LITERATURE IN REVIEW
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make us think hard .” Reading more deeply he finds , “... students scored half a letter grade worse under traditional lecturing than through active learning — and students were 1.55 times more likely to fail in classes with traditional lecturing ... Despite enjoying the lectures more , [ students ] actually gained more knowledge and skill from the active-learning session . It required more mental effort , which made it less fun but led to deeper understanding . For a long time , I believed that we learn more when we ’ re having fun . This research convinced me I was wrong .”
Although it isn ’ t one of his 30 tools , Grant uses the words “ laugh ” and “ humor ” in many of his anecdotes and arguments , and lards his text with cartoons , including one showing a facilitator capturing perfectly something we all see : “ We ’ ll now open the floor to shorter speeches disguised as questions .”
Having said that it ’ s impossible to summarize his arguments , I ’ m going to do just that , by citing a few of the aphorisms on which his work seems to me to be based , and which I found most useful :
” To improve your own skills , develop the habit of thinking again by seeking out information that goes against your views , and embracing the joy of thinking .”
• To improve your own skills , develop the habit of thinking again by seeking out information that goes against your views , and embracing the joy of thinking .
• To help others think again , ask better questions , and practice the art of persuasive listening by increasing your question-to-statement ratio , and asking how people originally formed an opinion ; approach disagreements as dances , not battles , and acknowledge common ground .
Now more than ever , Grant ’ s admonition to think again is vital , because , as he observes , “ Calcified ideologies are tearing American culture apart .” •
Richard ( Dick ) Barbieri returns to his reviewing work for CSEE after a year ’ s hiatus . He has been spending his time in continued cross-cultural facilitation with Soliya , and in volunteer work with Mediation Beyond Borders International . He recently joined the board of Freedom House , a Boston area program that supports underserved students through high school and college . At the moment he is working on a video project with the University of Massachusetts ( Boston ), creating training scenarios for students of mediation and conflict resolution .
Page 22 Fall 2021 CSEE Connections