5.2.1 Learning to Learn Commentary - Behind the Scenes

The Learning Review is one of our more structured OP's regarding constraints/suggestions/encouragements from GaiaUniversity.  I framed this tale in two ways.  Firstly I entitled my OP "Learning to Learn" acknowledging that huge strides have been taken this year in seeing myself as a learner and what this means.  Being part of an action learning university with a focus on design has afforded me a year of recognizing how Iengage/design learn these wonderful projects in addition to the content that necessarily emaerges from living the project:   Renewable Energy, Beekeeping, Cheesemaking, Catering, Designing. I have continuously been encouraged to reflect on how I learned, and given tools and techniques that I found useful for examining myself as an action learner.  The action learning aspect of our university is that we acknowledge that we are Learning as we live life, manage projects, indeed always; but perhaps most especially when we reflect/document and become conscious of ourselves as both separate and integral within our surroundings (5P's: planet, pathway, community/peers, patrix,)   I am beginning to understand that a key aspect to both learning and designing lay in the awareness that we give it.    Ironically, I have always seen myself as a good learner, although, less so as a go-getter that does stuff.   Again, recognizing that key aspect of learning through active experimentation is an area with much room for growth for me.    Another learning about my own project management, during my advisor training, is that I recognize that it is easier for me to do the assignments that the training program provides than to finish some of my projects.  A key learning here is that I am more effective when I can articulate bite size able concrete next achievable steps.  This is significantly easier for me to do than a looming project. 

I haven’t received my advisor feedback from my OP 4 so I have continued to work on what Jennifer and I agreed were areas I should be working on:  more attention to the process of my project and more awareness toward the presentation of the material.  I am slowly moving away from a self-centered view of the world where most of what I learn is for myself (or at best, cliffs notes for myself, in order to teach a class).  These OP
s are encouraging me to recognize how I organize and present myself and my wisdom.  This includes specifics regarding providing context and explaining things so that an audience can follow them rather than writing as I would a journal.  This OP : Learning Review is very well suited for the bulk of Jennifer’s comments which refer to my own process along the learning pathway.  This feels like a reflection on all 5 OP’s and the entire year, some of which I missed out on in the past 16 months.  Places I could still imagine growing include dissemination of my information.  The website seemed like a good first step during this presentation of myself.  And impacts on the field is an edge for me, so i intend to include that as part of my template for OP’s in my capstone year.    I have continued to develop my template for OP to push my edges and include material that I may miss. 

REFLECTIONS on PEER evaluation.  

I appreciated Itai's review.  He points out that this OP is very word heavy.  My website was huge for pushing my edge on multimedia.  I learned pages and started making webpages.  He encourages more action and experimentation rather than reflection.  This seems in line with my own commentary on myself.  Ironically, this feels hard to demonstrate in a learning review.  Hopefully,  I will utilize some of Itai's suggestions in my capstone year.