Newsletter no. 5
IN THIS ISSUE:
1.Self-learning. Self-improvement. What's that? What is is  necessary necessary to study on our own? p. 1 2. Golden rules of selflearning. p.5
3. Music swiches me on. p. 9
Self-learning, self-improvement Author: Georgeta Chiurtu "A century you live, a century you learn." " No one is born a scholar." " No one is too young or old to learn." "When a person loses everything, his knowledge remain."
Self-learning is the action of becoming better  by your own effort. It is a combination of  will, ambition, self-discipline and energy. Self-education is defined as the conscious and complex human activity undertaken in order to develop your own personality.
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To climb the ladder of self-improvement you need  three important steps: 1. Introspect, ask the opinion of those close to you. 2. Know what and how to do it. 3. Get out of your comfort zone and go for it.
Self-learning  means planning, monitoring and evaluation of your own learning. In today's society the individual himself moves faster, deeper than in the last century. The current challenges led to the imposition of phrases such as: learning throughout life, lifelong learning, self-learning, self-training, self-discipline. School education is no longer sufficient for the whole life of people. Learning to learn and  continually improving are conditions for lifelong learning. People who permanently educate themselves build a balanced personality, can identify and use information sources, participate in society and educate other members of the community to which they belong.
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Self-directed learning is considered that best expresses the freedom of the individual regarding: - decisions on their own learning needs; - needs and priorities in the interest of learning; - motivation learning objectives; - the choice of learning styles and strategies; - assessment of learning outcomes.
Self-directed learning (self-training) implies the following competences: - to know where to find the necessary knowledge; - to know what you need to solve problems; - to distinguish what is important from what is less important; - to distinguish the forms of knowledge (empirical / theoretical, based on experience / on revelation ); - to make necessary connections; - to be able to recognize the limits of cognoscibility.
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The accumulation of knowledge and skills is the safest investment far beyond financial and material accumulations. Each new and useful thing  help you learn and, put  into practice, will make life better. You can climb the ladder of self-improvement on two conditions: 1.To be permanently sure that you still have something more to learn. 2.Do not blame external causes for personal failures; in other words to be pro-active.
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Getting knowledge. A huge tree doesen’t grow in one day. Golden rules of selflearning. Author: Agata Walter
AT SCHOOL... Be focused during the lesson. Complete your notes after absence. Ask someone to explain you the material you don’t understand. Believe in yourself.... Try to be calm – if you are to stressed, you can’t learn...
AT HOME... Before you start.... 1. Friendly space Take care about your work environment: tidiness in your room, fresh air, silent or a quiet music, good light. No cellphone, no TV, no Facebook etc. Only you and your books/notes/materials:)
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2. Friendly you Take care about YOURSELF: don’t study with an empty stomach. Prepare something to drink (you will not have an excuse to interrupt your job...). Be rested! "Powernapping” - the power of nap: 20 minutes in the afternoon (not more!) help you to remember better. Did you know that in Japan inemuri – powernapping is guaranteed by the constitution?
3. Good planning – the key to success One minute of planning saves 1 hour of work. We know it’s hard to study systematically – but 30 minutes every day are more effective than 3,5 h once a week! Do the list of things you have to learn. Start from the „heavier” (difficult or boring) subjects. Divide the material into smaller parts. Plan your reviews!
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I’m ready. How to learn? 1. Repeat please! Repeat the material at least 3-4 times. Do it often and aloud. For the last time in the evening before the test or in the morning. Look at the diagrams. It is much more effective to your memory to repeat the material:
http://www.criticaltosuccess.com/how-to-build-super-memory-business/
How to repeat? First repeat with looking in your notes. Later try to question yourself without notes. Do a short break and repeat again. Stop repeating if you remember everything without errors. Repeat the material after a month. And you will see the progress :) 2. I understand! Memorizing without understanding has no sense. Try to understand the lesson. Do not be afraid of asking if something seems difficult to you. Ask your parents, teacher, friends or find the answer in Internet… Use dictionaries, atlases. Try to find logic and order the material you have to memorize.We remember better when we understand. Be active! Don’t give up! Your brain is amazing!
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3. Find me and mark me! First read all your notes or a paragraph in the book. Then decide what is the most important thing to remember. Mark it! Be creative – Do „graphic” notes: underline, draw, do charts, use colours, arrows, frames, tables, pictures, mindmaps.... Discover what helps YOUR brain to remember. 4. Break time When you are tired, take a short break (5-10 minutes). Go for a walk. Do some exercises. Open the window. Drink a glass of water. Eat nuts, fruit, sunflower. 5. I can see, I can hear, I can touch Use different senses: sight, hearing, touch. When you learn, draw something, repeat it aloud. If it helps you, walk while studying. The more senses we use, the better we remember. 6. Memory Techniques Learn memory techniques (f.ex. funny stories) and use them! In our next Newsletter we will write about MEMORY.
BE ACTIVE. FIND YOUR BEST WAY OF LEARNING!
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THE MUSIC SWICHES ME ON Albert Einstein is recognized as one of the smartest men who has ever lived. A little known fact about Einstein is that when he was young he did extremely poor in school. His grade school teachers told his parents to take him out of school because he was "too stupid to learn" and it would be a waste of resources forthink the school to invest time and energy His mother did not that Albert was "stupid". Insteadinofhis following education. The school suggested that his parents get the school's advice, Albert's parents bought him a violin . Albert became Albert an easy, manual labor job as soon as they could. good at the violin. Music was the key that helped Albert Einstein become one of the smartest men who has ever lived. Einstein himself says that the reason he was so smart is because he played the violin.
Scientists have long wondered if the human brain contains neural mechanisms specific to music perception. Now, for the first time, neuroscientists have identified a neural population in the human auditory cortex that responds selectively to sounds that people typically categorize as music, but not to speech or other environmental sounds. The finding was enabled by a new method designed to identify neural populations from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. Using this method, the researchers identified six neural populations with different functions, including the musicselective population and another set of neurons that responds selectively to speech.
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In general, responses to music are able to be observed. It has been proven that music influences humans both in good and bad ways. These effects are instant and long lasting. Music is thought to link all of the emotional, spiritual, and physical elements of the universe. Music can also be used to change a person's mood, and has been found to cause like physical responses in many people simultaneously. Music also has the ability to strengthen or weaken emotions from a particular event such as a funeral.
According to the American study there is a group of neurons that respond when they are listening to notes. In the auditory cortex there is a "set '' of neurons that turn on and send their impulses only when they are listening to music. The scientists studied the brain activity and thanks to the use of the functional magnetic resonance so they found a kind of brain 'music box': an area that has evolved specifically to appreciate a melody or a rhythm. So you cannot listen to music only with your ears, but also with your brain.
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Music production and musical perception are a peculiar feature of the human brain. Music is not only an artistic activity, but a language for communication, it evokes emotions and makes them stronger. Music changes us! It makes us better, more sensitive, more careful ... but now we know that it also increases our brain!
The power of music to affect memory is quite intriguing. Mozart's music and baroque music, with a 60 beats per minute beat pattern, activate the left and right brain. The simultaneous left and right brain action maximizes learning and retention of information. The information being studied activates the left brain while the music activates the right brain. Also, activities which engage both sides of the brain at the same time, such as playing an instrument or singing, causes the brain to be more capable of processing information.
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