DESIGNING FOR LEARNING

In order to revisit, reconstruct and remind myself of what learning design philosophies I resonate with, I put together a remix of quotes from readings such as Seymour Papert, Eleanor Duckworth and many more. Like what Jean Piaget says — in the process of making, we are also re-making ourselves. This book is an accumulation of what I hold as my core.

For my project, I created a “Learning Design Art Book”, which is a compilation and remix of ideas about the art of learning, inspired from readings as part of T550, a class at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. I took snippets and quotes that I resonated with from different authors and rearranged them together in a way that is meaningful to me. The writings showed how thoughtfully these authors articulated their ideas and I aspire to be able to do that too. I think that if I am to continue to develop as an educator, I needed to re-examine my assumptions and beliefs, and going through this process helped me see my values more clearly.

What you just read sounds neat and tidy because it is written in retrospect. The project was far from a tame animal I kept in a cage. It’s more of a slippery shape-shifting, time-taking, color-changing type of creature. Dealing with it made me frustrated but honest, confused and anxious, stressed but grateful. I finally made it out by letting it be.

The most important thing I learned is to trust myself and trust the process. The art book resulted from a series of discoveries and unintentional acts that came together. It was a wonderful idea to me that I couldn’t have anticipated. I cycled through so many ideas over two months. At the time, it felt like indecision because it kept changing, creating a spiral of frustration and confusion. However, I later realized that the reason it kept changing was because it’s alive. My project evolved as my perspective evolved, whenever I read something new. I realized that change doesn’t just mean indecision, it also signals growth.

I had incredible support that helped me think through why I’m doing what I’m doing, helped me dig a little deeper in my reflections, and gave me tangible feedback that kept me grounded. The most breakthrough advice I received was that I should focus on doing something for myself, in the now, and that this project is an opportunity to do something fun. Through trying so hard to do something practical, I lost track of doing something I would inherently enjoy. It was refreshing to be reminded of that.

Working on something tangible that I could build on, play with, take apart or turn around allowed me to tinker with my thoughts. It gave me time and space to discover and have wonderful ideas.

I only knew I wanted to learn more about who I am as an educator and what values I should build future projects upon. I let “why” I wanted to do this drive the project and let the “what” and “how” be found.