Free-Choice Learning « The Free-Choice Learning Laboratory at HMSC

It is probably not a mystery to anyone who knows me, but I have a complicated relationship with the Make movement. Make is, in my opinion, an fascinating form of free choice learning. It grew out of the (computer) Hacker movement and has evolved to include all kinds of do it your self kind of projects- from building your own 3-D printer at home to keeping bees. If you have ever seen any old “Popular Mechanics” magazines, full of projects to do at home, you will have a sense of Make Magazine, which has been in publication since 2005. From this beginning, as well as a very interactive and content rich website, a whole community has sprouted up around the world, with local Maker Spaces for regular meet-ups as well as annual Maker Faire events that have the subtitle “the greatest Show and Tell on Earth”. What Make realized, from their start with the magazine and website, is that people wanted more than a “Do it Yourself” (DIY) lifestyle- they wanted to come together in community and share skills and tools and a communal space to work on larger and group projects- more of a “Do it with Others” (DIWO) style. Currently, there are hundreds of MakerSpaces around the world and more Maker Faire events happening in places from New York to Eugene to Tokyo.

In the last few years, they have also started reaching out more deliberately to youth, with the MakerEd initiative (yes, they do work the “Make” thing a bit too much, even for my taste!). Realizing that most young people do not have access to Make experiences or much in the way of hands on learning, they have taken this on, creating a system of mentor training, a summer Maker Camp offered through the Google Plus/Hangout platform with new projects every day for a month, as well as organizing Maker Faires to be family friendly events. I think it is one of the most exciting things happening in learning right now.

So, back to my opening comment- why is my relationship with Make a complicated one? Well, in all honesty, I am not really a Maker- I just don’t have much of a desire to get in there and build things or interact with computers any more than I have to, so I sometimes feel like a poser. I do knit and crochet, so can work the craft angle, and am getting more into the homestead lifestyle as I get older and my priorities shift around. But, I am a Make enthusiast! I have spoken about it, or presented posters at 4 conferences and counting and try to let people know about it whenever appropriate. A telling comment was at the AAPT conference this summer, when someone asked me what my relationship or role is with Make, and the first answer that came to me was, “well, I am a Make evangelist”. I do want to get the word out and get people excited and involved in helping create these experiences for learners of all ages.

Thus, while I might never pick up a soldering gun, you will find me helping build this community in as many ways as I can. Keep your eyes open- there is Making happening everywhere!

Peace, Jen

Thinking and communicating – how many levels do we actively do these activities on a regular basis. How many activities do we “go through” every day without even thinking or communicating. For example in my house there are two adults, one of which is up and gone from the house before the rest of us (total of 4 more) are even awake. I have always been very impressed with the activities of this person in the morning as I am not a morning person. It has been generally accepted that Jon is a morning person. Recently this has changed. A good bit of time I am up during this time. Although I am not a morning person, I has tried to engage in conversation – this has not gone over well. It is not that Jon is not agreeable to conversation, it is just that when I am up, the routine is broken and things are forgotten, things that are NEVER forgotten – lunch, keys, brief case … Once we even lost track to time and he was almost late – I say almost as he is always early.
Me on the other hand I have three other people up when I am up all of us trying to get ready to get out the door – one of which I need to help a great deal. I have communication thrust at me whether I am ready for it or not. Sometimes I am good about it, sometimes not so good and ask if I can talk to them in a few minutes. It is also that I do not ever forget anything, but it is rarer then when I am up with Jon in the morning.
I bring these things up as we are people of routine. How many things in our days are routine and how many things are actual thinking things. I have come to realize I am growing up their chronologically that I need some “peace” in the routines of certain things, but crave the opportunities to think actively. Over the years this has evolved from learning new facts in school or at out of school events to reading research to conducting research – even to evaluating other peoples’ research. This kind of thinking stimulates me in a very good way.
What types of activities stimulate you out of the routine of the everyday? Can you add communication to the routine activities and still “perform” them at an acceptable level? When you are using your higher order thinking skills, are you able to communicate to others at the same time? Does this communication hinder or help you in the thinking process?

I’ve been working a little on the multi-touch table project with Mark and Jenny. The mechanical details are still being worked out, but the game will basically model the discourse around climate change—values, attitudes and beliefs amid the social factors that influence them. The current iteration would have players dropping colored dots onto a map of the US. These dots would have a localized social effect, rippling out to influence other dots.

The game could really be about anything, as high-quality general models exist to represent social decision-making in a large population. Mark showed me one they were thinking of using, and I can’t say I understood it. It’s spooky to think that humans are that predictable, but it’s not really surprising. The social sciences are sciences, folks.

