5317 - Perusing and Sharing Publications

All three of the videos this week were wonderful! I was just having a conversation with a friend recently about the expectations of “academic” vs “non-academic” and how people learn to speak, write, and present themselves in a way to seem “smart”. We talked about how mindsets need to shift so we can learn from everyone and those that don’t have an academic background can take ownership of their intelligence and feel validated to share insight with the world on topics they know more about than others. When the video stated, “Many brilliant people think they are not because they are being judged against this particular view of mind”, I immediately thought of our conversation (RSA, 2010). This video was from 2010, and I do feel as though we have made progress in that area with social media. So many now can pick up their phone and record a video showing their knowledge and talents without anyone ever questioning their academic abilities. It’s a new world! I would love to see this continue into the academic setting and education shift where knowledge is more freely accepted and shared from all sources and levels of learner, even educators learning from their students. The video from Ramsey Musallam (n.d.) discussed the 3 rules to spark learning as the following:

1. Curiosity comes first

2. Embrace the Mess

3. Practice Reflection

While I have felt comfortable as an educator with sparking the curiosity of my students and practicing reflection, embracing the mess is where I struggle. I have a type-A personality in that I like things to be organized. Learning by doing can be messy and at times chaotic. I recall in my teaching internship, visiting a first-grade class with a teacher that allowed the students to explore and learn by doing. She had mastered COVA in her classroom, but it stressed me out to watch them buzzing about the room. It felt disorganized and all over the place, but the learning that took place was beautiful. I have thought back on her often as I go through the ADL program and think how traditional schooling sitting at a desk is a calmer environment but isn't learning. We need the mess, to let our brains be free to play. This is an area I will work on, embracing the mess in the future. Understanding that is where we will find the most learning potential. Steve Johnson (2010) spoke about something along the same lines saying that we are now more distracted but have so many more ways to connect with each other. This struck a chord with me and reminded me of my experience this past weekend with my small group partners, Karin and Stephen, as we worked together on our publication assignment. An assignment that would have taken me all weekend, we knocked out in a few hours. We bounced ideas off one another, finished each other’s sentences and thoughts, and filled in all the gaps by “reaching out, exchanging ideas, and borrowing hunches” from each other (Johnson, 2010). My mindset about group work has completely changed in this program. I look forward to working with others now and sharing my ideas. I am very interested in studying and writing about the benefits of virtual vs blended learning for adult learners. As we struggle with trying to find a balance between all virtual, all in-person, or hybrid working environments, I want to look deeper into the issues and benefits of each and find what may be the best environment for learning and how to find a balance. The following are journals I have recently found that I plan to dig deeper into: About the Journal | THEN: Technology, Humanities, Education & Narrative (thenjournal.org) Journal of Education: SAGE Journals (sagepub.com) References Musallam, R. (n.d.). 3 rules to spark learning. Www.ted.com. https://www.ted.com/talks/ramsey_musallam_3_rules_to_spark_learning RiverheadBooks. (2010). WHERE GOOD IDEAS COME FROM by Steven Johnson. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NugRZGDbPFU RSA. (2010). RSA ANIMATE: Changing Education Paradigms. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U