregular class attendance), that did not work out so well.

While flipping burgers the next summer as a short-order cook at the Exit Restaurant, I realized a change was needed. Going back to Ann Arbor was cost prohibitive, so I joined the Navy, signing up for the Nuclear Power Program.

After a cold & snowy 12-week boot camp in Great Lakes, IL, I returned home in at Christmas 1984 and asked Ann Worden, now my wife of 24 years, to marry me. We married in early mid-May, one week before my graduation from Electricians Mate “A” School, coincidentally allowing me to forevermore say I was an E-3 (Navy Fireman) when I got married. Upon graduation I was promoted to E-4, Petty Officer Third Class.

My next duty station was the Navy Nuclear Power School in Orlando, FL. We used the PCS (permanent change of station) move driving from Michigan to Florida as our honeymoon. Leaving Michigan, we went the long way, over to Washington, DC and then down along the coast, using the scenic US-17 more than I-95.

While at Nuclear Power School, I applied for, and was accepted into, the Nuclear Enlisted Commissioning Program (NECP). Despite my acceptance into the NECP, I did not have orders yet, so I remained in the training pipeline. After graduation as the #1 Electrician’s Mate, and #2 overall out of 600+ students, we moved to Saratoga Springs, NY for assignment at Balston Spa Navy Nuclear Power Training Unit (aka “prototype”). One-third of the way through that training, the Navy finally figured out what I already knew – I could not complete the program before leaving to attend Auburn University. So I was removed from the training program and assigned to a paint team to prepare for an upcoming inspection. On the bright side, that meant 8-hour days (instead of 12-hours) and I also met Dave Burdick, my future brother-in-law. He was also leaving for NECP, to attend the University of Kansas, we did not meet again for several years.

In May 1986, we moved from New York to Auburn, AL, buying our first home – a 12′ x 52′ trailer. Rachel, our daughter, was born in September 1987. We made room for her crib in our bedroom, as the 2nd bedroom in the trailer was the computer room/office, probably not surprising to anyone that knows me. In 1988 we added an addition to our trailer for Laura Worden, my wife’s sister, who came down from Michigan to attend school at Auburn. Graduating from Auburn with a BSE in Computer Engineering in August 1989, I then attended Officer Candidate School (OCS) in Newport, Rhode Island, starting in October and commissioned in February 1990. (Coincidentally, that established a linkage to my boot camp experience, as I ended up “shoveling snow” in both my enlisted and officer training programs.)

In my final year at Auburn we sold our trailer and moved into a townhouse for several months, then Ann and Rachel moved in with Debbie Manning, another Navy wife while her husband Jeff and I attended OCS. Enroute to OCS, another Auburn NECP graduate, Kendall Gennick, and I stopped off at Atlantic City, New Jersey. (An experience that could warrant a completely separate post sometime in the future.)

Moving to Orlando, for the second time, we lived in an apartment just a couple miles south of our first one, along 436 on Orlando’s east side. The officer version of Nuclear Power School differs from the enlisted curriculum, so I had to repeat the experience. We were expecting our second child, Aaron, who was born in May 1990. I requested and received a deferment to start Nuclear Power School in June so I would not miss class due to his birth. Throughout March, April & May I worked as the Orlando Naval Training Center (NTC) Command Duty Officer (CDO), along with Kendall Gennick who was also deferred to a later class. While working as the CDO, Kendall and I met Daniel Tressler, a Navy Sailor on temporary duty while recovering from a near-fatal motorcycle accident. Dan later went on to achieve incredible success at the University of Florida and is now a partner at the Unger Law Group in Orlando, FL. Kendall is now the Commanding Officer of the USS Milius (DDG 69). At Nuclear Power School, I ran into Dave Burdick again, who I’d last seen before leaving New York to attend Auburn.

In December 1990, we moved from Orlando to Goose Creek, SC for my assignment at the Moored Training Ship 635 (MTS-635) (aka “prototype” again). The training there consisted of 12-hour days in a shift-work basis, three different shifts: 8AM – 8PM, noon to midnight, and 8 PM – 8 AM. Each shift would last for a week, with 2-4 days off for transition to the next rotation. Upon qualifying, we were reduced to 8-hour days and stood proficiency watches. But, in my case, I ended up not standing those watches, instead I was assigned to customize a program that simulated the reactor’s response to various transients. This was the first, but no means the last, occasion that my programming skills worked out to my advantage.

Late that summer we moved to Groton, CT for my attendance at the Submarine Officer Basic Course (SOBC). I had follow-on orders to the PCU Maryland (SSBN 738) under construction at the Electric Boat shipyard. Dave was also in my SOBC class, with orders to the PCU Nebraska (SSBN 739). SOBC finished in November, the family and I went home to Michigan for Thanksgiving. While home, we mentioned Dave to Ann’s sister Laura, ended up introducing them and they eventually married.

