“Human Behavior, Learning, and the Developing Brain”: Does Coaching Enhance Human Language Skills? Which Brain Parts Activated Through Coaching?

In the chapter of “Experience and Developmental Changes in the Organization of Language-Relevant Brain Activity,” the author elucidates the process of human language development in terms of cognitive neuroscience. As for the shaping new synapses and a new brain, Mills & Sheehan (2007) expounds: “experience plays an important role in shaping the organization of the brain for a variety of sensory and cognitive process such as music, face recognition, speech perception, and language development” (p. 183). 


After reading this sentence, I remembered my coaching session. In a coaching session, clients explore themselves and explain various kinds of things about a coaching topic. During the coaching session, I noticed that coaching process has the possibility to enhance clients’ cognitive and language development because they objectify themselves as possible as they can and try to describe themselves as detailed as possible by using language with dexterity in the coaching process. 


Furthermore, in my view, coaching is a kind of the non-ordinary experience in our daily life. The main reason is that there may not be more powerful opportunities to identify and dis-identify own than coaching. I assume that the extraordinary experience, coaching activates our brain, especially the part which we don’t usually stimulate. Also, I witnessed the situation several times that my clients’ words and language became crystallized gradually in my coaching session. Therefore, my interests are: Does coaching develop language skills (cognitive ability)? Which parts in a brain are activated through coaching?

Reference

I read this book because one of the editors is Dr. Kurt W. Fischer. He is a founder of “Mind, Brain, and Education” program at Harvard Graduate School of Education. I’m really interested in this new type of education program and his research topics.

“The Developing Mind”: Attachment Theory for Human Development

I came up with one thought after reading the description of attachment theory in this book. Siegel (1999) points out that it is important for parents to give enough attachment to their children, especially when their children are infants. Also, he describes the importance of attachment for infants in the following: “When children develop secure attachments to parents, these allow them to go out into the world to explore and develop relationships with others” (p. 71). 

I totally agree with his idea, but I think this theory is more versatile. In my view, something sacred phenomenon is occurring when parents and infants interact with each other. So, of course, the attachment to parents cultivates infants’ emotional and interpersonal competencies, but also I think that interaction with infants enriches parents’ emotional and interpersonal competencies. In that sense, I believe that attachment theory is not only for infants’ development but also for parents’ growth.

Reference:

Providing Coaching and Getting Coaching

Yesterday was a meaningful day for me as a coach. I can’t describe it well, but because I felt a “true human connection” between my client and I. Also, I noticed the moment during the coaching session was, sacred, holy, and blessed. Actually, I believe that my client’s Big Mind and Big Heart resonated with mine…The atmosphere during coaching session was like a concert of the masterpiece of symphony with  mixture of agony and jubilance. I’ve never “tasted” such a moment before. Yesterday’s experience ignited my heart and passion as a coach.

Also, I got coaching from my Integral Coach through Skype today. This was also an exceptional experience for me. She gave me not only feedback about my assessment of my clients but also plethora of insights toward my assessment, client’s coaching topic, and my “CWOB (Current Way of Being).” The coaching session with her was a succession of “aha moments.”

I really would like to continue to provide people who rely on me and need support with Integral Coaching, and I wish to keep on getting Integral Coaching from other coaches. Both of them are wonderful opportunity to interact with others deeply and accelerate not only clients’ and my psychological growth but also our quality of life. I believe so.

Harvard Graduate School of Education: Information Session @ San Francisco

Harvard Graduate School of Education: Information Session @ San Francisco

Yesterday, I participated in the information session for Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) programs. Actually, I’m intrigued by HGSE, especially Human Development and Education (Ed.D.), Human Development and Psychology (Ed.M.) and Mind, Brain, and Education (Ed.M.). After graduation from JFKU, I plan to go to the one of three (I’ll apply for the 2013-2014 academic year), but I needed more information. In that sense, yesterday’s information session was very helpful for me, so I’d like to share the information I got there.

1 What’s the difference between Ed.D. and Ed.L.D?

Ed.D is a really, really research based program.

2 Essay is critical for admission. You need to clarify at least the following questions.

-Who you are? What’s your experience? What brought you to HGSE?

-What’s your interest? What do you want to learn at HGSE?

-What’s your career vision? What do you want to do after HGSE?

In addition to the above questions, if you plan to apply for Ed.D programs, you need to make clear the following questions.

-What’s your research topic?

-Who do you want to work with?

