Today, in celebration of St Patrick’s Day, Psychology Today posted the following three articles about luck:
Tempt Luck Your Way
Down on Luck
Harder, Better, Faster, Luckier
This post will examine how the information from these three articles can improve your “luck” in teaching reading or in learning to read:
Tempt Luck Your Way
The article Tempt Luck Your Way examines the personality characteristics of “lucky” people. This article complied research from Richard Wiseman who coined the following characteristics as “lucky”:
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Observant
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Open
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Friendly
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Optimistic
Observant people notice what is going on around them and thus take more away from every situation. In order to be “lucky” in teaching reading or learning to read one must pay attention to what is being done and how the goal is being accomplished. One must observe the current teaching strategies and re-evaluate progress. No one will ever obtain “luck” (or success) in teaching or learning if they are not honest and observant about what is or isn’t working.
By being aware and honest about the learning environment one may also find “luck” in teaching or learning by being open-minded. If upon one’s observations it is discovered that the current situation is not producing results one must be open to change current methods or strategies in order to change one’s “luck.” When it comes to reading instruction Reading Horizons program could help many teachers and students obtain “luck” in reading progress.
“Lucky” people are also usually friendly people. They engage in more conversations with a wider range of people. This habit invites more opportunities or “luck” into the lives of friendly individuals. With reading instruction being friendly can increase one’s “luck” by allowing the sharing of ideas from other teachers or students who have found success in reading. Being friendly increases the amount of information and input one receives in relation to goals or struggles.
Lastly, “lucky” people tend to be optimistic. Optimism increases self-confidence in one’s abilities and thus improves performance (refer to Harder, Better, Faster, Luckier). Optimism also helps turn bad situations into positive situations. Improving one’s teaching or learning abilities will improve reading success. Also optimism can encourage the effort of students or peers to keep trying when a task (such as learning to read) seems daunting.
Down on Luck
The article Down on Luck explains how luck is the factor that creates the majority of relationships in our lives. In order to relate to a person we must first meet them. The article describes that proximity is the biggest predictor that a friendship will be created. It is difficult to build a relationship with someone you never see or that is never around. Thus teachers and students should realize that it is “luck” that brings them together to help each other and they should try to maximize on their luck to find success in teaching and learning.
Harder, Better, Faster, Luckier
The article Harder Better Faster Luckier discussed research on lucky charms and their impact on performance. The researcher, Lysann Damish, conducted four experiments which compared task performance of a control group versus a group completing the task with a lucky charm or with the moderator using phrases which suggested luck. In every experiment the “lucky” group performed notably better on the task. The reason for higher task performance of course wasn’t “luck” but was a higher sense of self-confidence. They had the participants rate their level of confidence and anxiety on each task, and anxiety was not found to have a significant effect on performance (both groups reported equivalent levels of anxiety) but the “lucky” group rated themselves as having higher levels of confidence. Thus building your self-confidence will increase your “luck” in task performance when teaching students to read or as a student learning to read.
Share your thoughts on luck or tips you have found to be "lucky" in teaching or learning to read.
To find more "luck" in teaching reading visit: www.ReadingHorizons.com
To find more "luck" in learning to read visit: www.ReadingHorizonsAtHome.com