My first thought when asked to recount my most memorable learning experience was that I haven't had any. After a while, though, a few incidents began to emerge. I remember 2 or 3 incident which concerned my own self study into ideas that fascinated me and I think that the readings I did for both my Master's and Doctoral studies fit into this pattern. I remember following chains of ideas from book to book and the ideas I read about being so relevant to my life and work that it was almost like being hit over the head, I kept wanting to shout 'yes, that's what I meant, that's exactly it'.
However, the memorable experience I want to discuss happened when I was much younger. When I was about 12 years old, I was a member of the scouts for a few years and each summer we would have a week long camping trip. This incident occurred on a trip to Wales, where we camped near a town called Dolgellau under a mountain called Cader Idris. One evening, my group were asked to construct that day's fire, but we were given no materials with which to do so. We had to find all we needed, light the fire and ensure its survival ourselves. By this time, we had discovered that we needed a range of different size wood (kindling, small and then larger branches) and that the wood should be dead and dry (not easy to find in wet Wales). So, we set off into the woods to collect a range of wood. Having done that, we returned to the campsite, in order to light the fire. We spent a long time collecting different stones and rocks (and we stole a sheet of newspaper off a scout master), we then took it in turns to rub rocks, paper and dry kindling together to make a spark. Finally, after what seemed hours of frantic rubbing, changing places and moaning, we managed to light some of the wood which spat fitfully in short, small flames. Careful nurturing - the placing of other stones in a circle around it to protect it from the wind - and judicious blowing meant that after a time our flame became more self sufficient, so we were able to place larger and then larger pieces of wood on to the fire.
Finally, after perhaps 2 hours extremely tense effort, we were able to stand around, warm our hands and admire the flames we had created. Looking back from my perspective now, it seems the characteristics that made this a memorable learning experience were that it was a collaborative endeavour, highly practical but with no time limit to its conclusion. It also had a clear, achievable (if difficult) aim which provided us with a sense of satisfaction. There was also a definite, positive payoff - we got to be warm that evening. It was also noticeable that the task appealed to different peoples' skills and knowledge, so all were able to contribute. Perhaps one final characteristic is that the aim was to develop contextualised skills rather than a one way transmission of decontextualised knowledge. As learners, therefore, we were able to own the knowledge once we had constructed it through practice. This is in contrast to the effect that would have been created if a teacher had told us how to create a fire.
However, the memorable experience I want to discuss happened when I was much younger. When I was about 12 years old, I was a member of the scouts for a few years and each summer we would have a week long camping trip. This incident occurred on a trip to Wales, where we camped near a town called Dolgellau under a mountain called Cader Idris. One evening, my group were asked to construct that day's fire, but we were given no materials with which to do so. We had to find all we needed, light the fire and ensure its survival ourselves. By this time, we had discovered that we needed a range of different size wood (kindling, small and then larger branches) and that the wood should be dead and dry (not easy to find in wet Wales). So, we set off into the woods to collect a range of wood. Having done that, we returned to the campsite, in order to light the fire. We spent a long time collecting different stones and rocks (and we stole a sheet of newspaper off a scout master), we then took it in turns to rub rocks, paper and dry kindling together to make a spark. Finally, after what seemed hours of frantic rubbing, changing places and moaning, we managed to light some of the wood which spat fitfully in short, small flames. Careful nurturing - the placing of other stones in a circle around it to protect it from the wind - and judicious blowing meant that after a time our flame became more self sufficient, so we were able to place larger and then larger pieces of wood on to the fire.
Finally, after perhaps 2 hours extremely tense effort, we were able to stand around, warm our hands and admire the flames we had created. Looking back from my perspective now, it seems the characteristics that made this a memorable learning experience were that it was a collaborative endeavour, highly practical but with no time limit to its conclusion. It also had a clear, achievable (if difficult) aim which provided us with a sense of satisfaction. There was also a definite, positive payoff - we got to be warm that evening. It was also noticeable that the task appealed to different peoples' skills and knowledge, so all were able to contribute. Perhaps one final characteristic is that the aim was to develop contextualised skills rather than a one way transmission of decontextualised knowledge. As learners, therefore, we were able to own the knowledge once we had constructed it through practice. This is in contrast to the effect that would have been created if a teacher had told us how to create a fire.
Hi Neil, it is interesting to read your memorable learning experience. I believe that we remember the old experiences more than the more recent ones. I hope that by the end of the course we could identify how we learn and improve our teaching skills.
ReplyDeleteIt is great to know that you lived at my home country Egypt at some point. I would like to know more about this experience soon.
Hi Manal, my first teaching job was in Egypt and it too was a formative learning experience in many ways. Firstly, it was when I realised that I wanted to teach, but it was also my first experience of living in a different country and culture. Driving in Cairo, was certainly an interesting experience. Although I haven't been back to Egypt for a long time, I have a affection for the country and would like to visit my old haunts once again.
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