“Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up.” ---Jane Yolen
Just this morning, a colleague and I were thinking about ways to help students to value practicing something that they THINK they already know; how do you help them to see that without practice, most any new skill weakens or becomes obliterated from your capabilities?
I think about what I know about this (as an adult/educator). I know that learners are more willing to work under certain conditions:
· The learning deepens existing areas of expertise through building on competence—starting with where I am/what I know and moving forward quickly and building upon my interests/choices.
· Activities provide engaging, purposeful (“in the moment”) work that is appropriately challenging with enough time provided to allow me to do it well without time to get bored (brisk but not rigid). Does the learner see the activity or learning as relevant? (Vygotsky's "Zone of Proximal Development")
· Learning goals are clear
· Opportunities are provided to practice in a variety of contexts
·Feedback is immediate and constructive, perpetually and gradually moving me forward as a learner
·Learning is constructed through use of social relationships
·Choice is provided as often as possible
Interest plays a role and can be encouraged through inquiry and questioning as well as most every aspect of the above list.
There really isn’t such a phenomenon as “overnight success,” is there? Why don’t we talk about “gradual success” or “daily success”? If we learn from our mistakes or misconceptions, this implies that we must take action in order to learn—even if the action is imperfect.
When we are in a hurry—to complete a practice or even to create change—we often wonder why the learner simply doesn’t “just do it.” Wouldn’t that be convenient? But when we think about what we know about creating conditions for learning, we can probably locate the struggle (beyond arrogance or laziness).
Sometimes the problem is time, understanding, feedback… and sometimes, in a moment, we just don’t see how this activity or learning is relevant to life—we think we’ll practice when we need it or when we feel like it on some other day.
Most of the gains and differences made in life start with baby steps, like choosing a healthy snack while dieting long-term… or jotting for 10 minutes in your writing notebook. These things ultimately make a difference by gradually building different habits in our lives; actions DO make a difference. Bit by bit, day by day, a life is built.
Learning, like life, is not really about the “big” moments—a wedding, a birth/death, a holiday, an anniversary—it’s about the daily living and choices that we make (and, hopefully celebrate) with each breath of each moment. That’s what defines who we are and who we will become.
In his book, LEADERSHIP GOLD: LESSONS I’VE LEARNED FROM A LIFETIME OF LEADING, John C. Maxwell advises, “Leadership develops daily, not in a day.” Isn’t this true about most everything? Certainly it’s true for writers, scientists, mathematicians, doctors—and, yes, teachers. Even conditions— depression, happiness, joy, weight gain/weight loss, saving money, gaining knowledge, etc., all occur over time.
Maxwell goes on to say, “You don’t need a lot of major breakthroughs to achieve dramatic results.” He contends that the toughest person to lead is YOURSELF.
So what will YOU do today to lead yourself and to define your life?
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