Hello from Bluefield, Virginia!
In the previous newsletter, I discussed schema, conceptual models, and learning. Schema are small parts of knowledge and skills; combining schema creates conceptual models. These ideas combine to form my definition for learning: “Learning is the process of creating, modifying, linking, and applying conceptual models.”
Here is Belcher’s Model for Learning (yes, I’m continuing to send this image in every email — returning to the same image with more information is how we create strong conceptual models!)
Ideas
The Model for Learning has an output of purposeful application — practicing and performing to use the knowledge and skills in your conceptual models.
There are many parts to purposeful application; I’m going to highlight three parts in this newsletter.
Checking with the “Real World”
As you purposefully apply the knowledge and skills in conceptual models, there are three outcomes:
- Purposeful application —> Negative results —> Change or deepen the knowledge and skills in the conceptual models
- Purposeful application —> Neutral results —> Repeat the purposeful application to get more information
- Purposeful application —> Positive results —> Continue to use the knowledge and skills in the conceptual models for this situation
Continually checking the knowledge and skills with the real world through purposeful application is important because you stay grounded in reality, receiving feedback on the quality of your conceptual models.
Feedback
Feedback is tricky because the amount and timing is dependent on the context.
For people in the novice and early intermediate stage, the general idea is to give manageable feedback in shorter intervals. This helps the person stay engaged without being overwhelmed, decreasing the total time for learning. As the person continues to modify and link knowledge and skills in their conceptual models, the person moves toward the expert stage. In the expert stage the person can receive more feedback and handle longer intervals; experts have a large number of highly-connected conceptual models and many ways to mentally simulate outcomes.
Irrespective of the amount or timing of feedback, everyone needs feedback to check with the real world — and continue the learning process.
Stakes and Intensity
During purposeful application we constantly ask ourselves many questions, one of which is this question: “How much does what I am doing right now matter?”
How much the application matters is related to the internal or external stakes of the application, creating a level of intensity for the application. * Warm-Up — An exploration of body, mind, and spirit that helps us get into the purposeful application * Practice — Application of a single or small number of conceptual models in a structured environment; can be low, medium, or high for stakes and intensity * Performance — Application of a full set of conceptual models in an unstructured environment; can be low, medium, or high for stakes and intensity
Understanding the stakes and intensity for each part of purposeful application helps frame the expectations around the purposeful application, with some combinations of stakes and intensity helping to speed up the learning process.
There are many more parts to purposeful application, which we will explore in future newsletters!
Stories
Here are a few stories about learning from me — I would love to hear your stories!
Story 1: I played competitive sports from age 5 until my early 30s (football, baseball, basketball, and soccer), which is a direct use of purposeful application. We constantly worked on the technical and tactical aspects of the sport during practice and performance, continually refining the knowledge and skills in our conceptual models. This experience helped me understand the importance of checking the knowledge and skills with the real world; sometimes I would dream up a new move or idea, but then have to modify the idea once I tried it on the court or field.
Story 2: During my time teaching at a high school in South Carolina, the school’s schedule was semester block. This meant we had students five days a week for a single semester, starting and finishing the course in a single semester. We received a new group of students at the start of the second semester, then went through the entire class again in the second semester. This caused me to go through the course twice a year, which increased the feedback cycle and allowed me (and my colleagues) to make changes more quickly to the courses. Although every type of school schedule has negatives and positives, I one positive of block schedule was the ability to try new parts of courses and receive feedback quickly.
Story 3: Through both nature and nurture, I am an intense human (haha). I’ve had to work at understanding the expectations for various situations — including time with my family — allowing myself to have time with no-stakes and low-stakes activities. I’ve gotten better at this as I’ve gotten older, though I still get into a super-intense mode in the wrong time occasionally. However, there are positives to being intense; the point is to dial the intensity down and up depending on the situation.
Questions
- How have you used purposeful application to check your knowledge and skills with the real world?
- What are your experiences with feedback?
- How do stakes and intensity change learning?
Learning happens best when we share what we are thinking, so I would love to hear your answers! Also, you can use these questions as conversations starters with friends and family — hearing their answers would be great!
Thanks for reading this newsletter — and all the best!
Nathan
