Karen Tui Boyes - Our Own Home-grown Education Change-maker
Karen Tui Boyes is an internationally renowned educationalist and founder of Spectrum Education, who is working to create a shift in paradigm in education. TAENZ is very grateful to have connected with her and we intend to work together to further our shared goals. The next couple of articles are written by Karen. Get some practical tips and knowledge.
50 Study Smart Tips For Success
It’s that time of year. It’s time to settle into a solid routine of learning and studying to ensure your success at the end of the year. It is what you do every day that counts.
Having worked with students worldwide, I see far more similarities between successful students than I see differences. Students tend to fall into four categories:
Avoidance: You know you are in this category when you get lost in the world of YouTube or Tik-Tok when you know you have work to do. Maybe you find yourself cooking, cleaning, tidying your room and going for a run rather than study.
Anxious: This is when your tummy feels sick each time you think about study or exams. You are worried about failing, concerned about not meeting expectations and get defensive when others try to help or support your learning.
Aware but don’t care: Here is when you know what you have to achieve and put your study off until tomorrow. Maybe you have enough credits or will not get credits for an assignment, so you think, why bother?
Achiever: If you are in this category, you balance life and study and have a goal and a plan to achieve success. You feel like you are learning, growing and improving each week. You are happy, have energy and are getting the grades you desire. Most importantly, you know which behaviours are assisting you to be successful and repeat these steps repeatedly.
Can you pinpoint which category you spend much of your time? Is there a gap between where you are and where you would like to be? I call this the learning gap. It is likely that no one has taught you how to study.
The Art & Science of Gratitude
Gratitude is the art of being thankful. The word coming from the Latin word, gratus, which means pleasing or thankful. It is being able to show appreciation and return the kindness of others. Gratitude is about showing that you don’t take life, circumstances and people for granted.
Research by Dr Martin Seligman, known as the father of modern positive psychology, and many other renowned thinkers, show that the practice of gratitude increases people’s levels of wellbeing and happiness.
This practice helps people to feel more positive emotion, relish a satisfying experience, improves health, can help with dealing with adversity and build strong relationships. Gratitude can be shown for the world, a specific individual and yourself. It can be felt and expressed in multiple ways. For example, for the past, by retrieving positive memories, in the present by not taking good fortune for granted and in the future by maintain a hopeful and optimistic attitude.
The Benefits of Gratitude
A deliberate gratitude practice has been shown to light up the brains reward centre and flood the frontal cortex with neurotransmitters such as dopamine. This in turn has been shown to spark activity critical to sleep, orgasms, mood regulation and metabolism. Focusing on the positive can shift your heart rate, creating a feeling of stability and calm. Studies show that being grateful can increase social connections and create more satisfaction with family, friends, colleagues, your community and yourself.
Practicing gratitude can lesson anxiety and depression symptoms as it challenges negative thought patterns which calms the anxiousness and positivity boosts moods. Gratitudians also report and increase in empathy and compassion. The more thankful you are, the more likely you are to act pro-socially towards others causing others to feel grateful. It creates a ripple effect. Gratefulness can also increase resilience as it helps you to bounce back from stressful events. Productivity increases due to feeling more inspired and uplifted and it improves physical health by strengthening the immune system, lowering the blood pressure which, in turn, reduces symptoms of illness.