But what could these arbitrary dots say about our beliefs? Does the model represent the reasons for our behavior? That’s something the social space of the touch table, along with the game project itself, will address. I’m looking forward to eavesdropping.

We’re all odd concretions of disparate identities. There are no molds cranking out factory-perfect “hippies” and “rednecks.” In my experience, these and other designations often fall apart quickly with even idle conversation. The human—or, I think, any—mind is more complex than its verbal and gestural expressions. These are the things that continually bring us to the table—multi-touch or otherwise.

Today I had the opportunity to do an “outreach about outreach” activity with a group of undergraduate Sea Grant Scholars. They are going to be volunteering at a local annual festival called Da Vinci Days, which celebrates art and science in honor of Leonardo da Vinci. After a brief presentation and chat session, we did the ever-popular ice melting in fresh and salt water, complete with food dye (my fingers are lovely green now). They seemed to receive it well, if a bit quietly. My past experience working with STEM undergraduates was very similar – they rather passively take in the information about communication.

Personally I think that all science undergraduates should have training in science communication, and more than just a workshop or two. There’s no way to stress how important it is to be able to converse about the work being done with more than just other scientists. Heck, there are even communication barriers between the sciences. Public perception of scientists remains remarkably static, and in large part I think it’s the lack of communication ability on the part of the scientists that supports this stagnation. And science supports the habit of poor communication skills within itself by not assigning it any importance, as reflected in its lack in the formal education process of science. There needs to be a greater push to support communication within science, since collaboration is the wave of the future, and with non-scientists to help change the public perception (misperception) of scientists.

Good news!!! My IRB was finally approved! Yesssss! I have several phone interviews scheduled, which is SO EXCITING. I really enjoyed my practice interviews and look forward to talking with COASST volunteers. It feels really good to get my project moving… but I can’t help thinking about all the hard work that’s left to go!

I find it difficult to think of my masters thesis as simply one product that comes out of my graduate education. Sometimes it seems like a giant solitary mountain, filled with large predatory mammals (sorry Smokey, I hate bears!). Now that my IRB has finally been approved, it is daunting to think I’m still at the base of this monolithic monster. On the other hand, I don’t think I could ever get tired of thinking about people’s perceptions of science, and the appropriate role of science in society. My research questions continue to fascinate me, which is a good sign.

And I have done a lot of work preparing and writing, which I hope will make things go smoothly and quickly.

Check out and test the H1 Zoom digital audio recorder…. check.

Test the backup voice recorder app on my phone…. check.

Review interview questions…. check.

Look over transcripts of practice interviews…. check.

Guess I’m ready! Wish me luck!

Katie

Free Choice Learning – this is a term that I found myself using a lot the last few weeks while back east attending various family events. Many family members know and follow what I do with my research, career and schooling, however many do not and it seems like every few hours or days I was explaining my work to various people. Some met me with great enthusiasm, so with the oddest look followed by – really studying how and why people learn – they just do. Very interesting. As a personal study, I then followed up with the question that so many of us in the field us – well – What is your hobby? What are you an expert in? The initial resistance to answer and the always – Im not an expert in anything followed, but after a few minutes of conversation, fruitful discussion followed. For example a family friend has always taken photographs at all events, often following around and waiting for that candid shot. Over the years, the amazing photographs taken by this individual bring both pleasure and art to the family. This is not this person’s job; however, they can tell you almost anything about photography, even information about photography greats if you will. Even with this, this person would not accept that they were an expert in this area. In the end he agreed to think about it and have another conversation with me the net time we get together.

Another example is my aunt. She is 83 years old and one of the most amazing land scape artists and gardeners I know. She can look at an area, walk around it, touch the soil between her fingers and design a beautiful relaxing garden. She knows what to plant in relation to the soil and sun and can bring almost anything back to life when most people would through the plant in the compost. She does all this without chemicals and any schooling. Her trade was business. As a child growing up, I loved working with her in her gardens. When talking to her, she will admit she knows a couple of things about gardening, but as she has not schooling, she can’t be an expert. I told her that my schooling says different, and yes you can be an expert.

This area of free choice learning is one that interests me greatly, but still is not the norm for people to understand or see how the concept is used in their own lives. As programs and research in the filed continue to grow, maybe one day when I am at a family event and I say I work in the field of science education, free choice learning, I will not have to give an explanation …..

The Free-Choice Learning Laboratory at HMSC

Informal science education research

Category Archives: Free-Choice Learning

Why make such a big deal about Make? (By Jen Wyld)

Thinking Or Routine

“…and a redneck nonetheless”

Let there be Communication!!

Bottom of the bear-infested mountain?

Explaining Free Choice Learning to the Relatives …..

Contact Info