How Literature is a Catalyst for Creative Thinking

How Literature is a Catalyst for Creative Thinking

Noted Harvard psychologist Jerome Bruner died this year in June at 100 years of age, in the same year that the world commemorates the centennial of the publication of John Dewey’s Democracy and Education. These two great educational thinkers have provided bookends for the vast change – and disturbing lack of change – that marks a century of thought on how people learn and develop. In Bruner’s obituary in the New York Times, Howard Gardner said, “He was the most important contributor to educational thinking since John Dewey – and there is no one like him today.”

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On War, Dancing and Light: Why Metaphors Matter

On War, Dancing and Light: Why Metaphors Matter

Metaphors matter. They are not simply the stuff of Shakespearean drama or poetry or the SAT. We all use metaphors every day in an endless variety of ways. Metaphors are an essential element of how we think and engage with others at home, in our work and in all of our social interactions. But too often, we are unconscious of the metaphors we choose and the impact they may have on the quality of our life.

As George Lakoff and Mark Johnson observe, one powerful example is the way that many people describe argument as war and embellish that metaphor in extended metaphors.

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Weekend Reading: June 2016

Weekend Reading: June 2016

The past few weeks have offered us a lot to think about, including essays on how supporting parents helps foster noncognitive skills in young children, what makes work meaningful, and the power of poetry and listening. We’ve also included an essay on LeBron James and Homeric epic and a few unusual facts about reading.

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The Power of Story: Our 2015 Annual Report

The Power of Story: Our 2015 Annual Report

In surveys and interviews—nearly 350 to date—our participants’ stories confirm our aspirations: Books@Work provides a safe space to reflect and share, creating the conditions for effective collaboration and more diverse and inclusive organizations and community.

Books@Work is growing—and learning, which is why I am pleased to announce the release of our 2015 Annual Report. In it, we celebrate our learnings and discoveries. During the time this report covers—January 1 to December 31, 2015—we served 586 participants in 40 programs in both company and community settings, partnering with 87 professors from 25 colleges in 8 states. Collectively, our participants read 101 books and many short stories.

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For a More Creative Workplace, Foster Collaboration and Respectful Engagement

For a More Creative Workplace, Foster Collaboration and Respectful Engagement

Though we often think about creativity as the production of an original work of art—a painting or a novel, perhaps—creativity is also the ability to synthesize and build on information. Creativity is innovation and problem solving; it’s seeing patterns and learning to explain them. When we say that something provokes creativity, we usually mean that it is in some way inspiring or that it encourages people to think outside of the box.

New research on creativity at work, however, indicates that creating the conditions for creativity might be less about inspiring an individual than it is about creating good teams and a space for respectful, common dialogue.

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Storytelling as “Game-Changing Technology”

Storytelling as “Game-Changing Technology”

In his recent TED Talk, Princeton professor Uri Hasson investigates what he calls “a device that can record my memories, my dreams, my ideas, and transmit them to your brain.” Drawing on his research, Hasson argues that this “game-changing technology” already exists—that it has existed for thousands of years, though we are only now learning to understand how it works.

The technology is “human communication” and, most important, “effective storytelling.”

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Just Listen: A Simple Tool for Minimizing Bias and Transforming Relationships

Just Listen: A Simple Tool for Minimizing Bias and Transforming Relationships

We’ve written a great deal about the power of conversations on this blog. Books@Work professors have considered how our seminars create space for hard conversations in the workplace and how they help us bridge differences and share ideas. When writing our reflections—our “Musings”—we continually refer back to our own conversations with participants. Conversations, we recognize time and again, open the door to empathy and understanding. They bring us closer to one another—especially when we take the time to share our stories and listen to those of others.

Recent research confirms our sense that conversation has the power to transform people and their relationships with others.

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Is Curiosity the “Holy Grail” of Lifelong Learning?

Is Curiosity the “Holy Grail” of Lifelong Learning?

Professors contribute very important elements to the success of our programs. Their years in the classroom help them foster thriving conversations in our discussion groups. Their time spent facilitating discussion helps them create safe spaces for difference and even productive disagreement. And their subject matter expertise brings an added layer of depth to discussion sessions. Most of all, professors are curious. They are curious about the participants’ life experiences and the way in which these experiences shape their reading of a text. They are excited to share their own interests with others.

Curiosity—the kind professors exhibit and foster—is a key to knowledge retention, making it instrumental to lifelong learning.

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Recognition and Affirmation: A Case for Social Learning

Recognition and Affirmation: A Case for Social Learning

Last week, we wrote about a recent Pew Internet study that confirmed the American hunger for continued learning opportunities: over the last 12 months, 74% of American adults report participation in some form of personal learning and 63% of employed adults report participation in some form of professional learning. Surprisingly, however, this learning is more likely than not to take place in a physical locale (a school, place or worship, library or a work-related venue) than on the Internet. Recent research on adult learning and development – as well as findings from our seminars – shed light on the complex reasons why adults prefer to learn socially.

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In the Age of Technology, Social Connection May Still Drive Lifelong Learning

In the Age of Technology, Social Connection May Still Drive Lifelong Learning

Last week, the Pew Research Center released a detailed report on Lifelong Learning and Technology, exploring the extent to which American adults seek extra knowledge for personal and work-related reasons. The report was heartening, if only because the number of American adults who consider themselves lifelong learners, in both personal and professional capacities, is far greater than I feared. But the report was most fascinating for its confirmation of something many of us suspect, but find unpopular to espouse: humans may still prefer to learn from each other than from technology.

First, the best news: The Pew research shows that 74% of American adults have participated in at least one form of “personal learning” over the past 12 months.

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