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UNIT 9 LEARNING [对应学生课时P244]
Ⅰ.阅读理解
A typical child plays many roles, such as friend, neighbor, son or daughter.Simply reminding children of that fact can lead to better problemsolving and more flexible thinking, according to new research from Duke University.
Better problemsolving was just one positive finding of the study, said lead author Sarah Gaither, an assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke.After thinking about their own various identities, children also showed more flexible thinking about race and other social groupings—a behavior that could be valuable in an increasingly diverse society.
In a series of experiments, Gaither and her colleagues looked at 196 children, ages 6 and 7.In an experiment, one group of children was reminded that they had various identities,such as son,daughter, reader or helper.A second group of children was reminded of their multiple physical attributes,such as a mouth,arms and legs.All the children then needed to handle a few tasks.
Children who were reminded of their various identities showed stronger problemsolving and creative thinking skills.When shown pictures of a bear staring at honeyfilled beehive(蜂窝)high up in a tree,these children had more creative ideas for how the bear might get the honey, such as turning over a bowl so that it became a stool(凳子).In other words, they saw a new use for the bowl.Children who were reminded of their multiple roles also showed more flexible thinking about social groupings.When asked to categorize different photos of faces, they suggested many ways to do so.They identified smiling faces such as unsmiling ones, and old and young faces.The other children,meanwhile, primarily grouped people's faces by race and gender(性别).
“The study suggests simple ways to promote flexible thinking for the young, which could be especially valuable for teachers.” Gaither said.
“We have this tendency in our society to only think about ourselves in connection with one important group at a t