Driven to Learn....

Another rite of passage for a dad this week.  I took my  teenage daughter out for her first driving lesson,  after she had  10 professional  driving instructor lessons, I hasten to add.


Apart from the pain of the exorbitant insurance policy extension, it went well,  we are still talking & we did not end up like this:

As to the learning for me.   I think Roger Schank is correct when he talks :

• "Learning is about enhancing abilities."
• "Learning not about the retention of information"
• "knowledge cannot be readily transferred by telling"

This becomes really obvious when you are asked how to brake smoothly, or engage the biting point of the clutch which for most of us is an unconsciously competent skill, we do without thinking.  


To help any learner a teacher has to be able to break the task down into its constituent parts or find a way of connecting to the learner'sr existing skills/practices to help them progress.


Thanks to Nick who sent me this  encouragement:    

Supporting England online and offline...

As any dad will tell you taking your  so to their first England game at Wembley is a rites of passage.
I was struck by how that experience is different for the newer generation of fans due to technology.

Berfore:
 - checking team news on twitter  and skysports news

- watching youtube videos of Rooney as he would not be playing due to suspension:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1ToDTdM5-Y

- texting to fnd out where your friends are?

- Finding out jubilee line was running for once on a Saturday
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/livetravelnews/realtime/tube/default.html

- Playing England vs. Switzerland on Nintendo DS & practising penalties,
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/bdjlkdkcjdcfbghpcimekbpidldobnhg?hl=en-GB


After:

• Watch the game's highlights & lowlights on Catchup TV
• Review the schedule for the next England game online...http://ticketing.thefa.com/
• Review the photos sent to you from the day from 2 generations of fans!

How to spot a real coach?

Coaching is definitely in vogue in the business world.  Every day there are the latest pronouncements on how to be a better coach, passing on "pearls of wisdom" from every field of human endeavour.   However,  some of this packaged knowledge seems to be too generic or lacking authenticity to be of any value.

I was reminded of this when I saw my 8 year old son being coached for swimming today.   The coach spotted a problem in his stroke,  carried out a diagnosis by getting him to carry out some very specific movements in the water, in essence breaking the stroke down to the constituent parts.  He then came over to me & said that he suspected a shoulder muscle strain & that Mitch shouldn't continue the session.   When I asked the coach, how he knew that, he said that he suffered many injuries from over-training as a kid & that he studies bio-mechanics of swimming now, to makes sure that nobody he teaches has similar problems.  

So I think to be a real coach you need to have the experience & empathy and a genuine striving to pass on your wisdom for the benefit of others.   I hope all the business coaches you come across can emulate that.

By the way Pirates of the Caribbean IV in 3D with 6 other 8 year olds all dressed up as pirates seemed to cure the sore shoulder!

Princes Trust Survey: Broke not Broken

http://bit.ly/leptc9

"The report reveals a clear gap in the aspirations of the UK’s richest and poorest young people. Young people growing up in poverty are significantly less likely to believe their life and career goals are achievable."

• More than a quarter (29 per cent) had “few” or “no” books in their home
• One in three (34 per cent) were “rarely” or “never” read to by their parents
• More than a quarter (28 per cent) had no access to a computer
• Almost one in three (30 per cent) did not have access to the internet

It makes for uncomfortable reading & highlights some of the disparities that exist in today's modern Britain.  It appears obvious that without the basic tools and encouragement to learn, young people are missing out on critical life skills.    As more economies are turning to highly educated, knowledge workers for creating wealth it is difficult for those disadvantaged to catchup.

The Prince's trust state:  We are now calling on the Government and businesses to work even more closely with charities to improve social mobility and raise aspirations.

I believe all of us in the learning profession could look at ways where existing activities in #sociallearning #mobilelearning could help address these issues raised.  By creating easier & cheaper ways to learn through technology it might just give a chance to some of those who have been missed.