Welcome to the Learning Intention and Pathway Design (LIPD) output packet (OP) of my capstone year at Gaia University! My name is Simha Bode. To see my profile page click my name in the upper left corner of the page (press the back arrow in your browser to return to this OP). 

The purpose of this OP is to create an agile system to help me:

• Realize my learning goals for this year
• Track my progress in a meaningful way
• Document my unlearnings & discoveries
• Share my process and experience of designing my year  

✧ To navigate through this OP use the tabs at the top, or the navigation menu at the bottom, of each page. You can also refer to the Table of contents mindmap in the right column.

To see the mindmaps in this OP click on the map and drag to scroll around the maps. For an easier view hover over the map with your cursor and click the Full Screen button in the bottom right corner. The map will open in a new tab. 

The links in this report will tell you where they lead. The target of the link it brings you to will be at the very top of the page. After visiting one of these links press the back button in your browser to continue where you left off. External links will open a new window. All links will give greater detail on the report but are not essential to understand the project.

My focus for this year is to understand the inner workings of deep-learning, through the lens of teaching permaculture and the design process. I am calling on my deep love for connecting with others to make the information I gather as comprehensive as possible.  

Since I was a youth I was interested in how things worked, I disassembled anything I was allowed to: VCRs, radios, clocks, TVs and more. I also showed a great fascination with connecting with the wide world. I had a CB radio (pre-internet) and would spend hours listening to, and calling out to truckers and other operators. I started my journey as a world traveler at age 16 as an exchange student in the Basque Country and have since traveled through a dozen countries. This year I am continuing to reach out and connect with the wide world to better understand the processes of how humans learn.

Creating your own education through designing a learning pathway is no simple task. Using design methodology and various tools can increase success. In this project I used the design frame of GADIE (Goals,Assessment, Design, Implementation and evaluation). I found the simplicity of GADIE's steps helped me to stay on track in my planning. After reviewing  my Skills evaluation system of last year I decided I needed a new approach,. My old system used a numerical rating system that I found to be too abstract to be useful. I created a new assessment system using a descriptive quantifying rubric to assess my level of proficiency. After testing this new system I found the abstract numerical rating of my old system obsolete. Feedback loops are a critical elements for system's evolution. I took this into account wanting to evolve my process and created a checklist from the constructive feedback of my End of cycle review of last year. I highly recommend this process of deconstructing and reconstructing feedback to create checklists metrics to evolve your processes. 

My project goals for this year are to: Improve my teaching skills through co-designing and teaching a two week residential Permaculture course, co-design and build a online hub for Gaia University to flex my design and leadership skills, while improving the Gaia U online experience, and to design, create and teach an introductory course on using the design cycle.

My personal goals for this year are to: Attain a higher level of comfort in the role of teacher, expand my design skills through flexing them in diverse ways, realize my internal balance by acting from my inspiration and not reacting to situations, and to be an active follower and support for my peers, family and community. Below I detail what you will find on each page.

1.1 OP and pathway design - Explains the process of designing my year and this OP. It includes my design framework and the methods of thinking I used to make this plan.

1.2 Goals and allies - Lays out my goals for this year and beyond and lists the allies who will help achieve them. 

1.3 Pathway management - Has a mapped time line of my projected year and explains my systems for managing and tracking my pathway.

1.4 Project projections - Describes the four main projects I am planning this year, which will make up my output packets for this program cycle. 

1.5 Outcomes and un/learnings - Concludes the core-report of this project, with the outcomes of the process and assesses some of the challenges I believe the year will bring.

1.6 Commentary and other projects - Details my un/learnings from the process of creating this LIPD and details the projects and experiences during this time which have been important to me. The projects include; an organic bee keeping workshop, meditation retreat, planting a 1000 tree riparian buffer and teaching a mushroom inoculation and cob oven workshop.

 1.7 Evidence and resources - Includes past review extracts I used to create this OP, documents I created for this OP which were not used, notes and forum posts as proof of my engagement within Gaia U and external resources that helped me in creating this OP.