3 Three Recommendation Letters

-Usually, the two are academic and the other is experiential.

4 Interview is only for Ed.L.D program.

5 Human development and psychology in Ed.M has a lot of research opportunities. The number of this program is the largest in HGSE.

If you apply for HGSE, please feel free to comment or contact me. Let’s share the information each other. Yohei

“The Origin of Minds”: Theory of Other Minds

I was really intrigued by the theory of other minds (ToOM). It is my understanding that ToOM is like an empathetic ability to understand other feelings, emotions, sensations, and thoughts. I totally acknowledge that ToOM can be called “Mind Read.” Because I’ve met many people who pointed out my emotion or feeling in that moment in a very precise way. 

However, I always had the following question: Why are they able to put themselves in my shoes so skillfully? After reading the mechanism of ToOM, I had an assumption in terms of neuroscience that they might have strong neuron networks to grasp “stimulus (I’m looking at a candy),” “state change (I’m motivated to eat it),” “behavior (I’m eating it),” “outcome (I feel happy).” How much robust network do they create?    

Reference

The Origin of Minds: Evolution, Uniqueness, and the New Science of the Self

Skinner's Model: Conditioning and Reinforcer

              Regarding the primary model of pathology in behaviorism, conditioning and reinforcement are the key concepts to adjust negative behaviors. Thus, I’d like to describe the mechanism of conditioning and reinforcement in the following.

              In the first place, Frager & Fadiman (2002) explicates that “the conditioning that takes place depends on what occurs after the behavior has been completed” (p. 252). The following example illustrates the idea of the conditioning. I have one client who wants to break the habit of biting his nail. But it seems difficult for him to stop that quickly because he has this habit for many years. So, I decided to give him a cigarette which is his favorite thing when he wants to bite his nail. Once he was able to stop biting his nail, I gave him a cigarette. Gradually, his negative habit was modified by the cigarettes. This reward may not be desirable, but the conditioning (especially, operant conditioning) is roughly the above process. To explain more about the characteristics of the conditioning, there are mainly three points. The first is that “conditioning can and does take place without awareness” (Frager & Fadiman, 2002, p. 253). In other words, our recognitions are affected by our past perceptions, and we are not aware of learning to respond to a conditioned response in our daily life. The second is that “conditioning is maintained in spite of awareness” (p. 253). To put it another way, we can be conditioned even though we perceive the process of conditioning. In a sense, we may not resist the conditioned responses by using awareness. The last is that “conditioning is less effective when the subject is aware but uncooperative” (p. 253). This means that a positive cooperation is required to modify a negative conditioning to positive one.

              In the second place, this is Skinner’s view: our all behaviors are created by a mixture of positive and negative reinforcers. Here, I’d like to clarify the meaning of both positive and negative reinforcers. In a word, a positive reinforcer is a stimulus that serves to increase the likelihood of the response that produces it. For instance, ice cream could be a positive reinforcer when we feel hot, and if we eat it, we tend to behave in the same way again on similar occasions. On the other hand, a negative reinforcer is a stimulus that works for decreasing the likelihood of the response that produces it (Frager & Fadiman, 2002). For example, turning off the radio when we attempt to work, and if turning off the radio increases the quality of our work, the stimulus of turning off the radio is a negative reinforcer.

              As the above described, the mechanism of conditioning and reinforcement will be key when we modify a certain habit.  

Reference

1 Personality and Personal Growth (6th Edition)

Mimic Wilber’s Writing and Speaking Style: Activate My Mirror Neuron

Seven months have passed since I came to USA. Honestly speaking, I’m still struggling with English every day (especially, when I express my thoughts, feelings, emotions, and sensations, it is still difficult for me to convey the deep sense of them to others), but my English seems to be improved, compared with the level right after my coming here, I want to believe so…

Actually, I have continued to copy (type) Wilber’s books every day in order to acquire his writing skill. In addition to that, I started to watch a Wilber’s DVD or videos and mimic his speaking style. This is a kind of shadowing method.

I hope that my mirror neuron will be activated, and I’ll be like Wilber someday. Please laugh at me, if I come to write and speak English like Ken Wilber. I think most people’s writing and speaking style are affected by someone else. That could be by parents, friends, teachers, etc. Fortunately or unfortunately, I grew up in Japan (Chinese characters, hiragana, katakana culture) for 25 years, so in a sense, my English is not strongly affected by someone else. This may mean that I can be anyone…