Flow

I wrote my first reflective writing in PIDP 3250 on the Flow theory concept. This is the quote that grabbed my attention from our textbook:
“Csikszentmihalyi’s (1993,1997) concept of “flow” describes states of deep intrinsic motivation that sound a lot like deep engagement. He proposes that when we experience flow, action and awareness merge. We are so absorbed in the task at hand that irrelevant stimuli disappear from consciousness, and worries and concerns are temporarily suspended. We lose track of time; in fact, it seems to pass faster. The activity becomes autotelic, or worth doing for its own sake (pp. 13).”
Reading this quote took me back to my childhood. I spent a memorable part of the summer after grade five reading Eclipse of the Crescent Moon by Geza Gardonyi which was our school’s summer reading recommendation. The siege of Eger, a beyond beautiful town in Hungary, in 1552 was an astonishing event. The story was an exciting tale of chivalry and love, adventures and disaster, heroes and villains, culminating in the siege itself. Gardonyi’s story, a convincing blend of history and fiction, has become a Hungarian literary classic and a firm favourite with adults and children alike. I hesitantly started to read the 550 page novel. It was a daunting task at first. I started to read right after lunch and the next thing I knew, my mom was calling me for dinner! As a child I did not understand, how time could escape without a trace. The summer’s recommended read was avoided for as long as possible. But after my first experience with deep engagement, the intrinsic motivation arrived. The dreadful summer read graduated to being a goal. The decision was made to do it and the ability surfaced. The next day I continued reading simply because I wanted to. I could hardly wait for school to re-open to team up with other students for discussions of the adventures this great book had taken us on.
Although this event of the summer after grade five stuck in my brain I did not have a clear explanation as to what happened and why I still remember it so vividly.
When I learned, we would be discussing the Flow theory I was looking forward to see my classmates opinions. I have learned from them that to achieve flow in a classroom setting is extremely challenging. As a teacher or instructor it is difficult to find the perfect balance between anxiety and boredom in order to provide the students with the opportunity to experience flow. However, once it is achieved,the flow provides time and space for students to accomplish something they never knew was possible.

Reference:

Gardonyi, G. (1967). Egri Csillagok.
Budapest, Szepirodalmi Konyvkiado
English translation by George F. Cushing (1991). Geza Gardonyi, Eclipse of the Crescent Moon
Budapest, Corvina
ISBN: 963 13 3372 8

Teachers are everybody, everywhere

I am finally getting to post my thoughts on the fantastic discussion topic of “Gogies”
My teacher-mate asked our group to post a “Bumper sticker” we think best describes an interesting resource we wish to share. We came up with many clever lines, some of them made me chuckle, some of them guided me to deeper thinking. The one I came up with was inspired by Education 3.0: “Teachers are everybody, everywhere.”
Education 3.0 is a relatively recent development, and, in my opinion, exists because of peerogogy and cybergogy.

Cybergogy stems from the need of distance students with diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds to generate a meaningful and engaging learning experience. With that latest need a new teaching and learning concept surfaced. The critical element of cybergogy is the aspiration to combine principals of both pedagogy and andragogy.
Youth and adults alike now are able to learn in a collaborative and virtual environment.
Peerogogy is when, in a group, each person plays the role of both learner and instructor. It is when collaboration multiplies and learning is more likely occur. It is essential for all to come with their own expertise, findings, and experiences about a topic. Because people learn most effectively when they interact with each others they are more engaged in the topic and their own learning.
In recent years I have been privileged to be part of collaborative learning in a virtual environment. I consider myself to be a curious person. Therefore I often attend classes in a non-formal setting. But, like many adults, I thought about it for awhile before I went back to school in order to better my social situation. The main reason for my procrastination was my misunderstanding around the cost of education. Once my concern was put to rest I realized that I already had the needed technology. In my eyes PIDP3250, so far, is the course that represents Education 3.0. Our Discussion Forum challenges us and teaches us how to be teachers and students at the same time. By working along side each other we are finding answers to our own questions, and solutions to our problems. During one of our discussions about classroom management the idea of the use of humour came up. Evidently we all had our own opinion and so did our instructor. I am pleased to see, “Humour (turning ha ha into AHA)” now is a new Discussion Forum topic. How exciting it is to see our collaboration manifest into reality.

Reference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXi_XiMH6CI

4 minutes a day

4 minutes a day

The Discussion Forum I had a privilege to facilitate was about questioning techniques. While I was working hard to prepare, I found a TedTalk by Hal Gregersen, 2013, “How to Ask the Right Question” His words resonate with me on many levels, and open up a brand new world at the same time.

As new parents, my husband and I decided that I would dedicate the first three years to be a stay at home mom with our daughter. It was not an easy decision to make as in Canada, at that time, six months was the average moms were able to stay home with their new borns. In Hungary, where I am originally from, moms are able to stay at home for the first three years of their children’s lives. It has been discussed many times over, and a conclusion has been made, that there are many deciding factors in order to build a long lasting, quality relationship between parents and children. One of the most important factors in our lives turned out to be: BE THERE. As Gregersen talks about this and shows a picture of the little girl with her grandfather I am thinking about our daughter. As a baby she could not verbalize her questions yet but they were there, in her eyes. I was lucky enough to be there at those moments to provide answers, with my eyes. I feel, because of it, we were able to build an illuminating bond for life. The questions have changed over the years. All the way from “How fast the Christmas Angle have to fly across the world to bring Grandma’s gift from Hungary?” to “Why are humans cruel to animals?” As time goes by the answers to her questions are getting harder and harder to find. Thank goodness for Google. Sometimes we use it as a family activity. Never the less, my husband and I have been able to create and maintain an environment of trust where our daughter is free to ask questions. And the prof of that is that her questions are keep on coming every day.