Upon commissioning in June 1992, the USS Maryland was assigned to the Kings Bay Navy Submarine Base. Ann and I moved down to St. Marys, GA and bought our first real house. The next year, prior to the USS Nebraska moving down, the house next door came up for sale. So two sisters from Michigan, both married to Navy submarine officers, ended up as neighbors in Georgia! On the Maryland, assigned to the Gold crew, I started out as the Reactor Control Assistant (RCA) and finished up my tour as the Communications Officer (COMMO). While studying for the Nuclear Engineer Exam, I met Duane Sand – as it turns out, we had a very similar background, including sharing the exact same birthday.

My next assignment (1995-1997) was as an instructor at the Nuclear Power School in Orlando, our 3rd time stationed there for those that lost count. This time we had school-age children, so we were more selective about where we lived, choosing SW Orlando so they could attend the Dr. Phillips Elementary School. While there, I taught Reactor Dynamics (RD) & Core Characteristics (CC) to the officer students. RD is the nuclear physics of how the reactor works and responds. CC gets into the “how & why” of the actual physical construction & arrangement of the core & fuel cells. While in Orlando, I attended Webster University, earning a MA in Computer Resources & Information Management. I also enrolled in their sequential MBA program.

In 1996, we took an extended “Great American Vacation” road trip from Orlando, FL to Monterey, CA to visit Dave & Laura. After his time on the Nebraska, Dave attended the Naval Postgraduate School. The entire trip was a little over three weeks, with different routes on the way there and back. Unknown to us at the time, that trip was going to set the stage for another trip nearly 10 years later.

Leaving Orlando in the summer of 1997, we once again moved up to Connecticut, this time to attend the Submarine Officer’s Advanced Course (SOAC). Following SOAC, a six-month course, we moved back to Georgia, into the house we had kept, for my tour as the Navigator/Operations Officer on the USS Nebraska (SSBN 739)(GOLD). My first CO on the Nebraska was William Porter, now the CEO of WFS Defense. In the summer of 2000, we visited Dave & Laura in Montgomery, AL where Dave was attending the Air Force Staff College. Going to school again looked like a good gig, and he had follow-on orders to U.S. Strategic Command in Omaha, NE, so I requested to attend the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC) in Fort Leavenworth, KS. In May 2001, we sold our house in Georgia and moved to Kansas.

While on leave enroute, I found out I had screened XOSS (Executive Officer, Submarine Support). Sometimes known as an “alternate list” in other services, XOSS means “you’re good enough to be an XO, but we don’t have enough XO slots for you.” More significantly, it meant I was able to retain my submarine pay and nuclear power bonus for an additional three years.

Shortly into my attendance at CGSC, I found they had an opening for a Navy instructor to meet the Joint manning requirements. With our kids in middle school, it was a great opportunity to have some family stability. Webster University has a satellite campus at Fort Leavenworth, so I was able to complete the MBA started in Orlando. We purchased a house (across the street from where we rented the first year) in May 2002 and have been here 7 years now.

Upon retiring in the summer of 2005, I was hired on as a Department of the Army Civilian to continue teaching in the Department of Joint, Interagency and Multinational Operations. Remember that big coast-to-coast trip in the mid-90s? Well, we figured out the entire family had been everywhere except the Northwestern U.S. So we bought a pop-up tent trailer, pulled it behind our Honda Odyssey and spent three weeks, a little over 5000 miles, exploring that area of the country. Upon crossing from Washington into Oregon, Ann, Rachel, Aaron and I completed our goal of visiting all of the lower 48 states.

Another Introduction – From GovLoop.com

Hello World!

Well, that’s probably an overstatement, but as a computer programmer, that’s always the first thing we write when learning a new language.

My name is Bob King, currently an instructor at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC), in the Department of Joint Interagency and Multinational Operations (DJIMO), at Fort Leavenworth, KS. Within our core curriculum, as part of our mission for Joint Professional Military Education, I teach lessons within our strategic and operation blocks of instruction. I also teach electives related to my specific areas of interest: Information Operations, Cyberspace Operations and Homeland Security.

As a result of my hobby and my formal education, I am also the Information Management Officer for my department. Translation: “The guy that provides the first line of support, as an additional duty, for 100+ users on any computer related problems – hardware or software – because the Department of Defense always under staffs the supporting IT departments.” Yea, a little cynicism there, but after 21+ years in the Navy and now 8 years at an Army installation, I have no confidence we will ever adequately resource the people that should be doing that job.

There’s something inherently wrong in hoping that someone within an organization has the necessary skills for such a critical function. I’ve not yet been anywhere that, when a leak occurred in the bathroom or a pipe broke in the galley, someone asked: “Is there anyone here that’s an amateur plumber?” Yet, in practice, that is what I’ve seen with IT everywhere.

My formal education supports that duty, my interests and my hobby: BSE Computer Engineering (Auburn University), MA Computer Resources & Information Management (Webster University), and MBA (Webster University). Prior to retiring from the Navy, I served on ballistic missile submarines and taught Reactor Dynamics & Core Characteristics at the Navy’s Nuclear Power School in Orlando, FL.

For the last seven years I’ve leased a linux box as a dedicated server at a network center in Texas that I use for a small web-hosting business. Managing that server allowed me to experiment with several different applications, as well as getting an increased appreciation for the challenges of protecting against a broad range of threats.

