Twelve Cognitive Processes That Underlie Learning 53

Twelve Cognitive Processes That Underlie Learning 53 these subconscious choices, then there is no need to fix anything. But often we might behave differently in how we treat others, if we real- ized what we were doing. Getting along with people is a very big part of life. Each of us has our own distinct personality and often it doesn’t match with our own ambitions and desires. To change our behavior, we need to practice new behaviors that become as natural to us as our old behaviors. The only way to do this is to do it. People can help point out what you are doing that isn’t helpful to your needs but that does not mean you can easily change. If you want to change, you need to try new behaviors and practice them. This can be coached. Practic- ing new behaviors and being critiqued can help greatly. Written com- munication is handled the same way. 2. Teamwork: Learning how to achieve goals by using a team, consciously allocating roles, managing inputs from others, coordinating actors, and handling conflicts It is the rare individual who works all alone. Most people need to work with others. Children are not naturally good at this and are taught to “share.” Then they sometimes do what is called “parallel play” where they play near one another doing different things. Get- ting kids to cooperate to do something together is not easy. Usually one wants to dominate the others. There is nothing wrong with this per se. People are who they are and they need to assume roles in any team that are consonant with their personalities. One person plays quarterback and another blocks. People do not have to do the same thing in order to work together. But they do need to get along and function as a team. This is no more true of sports than it is of the workplace. People learn to work in teams by working in teams and re- ceiving helpful advice when a team is dysfunctional. Football coaches explicitly teach this. More formal learning situations (like school) of- ten don’t, which is unfortunate. It really isn’t possible to get along in the real world unless you can assume various roles in a team that fit with who you are. 3. Negotiation: Making a deal; negotiation/contracts Contracts, formal and informal, are the basis of how we function. We reach agreements in business, in marriage, in friendship, in a store, HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_023799