The Myth of Laziness

by Dr. Mel Levine (Simon & Schuster, 2003)

I am convinced that laziness is nothing more than a myth—hence of title of this book. Everybody yearns to be productive. Every kid would prefer to do his homework and be praised for its quality. Every grown-up would like to generate output that merits a raise or a promotion. It's all part of a natural search for both recognition and self-satisfaction. (p. 9)

Laziness is not an innate trait. We are all born with a drive to produce, and like saplings growing in an orchard, we have within us the resources to bear fruit, to be and to feel useful and effective. . . . From early childhood on through our adult years, we want to show what we can do. We gain energy and feel good about ourselves whenever our personal output wins approval, the acceptance, the respect of our friends, our families, our bosses (or teachers), and most of all, our own self-critical selves. To feel fulfilled in life, it helps immeasurably if you can take pride in your work. (p. 1)

There is a hidden brain process called the “speed-quality tradeoff” that enables a productive person to achieve the optimal balance between the quality of a job and the rate at which it is accomplished. Productive children and adults virtually intuitively know how to achieve this balance, sometimes even modifying their perfectionist ways to complete something in a timely manner. (p. 240)

Why is writing such a stringent test of output capacity during the school years? I suspect it's because there's no other requirement that demands the coordination and integration of so many different neurodevelopmental functions and academic subskills. Just think about it: writing requires you to generate good ideas, organize your thoughts, encode your ideas into clear language, remember many things at once (such as spelling, rules of punctuation, facts, and instructions), coordinate your fingers so that they can keyboard or form letters, plan and monitor the quality of your work, and marshal the materials you need (pencils, reference books, or computer equipment) and your time. Writing also requires a great deal of concentration and mental effort. It takes energy and fortitude to complete a term paper. . . . Writing is the largest orchestra a kid's mind has to conduct. (p. 7)

We need to reckon with a fundamental difference between childhood and adulthood When you're a child [or student], you are expected to be competent in many basic fields. You're commanded to be a good writer, a decent artists, a competent athlete, and an astute mathematician. You are evaluated daily on the quality and quantity and even the speed of your output across these diverse territories. Luckily, once your education is completed, you are unshackled and permitted to pick your own output pathways, to chose and work on those you prefer. And, not at all coincidentally, you are likely to opt for what works best for you.” (p. 6)

Neurodevelopmental Systems, by Dr. Mel Levine

If you know more about your own learning, odds are good that you can improve your performance. Dr. Mel Levine has provided a summary of how our brain works-- through the interaction of eight different neurodevelopmental systems. For online learning, the most important systems and skills are 1, 3, 5, 7, and 8. Rote memory (2) counts for little, but another aspect of memory, recognition, is important. In many of your assignments, I ask you to think about about earlier concepts and events-- thus recognition through long-term recall will be helpful. We're working in a two-dimensional cyberworld, so spatial ordering (4) has little relevance. The only important motor skills (6) involved are typing and turning pages. All quotations come from Dr. Mel Levine, One Mind at a Time (Simon and Schuster, 2000).

Your attention control system (1) is vital. "Attention is the administrative bureau of the brain, the headquarters for mental regulators that patrol and control learning and behavior. The attention controls direct the distribution of metal energy within our brains" (p. 31). Setting priorities and deploying your intellectual energies falls largely on you alone in an online course.

Language (3) if, of course, central, because you read lots of source materials and write all of your assignments. I devote special attention to helping you improve your writing skills.

Sequential ordering (5) is vital to setting up a series of activities and managing the time necessary to complete them. In most assignments, you must read several documents and other sources, organize the requisite information around what the assignment requires, and complete and submit the discussion or essay on time. "The most challenging and insidious sequence of all is called time. Sequential ordering forms the basis for time management." (p. 33).

Along with language skills, higher thinking (7) is vital in online learning. I've devised activities that go far beyond regurgitation and recitation. In most cases, you are working on comparisons, synthesis, interpretation, evaluation, and other high-level activities. Review Bloom's Taxonomy of Cognitive Levels for further explanation. "Higher thinking includes the ability to problem-solve and reason logically, to form and make use of concepts (such as mass in physics), to understand how and when rules apply, and to get the point of a complicated idea. Higher thinking also takes in critical and creative thinking." (p. 34).

Although less so than in a classroom setting, you will also work on social thinking skills (8). Because online communication lacks the visual data and nuances of face-to-face, you must be sensitive to how your typed words will be perceived and interpreted by your fellow students and by your instructor. Subtlety and irony are often lost on the web, so remember, no one can "hear" your voice or see you smiling; all they can do is read your words.