1.2. Bee Project

1. Abstract Conceptualization: Practical Bee keeping

On the first stage of the Kolbs Model I started with "Abstract Conceptualisation" to gain concrete experience. The abstract concept we use for practical bee-keeping is a theory developed by the bee-keepers Ed and Dee Lusby (Arizona/USA). They experimented with a bee keeping system which allows the bees to defend themselves against the Varroa mite and other diseases. They reach that goal by not using any chemicals, feeding the bees with their own honey and using untreated combs which are smaller in cell size than the standard combs. The system draws on 25 years of worldwide bee keeping experience with tens of thousands of colonies by now. Nevertheless it is a very abstract concept and so far only once practiced in Germany. I want to test it, because in Germany the conditions are very different from the island La Palma where the main part of the bee keepers copied the system. My challenge is to get familiar with this concept and dismantle it critically. There are many sceptical voices around the world, some people who used this system say that for them it did not work at all.

But as one says: "100 bee keepers have 100 opinions" and I need to look for my own opinion.

Aus OP 3

2. Concrete Experience: Practical Bee keeeping

Here I talk about my Concrete Experience of the abstract concept for practical bee keeping.

Anne, who took a course on that bee keeping system in La Palma, already gained first experience with that bee keeping system. She decided to get two bee hives in 2016 and to apply the "resistant bees" system. In the last three months we gained a lot of concrete experience with the two hives on the PaLS area. Every time we checked the hives we documented specific criteria and current environmental conditions. We cannot say yet how the system works in our hives but we properly followed the "resistant bees" recommendations.

Additional information about our experience so far

Here is a list of things what we did so far:

ordered “Hohenheimer Zanderbeuten” and oil them
tighten Frames & solder 5,1mm combs in frames (cut corner)
pick up Beehive from conventional beekeeper & move them to new hive (build adapter)
Hive inspection approx. all 10-14 Tag days (only Anastasia)

Experience and Keylearnings with Anita:

Anita had no queen so we did no inspection of the hive for 4 weeks (damaging queen cell!)
After four weeks we saw freshly laid eggs (brood) but no queen→ we assumed that the hive has now a queen
After we sent images and descriptions to an experienced bee keeper we recognized that the hive has probably no queen and a worker bee is laying unfertilized eggs
We did the third hive inspection and our assumption was confirmed (bumpy capped brood, no queen) → Next step: Bring Anita 50 meters away from original place & hive will loose all bees to hives next to the original place (Anastasia & new nuc → will strengthen them!)

To read more about the hive Anita please click here

Experience and Keylearnings with Anastasia:

Inspections: We thought that the hive is doing very well and had enough fodder (only in comparison to Anita).
Third inspection: experienced resistant bee keeper told us that he realized with the help of the images we have taken from each comb that they have almost no left honey and we need to feed them as soon as possible.
Other Problem: hive did not build any drone brood in the free corners or elsewhere -> Advice:observe the hive until September and then cut all the brood which will include mites out of the hive.(Normally the mite settles in much bigger drone cells and the theory is, that through the smaller size of the cells more worker bees are available which ensure the culling out of the mites). But we are still on a bigger cell size (5,1 instead of 4,9) and the hive is not very strong at all so one could assume that they are not strong enough for a culling out of the mites in drone cells and elsewhere. Here I am in a challenge what is then more natural: Cut all the brood out of the brood or use one time a mild mite fighting? What is there the right way?!

To read more about the hive Anastasia please click here

Aus OP 3

1. Abstract Conceptualization: Learning Theory

To critically and effectively learn the theory, I used another abstract concept named ArCEA on a almost daily basis (Active reading, Critique, Expand, Act). The first step of this concept is about gathering information, e.g. from a table of content or keywords. I write down all my first thoughts and associations to the keywords to later expand my thinking easily. With this keywords I make a mindmap and add additional information by first skimming and than reading the text. On the next day I test what I still know and add new or critical thoughts. After seven days I reconstruct the text again and over the period of one week new thoughts arise. Then it is very helpful to apply the content in real or at least imagined situations. It is of great importance that I mix up the map with other thinking, either my own or other different sources. Helpful would be to enclose the same sources with same colours etc. I like to draw complex but clear and easy to understand mind maps with pictures included.

