Dr. "Chuck" Tinney earned BS and MS degrees in electrical engineering and communications from Brigham Young University; PhD in biomedical engineering from the University of Utah; BS, MS, and PhD degrees in physics and physics education from Utah State University. As well as having worked in industry as an engineer, he spent nearly 30 full-time years teaching at the university level. He has taught more than fifty different courses in physics, math, electrical engineering, electronics technology, and mechanical engineering. He has published in refereed journals, developed research, and patented research.
Through his teaching, Dr. Tinney found that most education systems (including high school), principally reward students who are good test takers, which leaves a vast majority of students to perform minimally, who are weeded out of advanced programs, or who fail because of poor performance. Dr. Tinney has developed a system of learning that allows any individual to learn and succeed - from pre-high school through college and beyond. Every student is given an equal opportunity to learn at his or her own pace. This philosophy facilitates students by incorporating mental preparation tips that speed the mind's learning processes (and which also helps to provide lifelong learning benefits and to achieve successful relationships in the workplace and the home).
The interactive educational programs are designed for math, science, and engineering courses, acting as private tutors from whose 'minds' the student can probe for basic principles and instruction. The program incorporate looping the student back to basic principles, equations, and problems, in which he or she lacks understanding. The program provides lectures and shows the correct steps to solutions of example problems. The algebra and physics programs cover complete one-year courses of lectures, homework problem sets, helps, reviews, quizzes, and exams. They are complete courses for pre-high school, high school, or university in-class or on-line study programs, home schools, an aid to instructors, or simply as a review.
Knowing that time is valuable, coursework programs are a boon for instructors. The interactive programs track individual student scores, grades, statistics, and related teaching information for each student. Security measures are built into the program for secured access by the students and/or the instructor.
Did you ever feel like you were drowning in your schoolwork? Couldn't keep up? Couldn't retain what you learned? Couldn't perform on exams? Ever felt like math and science courses were the most dreaded, ever? If the answer is yes, then take a moment to see how Dr. Tinneys philosophy of learning can help you. The courses in math and physics have lectures, built-in helps, reviews, problem sets, quizzes, and exams that allow the student to build an understanding of the principles taught. There is no guesswork or multiple choice; only well-written simple explanations to help the student learn.
Before learning about any new topic, whether it is language, mathematics, science, or philosophy (this applies to learning anything, whether in the classroom, on the job, at home, or life), you must first mentally prepare yourself in order to be able to use your maximum logical learning capabilities. You already possess the potential for learning. How you prepare your mind to learn will determine how much and how quickly you learn. Dr. Tinney introduces frame-of-mind changes that will help an individual be successful in learning anything - and in this case, it is math, science, and engineering. These exercises (a way of life) remove mental barriers to learning - barriers such as anger, frustration, blaming, etc. Other mental barriers come in the form of feelings or statements that we have often heard: "My professor is the worst ever; I couldn't learn a thing; It is her fault I am in this mess; He made me mad, or sad, or frustrated; I was so worried because...; If I weren't so dumb; Math is too hard; I'd sure like to get even; I feel so guilty." Eliminating these barriers frees the mind, leaving it open and ready to receive new and positive input. To better focus the mind on learning, the student can better take ownership of what he or she learns.
How then, can we as individuals start with a clean slate and rid ourselves of baggage we have carried around for years? An individual must understand a few important things before the mind can be free to learn and retain thought. One is that each individual is of infinite worth, no matter where he or she is in the progression through life. Another is that every individual has a purpose to perform in life. Keeping that in mind, here is a simple method (once you get the hang of it) that prepares your mind to learn efficiently. Let's say that at this very moment, part of your purpose is to learn physics, math, or English. Think of the acronym AARF. The first A is for Agency. The second A is for Accountability. The R is for Responsibility. The F is for Facilitation.
Agency is the most important and fundamental knowledge-learning concept that you must master in preparing yourself for the pursuit of real happiness and joy in life. Agency is choice. It is, 'what I wish to be is up to me.' Think back as far as you can, and you will find that your life has been a series of choices, good or poor. Granted, parents, teachers, bosses, etc., have outlined much of your of life, and some choices have been beyond your control. Yet, you alone have made the decision on how you will act or react to those decisions. How you react determines whether your mind remains clear or confused. You choose to keep or give up portions of your agency. (You can give up your Agency and be mad or sad; or you can keep your Agency and discover what it is you need to learn from the experience, or how you can remain positive.) Choosing negative agencies (anger, jealousy, hurt, pride, defeat, etc.), diminish one's ability to learn. When you 'lose' these negative attributes, you have already chosen happiness, success, and inner peace. You can move forward. Engage in the philosophy of eliminating the negative and accentuating the positive. This makes room in your mind for true learning (and good health!).
When I 'write my own story' by using my Agency to make choices, I am Accountable for those choices. For example: If I choose to work hard, I will succeed. If I choose not to lie or steal, I will be mentally at peace and out of jail. If I choose to serve others, both the giver and the receiver will be happier. If I choose to do my best, I will be happy with my best. It's up to me. We are Accountable for how we use our Agencies.
Understanding now that I have Agency to control my thoughts and feelings, and I am accountable for every one of my actions, I must then show Responsibility to others. Taking Responsibility prompts us not to say or do anything that will cause someone else to lose his or her agency. We have a Responsibility to try to understand others, their actions, opinions and feelings. Mentally walking in another's shoes helps us understand them, thereby making it possible for us to respond with positive Agency. For example, if an individual routinely loses his or her agency (i.e. gets mad), or chooses to use it in a hurtful way, then I have a Responsibility not to do anything that would cause that person to be offended or misuse his or her Agency. (This could be equated to the principle of loving your neighbor as yourself - or the Golden Rule - to do unto others as you would have them do to you.)
Facilitation is helping others recognize the positive power of their Agency. For an instructor (teacher, supervisor, parent), whatever concept he or she would like to have developed and made a part of the student's understanding, that instructor will do his or her best to help the student find it. It is bringing out the student's understanding from within, and helping him or her take ownership of it. In the process, the student discovers he is teaching himself, and he now owns his information. Retention of principles and facts increase dramatically with the use of Facilitation.
To the Student: How does AARF help you learn math or physics? It is the power of positive thinking plus the power of work, along with an interactive education program that helps the student succeed through facilitation. When the coursework is completed, each student will own the concepts he or she has learned. Sharing the principles that students have learned, facilitates the learning of others as well as for themselves. AARF clears the mind and enables true learning to take place, the mind becoming unfettered by feelings of worry, discouragement, anger, blaming, and more. AARF is a lifelong activity. Take the leap and discover what you can accomplish! This interactive program is for you! It is designed for your success! It can increase your grade scores on the average by at least 20%. The principles of AARF will enhance lifelong learning and happiness.
Dr. Chuck Tinney
