Final Thoughts NDCE

The purpose of my BLOG was to keep a detailed account of my struggles, adventures, accomplishments, experiences, and aha moments while exploring the nature and design of compelling experiences.  As always, the struggles do not seem so bad now that the final project is in.  My number one struggle was the enormous amount of time spent editing my work.  Editing kept popping up in each module to remind us that adding to or taking away from our lessons is imperative to creating a compelling experience.  To quote Kapilow, “The difference between great and ordinary is tiny and enormous”.   A little difference may have a huge impact.  At first look, I was hardly convinced that my projects would be compelling.   Editing pictures and videos was very challenging work and it often took hundreds of looks and cuts to come up with something meaningful.   The word “compelling” holds a lot of pressure, I could not turn in work that was just” good”, it had to be powerful.  That was a struggle.

Some of the adventures of this class occurred while I was using new technology.  I had never taken the time to just play around with videos and pictures until now.  This new found skill will improve my presentations and greatly help in recording findings at work.  Another adventure in this class is the way the information was shared and created.  Learning to use Facebook, uploading and downloading videos and starting a blog were all new to me.   At first, the sharing pushed me out of my comfort zone- I did not want others judging my work.  After a couple modules, I realized that this sharing raised the quality of the work.  I needed to develop an end product that creates a powerful feeling in the viewer.   This sharing also made me think about my own teaching methods.   I no longer was just the expert passively handing out information, but someone who actively engages the student so that they produce a visual change to share with others and look for feedback.  The sharing of viewpoints allows for diversity of ideas and increased creativity, bringing learning to a new level. I love the Copland quote that that “mere professionalism is not a guarantee of intelligent listening [or of instinct in judgment]”.   Some of the smartest students have difficulty letting their creative energies flow.  Copland suggests that the “ideal listener would combine a preparation of the trained professional and the innocence of the intuitive amateur”.  Taking liberty with the word amateur, I think that if students are challenged or pushed outside of their comfort zone, they become amateurs.  By being amateurs they may rely on a different intelligence and become more creative.   

The biggest accomplishment is that I understand the work it takes to make my presentations and teaching more meaningful.  It takes a lot of work.  I judge my presentations differently, in a way that I did not see before.   From this new and different perspective, I can edit and assess the situation to produce a more compelling project.  If I notice boredom in a student, I immediately think of all the compelling ways that I can fix this situation.  An added visual, use of a musical hook or just the presentation of something new and fresh transforms the experience from something ordinary to extraordinary.  Now I search for the aesthetic qualities of my teaching.  In my presentations, I look at the environment and considering the student’s comfort.  Varying the sound and light will all work to bring that student back into focus.  The “what not to teach” module was also a great project.  It forced me to look at a mundane task and give it a make-over.  It was eye opening to watch the projects others did and always amazed at how different all the projects were.

When thinking of my experiences, I thought it was great to start out with the photography unit.  It was so easy to see that a compelling picture for me may not be so compelling for another.  This unit taught that perspective, composition and framing are so important in photography and in dealing with those we teach- the difference between a bad picture and a work of art.  I need to be aware of the perspective of my listener and focus on the information that is important to them, leaving my own personal drama out of the mix.  The same is true with composition.  As with visual composition, verbal composition needs to tell someone what the subject is and forget all the distracting details.  Make sure they understand the background, the foreground and what is happening right now.  Do not assume everyone knows all about the “picture”.  Help them understand it. Framing also creates the work of art in teaching.  Lessons need to be framed so that I have the student’s attention.  I need to know that they understand what I say and following my directions.  These are simple things that we all know, but it is a great reminder to always keep the viewer and student in mind when showing your picture.

Some of my “aha” moments occurred during the unit on interior design.  When I think of great “aha” moments, they usually weren’t sitting in a lecture hall or in a big square classroom.  They occurred with small group settings where I felt at ease talking with peers.  Offering options of small group activities reminds me of Susanka’s alcove or shelters, which would meet people’s need to feel safe.   Students do not have to be sitting alert and at full attention.  They can connect to materials when comfortable and relaxed.   I also thought back to Susanka mentioning that humans are drawn to move toward the light and their attention is grabbed by partial views.  I could definitely use this in my teaching.  Just like the evening news, I could give the class little teasers or peeks at upcoming information so that they stay focused beyond the commercial.  Repeating themes connect different spaces creating comfort, teaching also uses repetition so that information is connected and retained.  When thinking of moving toward the light, I think of a physics teacher I had who would start his lecture with a small explosion or a collision to grab our attention and "show us the light".  How the explosion/collision occurred was what we needed to know.  He would spend the next 50 minutes of lecture explaining that point.  Visually seeing the information we were able to follow through the lecture.  It was one of my favorite classes.

The music module also helped with my “aha” moments.  Kapilow speaks of emotional attachments to music and that “in times of crisis we reach for simplicity” and [that there is comfort and security in the same rhythms]. A lot of research has been done to show that music affects moods, increases levels of awareness, helps with memory, and slows heart rate.  Now that is a powerful tool.  We can calm a group by playing familiar, calming songs.  When we think of our audience or students and their attention, it is good to be aware that we will need different hooks to catch different people.  Changing our dynamics, or use of volume, will keep our students from tuning us out.  Changing the rhythm of our speech or adding surprises will catch the attention of those that may have drifted off to somewhere else.  We can also change the tempo when we are losing the group and need to pick up the pace.  Sound effects or implementing our speech with extra audio will hook a listener.  To create an experience to catch and keep their attention, I should look to change the tempo, the rhythm, and the instruments.  Possibly bring in other speakers or use different resources or visual aids.   If the brain makes sense of the world through patterns, then the patterns introduced to students should be considered for their expressive value.  In short, don’t get in a rut, because you’ll just get tuned out.

After studying the NDCE, I have felt that I need to take on a stronger role of being the expert and being more persuasive and manipulative with my presentations.  I see the goal of my lessons to be compelling so that they are moving, bringing students to a new perspective, allowing them to see something differently. I strive to create a work of art so that the idea is more powerfully felt.    It was a great adventure!