Edu-conomy of scale... Learning Circle University

flickr CC image via nicolasnova

I'm beginning to understand crowd-sourcing in a new context. As the concept of learning circles evolves, I'm seeing the definition of crowd in crowd-source evolve alongside it. Learning circles are the crowds we encounter and choose to place ourselves within for the purpose of learning. 

To me, crowd-sourcing in the traditional sense generally taps really broad sources... social media being a most obvious contemporary example. Learning circles are derivatives of crowd-sourcing that focus more intently on a specific purpose, or set of purposes related to learning. The people that find themselves connected within learning circles are often strangely attracted to each other through the necessary process of chaos in authentic learning, but once found by each other, their relationship takes on a nemetic dynamic.

Culture and Inquiry Learning

Using the Wikipedia article on Inquiry Learning (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquiry-based_learning) as a reference point will make it easier to explain why I believe that cultural diversity is a pivotal element in a truly inquiry-based learning environment. To displace cultural diversity from the inquiry mix in my mind would be to sabotage the process altogether.

From Wikipedia to describe the core of inquiry as a concept…
Characteristics of inquiry-learning
-Inquiry learning emphasizes constructivist ideas of learning. Knowledge is built in a step-wise fashion.
-Learning proceeds best in group situations.
-The teacher does not begin with a statement, but with a question. Posing questions for students to solve is a more effective method of instruction in many areas. This allows the students to search for information and learn on their own with the teacher’s guidance.
-The topic, problem to be studied, and methods used to answer this problem are determined by the student and not the teacher (this is an example of the 3rd level of the Herron Scale)

My point of view is weaving culture (the thing each of us has been constructing since the minute we were born) and inquiry acknowledges the above points.

I am, therefore I think.

Original art posted at Deviant Art by ~pslv3r

So 2012 is upon us. 2011 was good for me, but I’m hard on myself… looking back, I probably accomplished more than I think. My tendency is to look at what I’ve done, and realize first what more I could have done, or how much better I could have done it. I am critical; not so much of others or other things, but really toward myself and my goals, projects, jobs or whatever. As I reflect on the things I got done last year, I’m starting to think it really doesn’t matter what I accomplished last year; what matters is what I’m going to do this year.

This year I’m not setting any goals or resolutions because at the end of the year I’m going to look back again and feel like I could have done more. This year I’m going to look forward and make a deliberate effort to simply keep doing what I do, every day, to the best of my ability… and I’m going to be happy with that. I have so many projects and collaborations on the go… more than enough to keep me busy, and I may find more, but that’s OK because I’m going to look at all of them in the same way. I’m going to be less focused on achieving the goal, and so much more focused on enjoying the goal.

This year, instead of looking at progress as a means to successful ends, I’m framing it as a process to extend, refine and strengthen learning. I’m going to view progress as a fractal representation of different sorts of knowledge and skill attainment. There is always room to improve. I’m going to accept (embrace, really) that I will always be learning, and that there will always be something to learn.

I’m going to do this by focusing on four words: Respect; Understanding; Relationships and Responsibility. These are the words that form a circle around me; a learning circle. They represent my hope as a learner. I am, therefore I think.

A what?

I am a phenomenological post-modernist.

A what? Who am I to be using such big words? Well, I am a phenomenological post-modernist... let me explain.

I am a person; myself. My perspective is the sum total of my experiences. Others are people; themselves. Together we all have experiences as we interact with each other and the world around us... the phenomena we are exposed to and that affect us. We are all in the world... the lenses I look through are shaped by this very complex and dynamic reality... this is my phenomenological perspective.

My postmodern perspective always sees a better way. I view the world subjectively, (perhaps we all do,) and see truth as the most logical and righteous construct to me at any given time... but times change, and so do constructs- there is always a better way... this is my postmodern perspective.

I understand that I am unarguably affected by my experiences; phenomena I've encountered altering the lenses I look through. I have dealt with adversity. I am a resilient person. Many times I have had support helping me see the intermediary position... the one that helped to dilute my polarized view. I know that the truth usually tends toward the middle.

The big words I use to describe my perspective are real to me. I think about them a lot. People give me a hard time about using big words, but I have earned the right to use them.

Who and what are you?

Excellence pursued...

"I believe in the pursuit of excellence; we can ask for nothing 

more than the individual’s greatest effort."

flickr CC image via DarrelBirkett

Excellence pursued is excellence. 

I believe that excellence in a finite state is not excellence. Once we believe there is no further direction toward an improved state, we have become less than excellent. 

as·ymp·tot·ic

   [as-im-tot-ik] 

adjective Mathematics .

1.

of or pertaining to an asymptote.

2.

(of a function) approaching a given value as an expression containing a variable tends to infinity.

3.

(of two functions) so defined that their ratio approachesunity as the independent variable approaches a limit orinfinity.

4.

(of a formula) becoming increasingly exact as a variable approaches a limit, usually infinity.

5.

coming into consideration as a variable approaches a limit,usually infinity: asymptotic property; asymptotic behavior.

 asymptotic. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved December 12, 2011, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/asymptotic

Excellence is an asymptotic concept. An athlete may be rewarded a gold medal for excellence, and then in the next race get dethroned as the gold medal score is beaten in the next race... once we think we've achieved excellence, we cease to be excellent.

In the special education environment I used to teach within, the benchmark for "excellence" was 80% of a goal achieved. Goals marked at 80% achieved would be replaced with a new goal. I always wondered what happened to pursuing the other 20%... and then I started to wonder if 100% was even good enough to be considered excellent. What if we simply stated that we will pursue measurable improvements to all goals, (whatever they may be,) understanding that they will never be mastered, but perhaps that the degree of focus on particular goals will change according to individual circumstances? This to me would be the unending pursuit of excellence.

Can we really every ask for anything more than the individual's greatest effort?