We have come to the break in the learning process (resounding “yay”) – the period of rest and leisure, when no formal teaching or learning takes place. A teacher’s beginning of the year nightmare is a second-year learner moving from first-year who’s forgotten how to... Conversely, a learner’s concern upon the discovery that s/he’s forgotten how to...is figuring out how s/he can determine that this apparent dis∙ability is her teacher’s fault.
This is a time when learners should be concerned with informal learning; not break from learning altogether. If your plan is to vegetate then know that your learning process is not suspended until the 1st of February when classes resume, but that your own internal processes (that make your learning connections) are thrust in a state of vegetation. And what teacher wants that as a learner?
Skill is ability; it may even be a talent, which implies competence. If that is to be “true” then we cannot accept that a second-year learner has “forgotten” all first year concepts in which they have achieved competence. As I always ask my own learners, “once you’ve learnt how to do something, how do you turn it off?” How do you turn your ability lame? And why would you put yourself though self-imposed impairment? Simple: do no thing. If you’re a student of the creative field this translates to creation. Create: no thing
We know that creation is not simply a process of construction; it is a problem solving process. Your brain has to be in a constant state of “creation” even when there seems nothing to construct. In Education we expect learners to allow their Operative (functional) Knowledge to kick in. This knowledge is operative rather than figurative (or symbolic) so it is suited to the Sciences rather than the Humanities. How this kind of knowledge relates to the Humanities is through the process of reflection.
Reflection refers to the ability of the mind to observe its own operations; so it emphasises hands-on problem solving. This means that while in practise, you cannot only be involved with the operations of the task, but with careful thought and consideration about what it is that you are doing when you are doing it. This not only involves the practical construction of the solution to a problem, but also the learner’s cognitive skills in reflection on the problem at hand, in addition to constructing a solution of that problem. In this regard, learners, (and not so much educators) have to focus on making connections between facts and fostering their own understanding even outside of the lecture room.
As a learner you have to determine why it is that you are learning:
- Are you learning to acquire marks? or
- Are you learning to become a practitioner in the creative fields?
Operative Knowledge implies an ability to generate knowledge. So if you’re studying to become a designer, you should be involved with the generation of design knowledge even in your down time: act like a designer, think like a designer; and see the world like a designer.
During this break, plan your time not only around passive gaming, or sleeping the days away. Plan your time around activities that will provide the necessary material to keep your skill alive: feed your imagination:
- If you must watch television, make sure to add programming that will teach you things about the world,
- If you must thumb through material, make sure to read a book that will inflame your imagination, and
- If you must chat, make sure to speak to someone whose mind fascinates you.
Ensure that during this downtime you become an interesting person to speak to. Happy Holidays
Writer / Tebogo Serobatse Photographer / Palapala
