Knots, blogs, learning, and all that jazz!!!!

I'm sure I speak for the class when I say everyone will remember our first learning experience with Donovan. We were engaged in making Bowline knots, and Donovan was very committed to educating everyone until there was a room full of wonderfully tied ropes! I paid close attention to the ways he taught us this handy skill. He demonstrated making the knot for learners that learn visually, he gave us a handout for students that prefer to follow an instruction sheet, and encouraged the ones who caught on more quickly to share with peers still trying to grasp the task.

We have been learning through and with each other. Blogs are one of the most interesting and effective learning experiences I've had thus far in post-secondary education. I have often written papers or my position on things I am learning about in class only to have it viewed by one set of eyes. There have been times when I have said to myself 'I wish more people could read this'. I have shared writings with family or friends, but it's different when you are sharing it with people who are involved in the course readings, lectures, and discussions. It’s a good feeling to know that the hard work I put into my Blogs will be viewed by many people. And unlike a paper that is passed in and then returned with a grade, this social media experience allows readers to access the blogs over and over again. I have really enjoyed sharing my thoughts and learning with our community of practice. The blogs compliment our small group and/or class discussions as we have been referring to our peer's blog posts when engaged in conversations. During our last class we negotiated meaning to come up with collective definitions of the combined learning ideals from Tomasello, Wenger, and Bracher. Through our mutual engagement we discussed the readings and individual blogs to assist with definition negotiation.



At this point I would like to share a brief description of my Practicum and Project courses that I just completed as part of the Lifelong Learning graduate degree requirements. For both of these courses I decided to use my background in the Arts to illustrate lifelong learning. For those of you that missed my Academic Poster Presentation a couple of weeks ago, I’ll give a quick account of my Practicum experience. I facilitated a workshop at a local organization called reachAbility for people with disabilities. I utilized theatre skills to enhance self-confidence and develop job interview skills. Research shows that people with disabilities have lower self-esteem and are unemployed more than people without disabilities. Therefore adult education with goals such as increasing confidence and becoming more employable are beneficial for people with disabilities. For my project paper I focused on the impact that the Arts have on adult education. I’m a true believer in the multiple learning that occurs through arts-based education.



What am I trying to say here? That everyone learns differently, and that creativity in education teaches more than the intended skills of the Arts domain. I believe that Donovan started our learning off with “how to tie a Bowline knot” for many reasons other than just to teach us this skill. First of all, he must have wanted us to explore the ways we learn. After all, Lifelong Learning Processes is about ‘learning how we learn’ from different perspectives. This rope exercise is also a way for Donovan to share a part of his identity with us in a creative way. From now on, every person I meet that possess a strong interest for sailing, I will remember that I had a professor that was passionate about the same thing, and that he taught me a valuable skill for this recreational hobby. I’m sure another objective for teaching us to tie a Bowline was to have the class engage in an icebreaker activity. Chlup & Collins (2010) suggest that icebreakers are an effective tool for adult learners in that they “help group members get acquainted and begin conversations, relieve inhibitions or tensions between people... brings humor into the class, establishes rapport, fosters a safe learning environment, and overall assists with content learning” (p. 34).                                                                                                                                                       



From a personal perspective, I owe a lot of credit to my background experiences in theatre and dance. The skills I have developed far surpass the immediate goal of acting and dancing techniques, and span across multiple areas of my intellectual, social, and emotional learning. What I have learned through the Arts has shaped my identity, increased my academic success, and developed my social skills. Memorizing lines for a 2-hour production makes studying for exams a breeze, performing in front of large crowds is a major confidence booster, and reciting monologues on stage is great practice for public speaking skills. My love and respect for the benefits that the Arts have on learning is something that I hope others will explore by trying to integrate the Arts into teaching practices for adult learners.

References

Bracher, M. (2006). Radical pedagogy: Identity, generativity, and social transformation. New York:
            Palgrave Macmillian.

Chlup, D. T., & Collins, T. E. (2010). Breaking the ice: Using icebreakers and re-energizers with
            adult learners. Adult Learning, 21(3-4), 34-39. Retrieved from ERIC database.

Tomasello, M. (1999). The cultural origins of human cognition. Cambridge Mass.: Harvard
            University Press.

Wenger, E. (1999). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity (1st ed.). New York:
            Cambridge University Press.