What Makes People Tick?

The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is a concept I learnt about while studying to be a teacher. The ZPD describes the learning that a student needs to do to get from where they are now and what they know at present to where they can get to and what they will know with help. I found it an interesting concept and enjoyed learning about it and seeing it happening right in front of my eyes while at job placements.  The 'creator' of the concept, Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934), describes it much better than I do:  The zone of proximal development (ZPD) is " the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable peers "  Lev Vygotsky, 1978 * In my words, Vygotsky thought that children learn better when inspired / helped / assisted by adults or other (sometimes older) childre...

It's a Sunday afternoon. The streets outside are wet - I can hear the cars driving through the rainwater that's left on the road. I should be doing so many things, yet "you should be..." is the last thing I feel like hearing from anyone today, including myself. I'm feeling a bit melancholy today. Feeling a bit over-extended, a bit worn down, washed out, used up. I don't feel like being productive today or doing my best to be great at something. I just want to be . Today I don't want clichés or upbeat statements that really say nothing at all, I want peace and quiet and maybe, just maybe, some positivity. So, I decided to look up some quotes on Goodreads to do with being happy, appreciating what life gives you, smiling through the tears, seeing the silver lining, believing in the positive... And all that even after saying that I wanted nothing to do with clichés today...

Browsing Live Science today, I came across several interesting articles that I wanted to share with our readers. They are from the Human Origins section , or were found using that page as a starting point. My description wouldn't do the complexity of the matters they deal with justice, so I'll let them explain in their own words: "Humans are unique creatures on the planet, though it wasn't always this way. Long ago, some bizarre human relatives, such as Nutcracker Man and a Homo species whose miniature bodies resembled the hobbits on Lord of the Rings, roamed Earth. Scientists are even finding evidence that modern humans crossed paths with some of our relatives, with fossils suggesting Homo sapiens may have had sex with Neanderthals and even a newly discovered species called the Denisovans. In news and features, we will cover human evolution and origins, revealing the mysteries of humanity, details on human ancestors and the evolutionary steps that led to modern h...

When I studied Teaching at University, we learnt about lots of relevant and interesting subjects. Not only did we learn 'basics' like (how to teach) science, mathematics, languages and technology, we also learnt a lot of theories. At first, the theories puzzled us slightly yet after the first year or so, we started seeing the connections between all the different subjects we were studying. "Seeing the connections" was something that happened gradually, yet our entire class of 20-30 women got there around the same time. It was a shared process of discovery in which we learnt from each other and with each other and were able to grow and change our insights together.

"When Personality Traits Match Job, Employees Succeed." It sounds so simple when I read the words, almost like a 'wise saying' that could be attributed to a great leader or philosopher of the past. Yet apparently it's not quite that simple because if it were, this simple statement wouldn't be "new research". A September 2013 article from Business News Daily explains: "Bosses may want to take some more time finding out what drives their employees. New research suggests that matching the motivations and personality traits of workers with their job duties plays a big role in the success of not only those employees, but their companies as well." So - let me get this straight... Research indicates that people are more likely to succeed at work if they do a job that matches their interests, motivation and personality. Wait, what was it that I wrote earlier about attributing a statement like this to a great philosopher of the past? How about ...

"Oh come on, you know you want to share it so Go On!" is exactly what went through my head as I saw this image. So here goes! Another one for Earth Day ! Source: Boomer Muse by Layla Morgan Wilde

Tuesday the 22nd of April 2014. Otherwise known as "today". Facebook and Google tell me that today is Earth Day . Google even created a very nice Doodle to mark the occasion. Maybe it´s just me, but this particular Doodle reminds me a bit of drawings by artist Marjolein Bastin that I simply adore! To honour Earth Day, one of my favourite Facebook pages posted an image that - as happens from time to time ;-) - got me thinking. It seems to me that I fucking love science has a very good point! Photo source: I fucking love science on Facebook "Imagine If Trees Gave Off  Wifi Signals, We Would  Be Planting So Many Trees  And We'd Probably Save  The Planet Too. Too Bad They  Only Produce The  Oxygen We  Breathe."