My Karma?

And Eva said: “Decide what you would like to learn – something somewhat significant”

….and I face my long-life-problem, again.

I am a pretty good student, I started and finished two master degrees and numerous courses and certificates. I also have learnt lots of topics, by researching, reading, even writing about them. I feel comfortable among books, and diverse knowledge is something that I value…..but it does not means that I have a clear desire about the topics that I may learn. This questioning about my vocation is not new, I have just decided to do not ask myself again about it and…. Eva posted this question…. I had to face it once again.

So, I did what I did many times, I just listed some thing that I do not mind to know. (which is far from “significant”).

I delete from the list those things that required much more resources that the ones that I could have around me.

I phoned a friend who knows quite a lot about photography and I explain her that I am not passionate about it, but I need something, significant, to learn. She was trying to tell me that I will love it. I remembered that not so many people understand my lack of passion about things… mainly because when I present a topic I act in a way that everyone believe that I am truly in love with it…. Maybe the passion it is just the storytelling.

I researched a little bit about the topic in Internet. We talked by Skype, and finally we met.

I focused on the topic and I truly learnt some stuff about it. Now, my simple phone-photos are better. I appreciate that, is useful and easy applicable.

Extrapolating my feeling towards possible students, make me ask myself again (it is not the first time, and it will not be the last one, for sure) what I may do when a student is not deeply interested. One lesson that may apply is separate the objective in baby-steps. If so, almost everything is achievable. If the student is aware of the rationale of the task, and you give him/her a way to do it step by step, putting not a huge amount of effort each due date, the student will achieve the success. Presenting an assignment, for example, as a project with different tasks and different due dates, make the lack of interest more manageable, the success achievable, and the effort acknowledged.

 

Do you want to know a bit more about project management?

https://due.com/blog/how-to-manage-a-project-from-start-to-finish/

Make me care

My Mother was an artist, my Father and engineer… somehow the creativity and logic blended on my person. I became a Story-Teller, as my dearest colleagues defined me.

Working in the anxiety era and with lots of demotivation challenges within the profit Companies, the idea to find the way to make promises to my audience that it is worth to keep paying attention, is crucial.

Because it is in my nature, and much more because it works, telling stories is the solution. Asking the people to complete them adding their own experiences is a highly motivator, connect the theory with daily anecdotes helps the logic of the understanding and gives the opportunity to find meaningfulness to the effort.

One of the topics that I keep researching and I facilitated a lot is the impact of the different generations at workplace.

Connecting every generation specifics with real people, maybe you own uncle or niece, your boss or your father, shows a credible, tangible, story about the topic.

Making some fun (humour is very important in stories) with toddler’s stories and how we raised them to became the actual Millenians enrich and explain perfectly well the theory and the impact of this generation at workplace and in their relation with their baby boomers’ bosses.

Splitting the class in two, asking the youngers to describe the Baby Boomers and the opposite (the BB to describe the Gen Y) is an excellent activity to show the perceptions and mental models behind some asseverations.

Enjoy this precious Filmmaker Andrew Stanton («Toy Story,» «WALL-E») Ted Talk to illustrate this topic.

https://www.ted.com/playlists/62/how_to_tell_a_story

And as the Jewish proverb said: What is truer than truth? : Stories.

Flipping your imagination

I came frome a creative family and I became a creative professional. The article «The Flipped Classroom Unplugged: Three Tech-Free Strategies for Engaging Students» let me think about my actions and the way that I prepare classes.

I am 51, I am a digital immigrant… there is not point to avoid this. Technology is for me a tool, sometimes an wierd one, it is not in my bones, it is just like the spoon when I am cooking. I need it, yes, but it is not essential, because I may replace it with other way to do things. My audiences varies but are most adults from Corporate Business. Adults who, nowadays, need to be unplugged once in a while. It is very difficult for them, a challenge to face in a classroom but allow the possibility to facilitate activities almost everywhere.

I like to say that requires lot of previous hard work in designing a flipped class to show a relaxed but constructive environment. Mosaics and draws, choreograpies, theatre scenes or radio auditions, games where the body is involved or the out ob the box thinking is the clue to solve them, are some of the ways that I use to flipp classes having always in my mind the way to debrief and connect the outcomes with the topic that I were introducing.

Read the article here: The Flipped Classroom Unplugged: Three Tech-Free Strategies for Engaging Students

Max and the University of Youtube

«Why Student-Centered Learning Can Change the World» is an articule wrote by Tina Barseghian in 2013 invited me to think about the way that my own are learns. My son is 10 years old, he is a very good student. We have no complains !.

I observe him in what way I have searched from information. Youtube is a kind of Üniversity «for him.He searches the topics that appeal to his interest and may spend long periods of time fascinated about the images.When he peaks a topic he navigates to find different aspects of it.Many
times (not always) These teachers, like the article said, would fluctuate between facilitators and «gate-openers» of the students’ curiosity. They use their interests to cover the expected and, I am pretty sure that they Learn a lot with each class. It is a great way to engage students and also to show that knowledge is everywhere !.

Enjoy Tina’s article here:   Why Student-Centered Learning Can Change the World

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