Recently I converted a home desktop to Mythbuntu (version of linux), setting up a MythTV desktop DVR accessible from anywhere. MythTV is a free Open Source digital video recorder (DVR) project.

Just last month I stood up Joint Chatter, a public blog for my department. As described in the About Joint Chatter page, it provides a place for our faculty to offer topics for further discussion on a wide range of topics. Those topics ranges from the highest strategic level down to the seams at the operational/tactical level, and includes regional studies, operational design, national security and policy, space operations, information operations, homeland security, civil-military relations and many others.

Recently several of my hobbies, interests and work functions have started to intersect. Throughout my life I’ve always been into computers and an avid gamer (board games, wargames & online games). Within the last few months I attended a Cyberspace Education Workshop at the National Defense University (Theme: “Enhancing Coverage of Cyber Topics in Curriculum of DoD Schools”) and Phoenix Challenge 2009 at Johns Hopkins APL (Theme: “Executing Information Operations in Cyberspace”).

At Phoenix Challenge 2009, a TS/SCI conference, who would have imagined a few years ago that the keynote speaker would be Noah Shachtman, editor of Wired Magazine’s national security blog, Danger Room? Or that several of the presentations would include references to Facebook, Twittter, World of Warcraft, Second Life and a myriad of other mainstream social media applications & games?

The ongoing convergence of cyberspace, virtual worlds and the growth of communities through Web 2.0 applications has grabbed my attention. Next month I am attending the USSTRATCOM Cyberspace Symposium and InfowarCon.

Recently I read Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations…. His book aptly describes the shift that is occurring and I highly recommend it for anyone here.

Within my own organization, I am promoting the use of blogs and other “new media” (Web 2.0). Thursday evening I was preparing a lesson for my Information Operations elective about my experience at Phoenix Challenge. As I searched for supporting information, I ran across Maxine Teller’s presentation “Social Media 101: Social Media for Government.” After adding her in Twitter, I picked up on the discussions about this weekend’s Government 2.0 Camp. I’ve also since made several other valuable contacts in the last 48 hours.

My lesson was taught in a SCIF, with no access to the Internet, so I was not able to demonstrate many of the Web 2.0 applications. The students are all field-grade officers (Major or equivalent Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines), ranging in age from mid-30s to early-40s. Out of two different classes, only a handful had ever used Facebook, Twitter, etc. After the lesson, they were so interested that many agreed to come in an hour early on Monday morning for a demonstration session in regular classroom, where I’m able to access the ‘Net. I also sent Maxine’s presentation to all of the faculty in my department, some of whom will also be attending Monday’s social media overview.

The manner in which this all occurred – and how it so aptly supported the lesson I was teaching the next day – is in itself a testament to the power of net-enabled collaboration.

Twitter: subbob
Email: subbob (preferred)
Alternate Email: AKO Address (if you must send to a .MIL address)
SIPR & JWICS: available upon request

Gmail is preferred – I can access it anywhere. My work email is inflexible, difficult to access when away from my office and hard to search. Perhaps yet another symptom of why this Government 2.0 initiative and collaboration is so important.

Learning Should Be Fun

Several years ago, when tasked to write a one-page paper about my teaching philosophy, I wrote about having fun in the classroom. Learning should be fun. If you enjoy class, or the activities associated with it, you’ll look forward to it and learn more.

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Learning should be fun!

Learning should be fun! The best teaching tip for any new instructor is to establish a fun and relaxed environment in the classroom. Instructors succeed through creating a comfortable classroom for a variety of reasons. Injecting humor into the daily routine helps to break down communication barriers. Students that enjoy their classroom experience are more likely to participate in the educational process. Furthermore, people learn better when they are enjoying themselves.

The regular addition of humor into the daily routine helps breakdown communication barriers. Many of the students attending the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College are returning from forward deployments where they experienced intense stress and a high operational tempo. They understand the importance of their education and deserve to approach it in a relaxed fashion.

When students are miserable and dread coming to class they are less likely to prepare for lessons and participate in discussions. A friendly classroom atmosphere, spiced up with a little fun now and then, helps to keep them engaged.

People prefer to remember and dwell upon positive experiences. Creating a fun environment enhances the educational process and they learn better. In addition, students enjoying themselves perceive time to pass more quickly which increases their positive perception of the lesson.

A new instructor should strive to establish a fun and comfortable learning environment in the classroom. When students are having fun, they are more likely to participate and remember the material. The instructor that finds the right balance of fun and learning will succeed on a daily basis.

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What do you think? What is the linkage between having fun, enjoying the class, and the learning process?

Starting Over

Last weekend I decided to establish a WordPress blog for future use.

My old one – Rambles of a Right Thinking Man – was little-used and too narrowly focused.

The last post there (8 Nov 2008) was Looking Forward, Not Back.

Since that was also only my 5th post, in as many years, thought I’d apply the “Looking Forward” approach to a new blog as well.

In February I also started blogging at work on Joint Chatter.