“Innovators who change the world ask questions that disrupt the world.” (Gregersen, 2013, How to Ask the Right Question) This quote made a great impact on me. Gregerson talks about the minds of some of the greatest innovators in the world including Steve Jobs, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Apple Inc., and Jeff Bezos, Founder, Chairman and CEO of amazon.com. They all have asked daring questions which guided them in the direction of great discoveries. Humanity continues to need innovators with disrupting questions. As adults, some of our jobs are to provide safe conditions for our children to ask, and listen to their questions. There are countless solutions waiting to be discovered by the next generations.

Changes in my professional life are forcing me to ask myself questions. I am most likely not alone with my story of “monkey brain” where before bedtime one’s brain just cannot relax. Gregerson’s 4-24 Project inspired me to start writing my questions down. He is right, it never takes longer than 4 minutes. With that activity I am learning not to only organize but also to reword my questions. Over time it became easy to recognize and cross off questions that no longer have any purpose. It is powerful to see how my questions are evolving one day to the next, taking me closer and closer to the solution I never noticed before.

It has been a great adventure to look at the world of questions in a brand new way.
Resource:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APVaTRNQmJc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APVaTRNQmJc

Introverts and Extroverts

Introverts and extroverts
As Susan Cain (2012) said in her TEDTalk, titled: “The power of introverts”: “We should work really hard to be outgoing.” Her statement was employed from a childhood experience where she was asked to be “rowdie.”
Susan’s camp story surprised me. I have a camp story but contrary to her my preparation for that exciting experience was completely different. My older brother had been to summer camps before and I, needless to say, felt jealous listening to his colourful stories after coming home from those great adventures. But the day came when it was my turn to live the life. I was daydreaming for weeks ahead. I imagined how I would feel and what I would do. I imagined the warmth of the sunshine on my skin, and how happily we would play in the pool, the cozy campfires, and adventure hikes in the forest. I do not recall our camp leader’s exact welcome words. She could have misspelt rowdy, or any other words for that matter, I was taken by her charisma. I was ready to be a part of a rowdy but good-natured crowd.
As I was watching the video, I found Susan’s personality to be easygoing, open, and care-free. It is possible that she falls in the category of “outgoing introvert” which is an oxymoron but for people who fall into this category, life can be an unusual mix of traits and tendencies that the whole world can appreciate. The quest to educate the rest of us about introverts provides fuel to perform the very task which is opposite to her disposition. Introverts will devote their energy to a small group of people they care about the most, socialize with a close friend to a party full of strangers. Standing in front of hundreds, possibly thousand, of people talking about her most inner feelings is anything but that. I admire her strength. I have also learned that introverts think before they speak, have a more deliberate approach to risk, and enjoy solitude and often creative pursuits. They feel energized when focusing deeply on a subject or activity they are really curious about. When they are in overly stimulating environments they tend to feel overwhelmed. They seek out environments of peace, sanctuary, and beauty. Their active inner lives are at their best when they tap into its wealth. I never thought about introverts this way before. I misconstrued their quiet disposition as shyness. But Susan helped me to understand that many introverts socialize easily they just strongly prefer not to. Two thirds of my immediate family are introverts so now I feel propelled to understand them at a deeper level. In order to do that it was time to study my own disposition a little bit closer. As an extrovert I relish social life and am energized by interacting with friends and strangers alike. I am assertive, a go-getter, and able to seize the day. Given the choice, I prefer more stimulating environments that give me frequent opportunities to see and speak with others. When I am in quiet environments I am prone to feel bored and restless. I am actively engaged in the world around me and at my best when I tap into its energy. I am relatively comfortable with conflicts and it is easy for me to think on my feet. There are many instances where my quick suggestions, for example: we should go out to dine instead of staying in as it was planned originally, created a big discussion in my family. However over time I learned different strategies with how to cope with my lovely introverts. For example, I try to provide them with some introduction before I launch my crazy ideas. And my family also learned not to use the default answer, which is “NO”, when I blurt out my next mighty idea without introduction. On a good day they ask me more questions which guides me back to the start where I should have set out from on the first place.

Research has shown that extroverts and introverts process information differently using different parts of the brain. ”The extrovert draws upon small amounts of information in his short term memory in developing his thoughts, while the introvert recalls thoughts stored in his long term memory to build more complex associations. The introvert needs more time, therefore, to develop his ideas and express them.” (Isaacs, 2009, “Introverted Students in the Classroom”) I understand, this is a spectrum and most of us lie anywhere along that spectrum. Allowing students to prepare questions at home by assigning the material for the next class discussion in advance can help. It is possible that the flipped classroom method may be the ultimate way of learning for the introvert. Another fantastic way to help introverts in the classroom is to encourage them to explain some material to others who recognizes the intelligence in them. As a future Nursing Unit Assistant Instructor now I can armour myself with awareness about extroversion and introversion. I will be able to help my students to their highest potential by applying this newly learned knowledge by creating a student centred classroom.
Resources:
http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-and-learning/introverted-students-in-the-classroom-how-to-bring-out-their-best/

The Quiet Revolution Personality Test