Lesson 8: Ipsa Scientia Potestas Est

Ipsa Scientia Potestas Est. Knowledge is power. And it is, indeed. I am so grateful at the end of this class, because it turns out I not only learned about jewelry and learning, but I also learned a lot about myself, some of which is pretty insightful and eye-opening.

Qui Audet Adipiscitur. She who Dares Wins.

Jewelry making was something I have always secretly admired, but I had never really had the guts to try it out. Am I a jewelry expert after two months of learning about this topic? No. Have a learned about jewelry making? I am happy to say, yes! Make that a big YES! 

Sure, I set the goals too high: thinking that I will easily learn four different techniques in no time. It did not go that way exactly, but I do not plan on stopping here. I now distinguish and handle quite a few new tools in my life, which is a transferable skill in many different areas of my life. I walked down the memory lane a bit, and reconstructed my high school knowledge about Friendship Bracelets. But, I also learned how to make extensions, clasps, and loops, as well as pearl knotted bracelets, wire wrapped bracelets and earrings with wire wrapping and head pins. In addition, I fixed most of my broken jewelry, which is a victory in itself. 

Per Aspera ad Astra! Through Difficulties to the Stars!

I have been fascinated by learning for the past 20 years, but I have never actively thought about learning through my own learning. This experience definitely put things in a different perspective for me. Having myself as an object of observation was a tougher position to be at, since I had to both create instruction opportunities for myself and evaluate my learning process, but in the end, I think it served a wonderful purpose, as I gained very deep understanding. There are a few things that particularly fascinated me!

First insight is in relation to recall and short-term memory. Learning that short-term memory is not only limited, but can also get severely overloaded was a true revelation for me! I now think of it, and it seems so obvious to me, but when it happened to me in the middle of my Michaels shopping spree, I was not amused at all. I almost took it as a defeat, and yet it is perfectly normal. Long-term memory, on the other hand, can be quite a warehouse: huge, but quite disorganized. I always knew that you need to work on creating those chemical connections between different pieces of information to improve recall and memory, but that I would remember a 20-year-old event from my past, out of the blue, is quite fascinating!

Second, working on this blog made me think a lot about novices and experts. In particular, what are the things you need to do to achieve that "expert thinking". One of the things that I believe is crucial in learning is the fact that you need to learn to distinguish the things you understand from the things you need more information on. Once you achieve that stage, learning becomes less difficult and much more enjoyable.

Vincit Qui Se Vincit. She Conquers who Conquers Herself.

Like I said before, throughout this blogging process I learned the most about myself. To begin with, I learned that I am my own worst enemy. Once I manage to conquer my own fears and convictions, I strive. The problem is, I do not always manage to identify the problem is in me. On that note, I have to learn to believe in my previous knowledge and experience. At this point in my life, there are pretty extensive and solid, and I can use them both to my advantage, because it is not about how smart you are, it is about how much work you put into it, right?

I learned other things, too. For instance, I learned not to be too certain about the things I believe I am certain about. Many times the mind can play a trick on us and when I am most certain, I may just be wrong. Next, I realized that I rely too much on external memory, such as notes, cell phone, my laptop, calendar and so on, while I should actually work on developing my memory skills. In addition to that, I am where I come from and though I do not identify with it too much, it is a big part of who I am, and I need to learn to acknowledge it. Finally, as research shows, I, too, learn better when I already have some experience in the topic and/or when I can connect the new with some of my old experience. 

All in all, awesome experience! I hope I create other opportunities about learning that I can blog about.

Unit 7: Learning how to Fix Things

This week has actually been quite rewarding for me. I watched my next Craftsy.com video and it talked about extensions, clasps, end loops and so many other techniques on how to fix things! Did she say fix things? Ding ding ding!  I quickly ran into my bedroom and grabbed that little bag of "forgotten" earrings and other jewelry. We all have them! Tucked in in a little bag or a drawer, wounded and unwearable, rusty or chipped, but still kept. What on earth for? They are memories, that's why. A bracelet I bought in Greece that is missing a few beads and a clasp because I got stuck at a door handle somewhere. A pair of earrings my friend brought from India that is missing a loop, another pair that I got for my birthday that is too rusty to wear (a pair I absolutely adore!!! even they are worth nothing!), and so on. Oh, and that necklace I wore in high-school that is now too small.

I never kept them because I actually thought that I would ever be able to fix them. Was I in a state of learned helplessness, as Dweck would call it? I adore that article, as I am convinced it changed my life by changing my mindset. At one moment in my life I stopped believing that I can develop. Sure I could work on my existing skills and talents, but I was literally convinced that I am "too old" to change anything radical in my life, or learn a new skill. Jewelry making was one of those things. Is this a matter of losing creativity or maturing? Or both?

I would say that my learned helplessness has to do with some sociocultural experience. When you are little they keep urging you to study because "the train will pass" (it is a Serbian saying! it means "a time will come, when you won't be able to do anything about it"). And while that is true for many things in life, I really wonder if it is true for learning. It seems to be anything but true. But our culture is very fatalistic about learning. There are numerous ominous sayings like the one above. We say "you do not put hooves on an old horse", meaning you cannot teach older people how to do things (agism??!!) and so on and so forth. I wonder if some of that comes from the utopistic post-WWII politics. Anyhow, I have lived among people who literally did stop learning after securing that first job, and who defended it by the fact that they are "too old to learn" now, but that I should not take that against them, because they too "had learn when they were suppose to" (????!!!).

As it turns out, it is all a matter of having the right zone of proximal development. Max Goodman, the craftsman from Craftsy.com provided enough scaffolding for me to develop my craftiness to a quite useful level. Obviously, my actual development was not far from it, even though I would never have thought it. And before you know it, this old horse got some brand new hooves! :)

Lesson 6: Head Pins and Earrings

This week I added head pins to my wire wrapping technique from last week to make some earrings to match the bracelets I had made earlier. Finally! Earrings! Here is an image of the end products:

It was pretty easy, I must admit. I am getting quite comfortable with creating beauty (well, beauty according to my standards!) out of these miniature pieces. I think it is because I took firm control over my learning. Just like the book says, "people must learn to recognize what they understand and what they need more information" on (p.12). And I do recognize both. Every time I do not get something, I search for terms, images and explanations. I watch additional videos and do my best to improve my technique. Every time I do something well, I stop to think how I can repeat it, so it is not just a random outcome. Thanks to this blog, I also self-assess myself and reflect on my learning process. It has been a genuinely active learning experience. 

Another reason why I think it was a successful learning experience so far (well, successful according to my standards, of course!) are my well-developed metacognitive skills. I think it is safe to say that for myself at this point of my life, right? Since I am aware that metacognition happens in the form of an internal dialogue that we are often not aware of, every time I experience a problem, I try to make myself think out loud. By doing this, I try to notice (and correct) the beliefs which have negative effects on my understanding or performance. It is quite fascinating actually when you learn how to, sort of "be your own coach" in your learning process. 

Finally, there is the influence of the context in which this learning takes place. I do not always give my husband full credit, but the truth is the norms we establish at home for each others' learning endeavors have very strong effect on both of our achievements.  I remember when we first met, I was suppose to prepare for my exam in American Literature. I had to read a list of 22 novels. He just appeared one day at my doorstep with a box full of books, all 22 of them. Nothing changed in that regard. I always feel comfortable enough to invest into supplies and invest time into learning.