As Gaia U recommended I use these steps:

deconstruction/reconstruction
critique & expansion
synthesizing with other material
using evaluated thinking to do stuff with

1st Maps with XMind in German

Review of 1st maps drawn by hand in English

2. Concrete Experience: Learning Theory

By using the method ArCEA on an almost daily basis it already turned into a habit and I think this is very helpful. I used ArCEA every time with the same pattern without experimenting too much in its application. So far I experienced that I can recall information which I collected and put into mind maps without big effort. Additionally I have to say that this information is really important for me, because we have to observe the hives and apply the knowledge directly.

Our resistant bee support person

After our hive inspections we had a lot of questions. We collected them to ask Felix (our support person) for advice. Here you can see a document where I collected all our questions and his answers.

Additional information on how I apply ArCEA and my best practices:

The concept of resistant bees is provided in the internet on a very detailed platform with many different chapters. As I already outlined above I try to assign the content into keywords, but most of the time I prefer to write small sentences. This way I know that I always will understand the connections. On the next day I write everything I still know (keywords!!) on rough paper to then draw a beauty and expanded map and add pictures. Always as possible I try to compare the knowledge with other sources and put on this Map critique, my own thinking, links to other resources and expanded knowledge. It makes it more difficult if you read texts on the computer, because the most time it is too irrelevant to print all pages out. Digital texts are more difficult to work on, because you are not able to mark the keywords or add your own first associations to a paragraph. Sure there is a pdf processing program but for me it is just ineffective to copy every text in the program and then mark the text. The best experience I have made with printed out texts, because I can mark them by the way and add as much information as I want.

It turned out that it is very practical to have a Mindmap on computer and on a paper. In everyday life it is more practical to have nice hand-drawn Mindmaps, this way I can review them whenever I want and add new knowledge immediately. On the other hand computer based Mindmaps are very helpful because I can easily add supportive pictures and links, delete knowledge and arrange the Map in a new way.

After a month I will recall what I still know of the Mindmaps to then create for each chapter a big one with all information I have gathered to this point in time. But I will spend some more time on thinking how exactly I will recall the Mindmaps.

3. Reflective Observation: Practical Bee keeping

All in all the combination between doing and thinking had a great balance. Each step we undertook was clearly discussed before an intervention. We always knew the material of the "resistant bees" system and applied it as far as possible. Our lack in experience sometimes made it very challenging to interpret the behaviour of the bees the right way. The supportive advice of Felix and Micha, both very experienced bee keepers, was very appreciative. It was helpful that during each hive inspection we documented the condition of the hive and took a picture of each comb. This way we were able to calmly analyse everything we observed and connect it to the "resistant bees" system. The next steps were always very clear due to the ongoing documentation.

The mind map on the right side explains what did (not) work so far and what needs to be done in the future.

Furthermore I have some inconsistencies between experience and understanding. My inconsistencies almost all refer to the biology of the bees, therefore these questions may scientifically not be fully answered yet. I just started to create a list with all my questions and added all sources and information referring to the questions (view this list here).

3. Reflective Observation: Learning Theory

What went well:

reading one chapter a day and creating a mind map
talking to different bee-keepers to exchange opinions/views

What was challenging:

creation process of complex mind maps → how is it still clear for others?
reviewing the map after seven days
research different opinions and connect it to the learned material of "resistant bees"
deciding what to read (a lot of material in the internet!)

What to do differently the next time:

find a second way on how to track my learning process (e.g. learning map)

4. Active Experimentation

Practical bee-keeping:

I have experimented a lot with “experimentation in thinking” to create abstract concepts for practical bee-keeping. I assumed that the "resistant bees" concept has a true core and could prove itself as one of many possible ways. Here is a different spreadsheet with ideas I want to observe, research or try out one time.
- First row: Through thought experiments I created small abstract concepts I want to test in reality (e.g. "Einraumbeute" instead of "Zander").
- Second row: I collect associated ideas and details how I want to implement the abstract concept. View this list here.

Learning theory:

By now I achieved a routine in my daily practice of mind mapping, I just need to experiment how to shorten the sentences in the map. Next time I will try to use maximum three words. Then it is time to expand my mind mapping abilities towards more complexity. I want to draw clear connections from one topic to another in the future. If I have drawn many connections, one thing would lead me to another and I could better expand my capacity to keep knowledge and understand links between different topics.

Furthermore I think about creating educational material. I want to use the material by myself as a prototype for other material. The challenge is to create material that allows me to present this bee-keeping method to others. At the same time the learners should be able to learn the required content and add their own thinking and experiences to it.

The material should fulfil the following requirements: