Learning tests

This is my Multiple Intelligence Badge!! The conclusion is that I do the wrong job! My 'typical role,preference, potential' is: musician, singer, composer, DJ, music producer, piano tuner, acoustic engineer, entertainer, party-planner, environment and noise advisor or voice coach. That's where I scored highest (95%!!), my musical intelligence. I guess the reasons for this outcome is that I answered positive to questions like: do you like to sing?, do you notice when somebody else is singing out of tune?, do you play an instrument?, do you always have a song in your head?, is music important in your life?

A bit worried now. I know people who would also answer positive to most of these questions because they always sing, tap on the table, love to listen to music etc. The problem is that in my perception they always sing out of tune, tap off the beat and ruin every record they listen to by their terrible singing, clapping and tapping.....

Don't let them tune your piano!!

Luckily I also score quite high on my self-awareness (intra-personal 75%) which helps me to understand that although I have some music talents I certainly don't have the X-factor to plan my European concert tour.

Howard Gardner who developed this 9 intelligences model (now 9 but there used to be first 7) got famous because of this and has followers everywhere. One of the reasons is that people got a bit fed up with the 'traditional' learning style and tests.

The question for me is if this is now better, more usable, more helpful for people to explore their way of learning. Like on many of the other tests also on Gardners' model is a lot of criticism because it lacks scientific proof.

My main problem is that it is a test with an outcome.

I prefer questions that make me think about my way of learning. I don't need an outcome in scores and boxes. Most of the questions that the Gardner test provides doesn't really make me think.

Still.... if you want to do the test go here. It's for free.... you only have t create an account.....

See me hear me!

Not very active on the blog in the last months....

But here a video I took doing a kind of input for the virtual platform of the TALE training course (Trainers for Active Learning in Europe).

My first video input ever! So..... a lot to learn there still. And it's connected to learning because about recognition of learning and (self)-assessment.

Bloody Learning

This morning my neighbor came along in an excited mood bringing delicious grapes and some announcements about this day concerning grapes, making wine, drinking a glass and something about 4 o'clock this afternoon. Well....that's what I got but to be honest I have no f"cking clue!

I WANT TO SPEAK AND UNDERSTAND ITALIAN!!!!!

Why does it take sooooo long? Do I need this kind of embarrassing and frustrating moments to keep me learning?

Curious what will happen at 4 o'clock.

Then I have all these ideas and plans about learning circles. I have them all in my head and I can see myself doing the Powerpoint presentation. People will go wild!!

But I don't know how to make all these circles jump and walk and bleep and connect in Powerpoint. So first I have to learn how to use Powerpoint..............

Bloody learning!

man many circles

A bit worried about my learning in the last weeks. Looks like hard work and learning doesn't go together very well. Although, looking back on my last thing written here.... maybe it will pop-up when more relaxed periods arrive.

In my head is a picture that I want to make when having time. Learning is often described a s a circle (e.g. Kolbs). I think I want to make an image where you have many many circles. Active at the same time, some sleeping for a while, some very active. But then the actual learning takes place when circles connect. Should be this lines you see in cartoons showing electricity. The statement would be that learning doesn't happen in a circle but in the connection between different circles.

Well....like I said...I have to work on this when having more time.

But just to let you know that maybe to busy for learning at the moment but still thinking about it.

Found it

It was the Supremes! Find it here!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDd7vGB95ig&feature=related

The Happening

And then it happened...

I think it's from the Supremes: 'and then it happened'. Followed by 'uhu'. But I'm not sure, couldn't find it on Youtube. Anyway I don't think they were singing about learning when they make this conclusion in the song; 'and then it happened'.

Still the sentence popped up when I was thinking about my learning. When I try to identify moments in the last years where I really had the feeling I was learning something it were 'and then it happened' moments. It's a bit like an 'aha moment'.

It's those moments where I hear myself talking, or see myself writing and, in a way, am surprised about myself. Where I think:'Yes! that's it'.

When it's in writing it's obvious, more clear. Thoughts, discussions, things I read, experiences suddenly appear on paper into a coherent kind of thinking. For me when I have written down things I kind of own them, it's added to my consciousness. Which didn't, before that moment, happen to all these thoughts, talks, bubbles etc. So the moment I'm writing it down feels like the moment I've learned something.

But it's not only in writing. It happens also in meetings, formal and informal, that I find myself suddenly saying quite smart things. Well...not that I say mostly only stupid things when talking to people (although that also happens). But it's those moments that I, mostly to my own surprise, suddenly bring many things together which leads then to something that makes sense, that produces something new. (anyway in my thinking)

It's not really a planned way of learning. But at the same time it is the result of having been focussed on a certain topic for a while. And then...... ' and then it happened'

in circles.....

For the moment I stopped my little study on ‘development in self-directed learning’. It doesn’t mean I’m really finished but I wrote down what I found out till now and will certainly take things up again in the future. Simply no time in the coming weeks. But so far I’m quite happy with what I did.
The main conclusion is that I found out that my initial question on what would be steps to develop as a self-directed learner shouldn’t be the question to continue with. As I already wrote in the last blog I think the linear thinking behind the idea of steps and stages is to limited. At the same moment that puts me into a quite challenging position. How to approach things when you don’t want to think (or not only) in a linear way? I’m quite used to think about things in a linear way. Being at the same time aware that I don’t act like that. But to understand things I use ‘linear thinking’. There are models looking at human behaviour that use circles, which is anyway a step out of ‘a simple line’. But also there you see certain steps that lead to improvement….. it still is a line…
Well…I’m sure I’m not the first one thinking that linear thinking doesn’t solve all problems so there must be a lot to find on that topic. Which will be my next move. But will take some time. For the coming weeks a full agenda where I hope to meet some people that can discuss this challenge and help me further.

need for logic

It's amazing how many things you find when you look for self-directed learning and learning2learn on the web. You get totally confused. Spend the last days in selecting those things that make sense. The funny thing is that my initial objective to find theory and methodology about the way 'how to develop as a self-directed learner' get more and more doubtful. It's not that I don't find things. I found a lot. All kind of 'steps to take', categories of learners, competences you need. So I got what I was looking for.
But the more I read about it the more I wonder if this all really makes sense. There seems to be a big need to put this all into logic, linear steps. First you do this and then you do that. And you get better all the time. Let's be honest... that would also help a lot. Just going from one step to the other and in the end you will be the perfect self-directed learner. But .... I think it's to simple. Human beings don't function like that. We don't plan our lives in such a logic linear way. Things happen... chances are suddenly there...or just something else happens.. Well..probably there are people who follow plans in an logical coherent way but I have the impression that these are exceptions. When I see how I work, but also a lot of other people, there is a often a need for planning more and working in a more structured way....but reality is different.
Still all this reading brings me a lot. I'm getting more and more to the idea that 'self-confidence' and 'self-awareness' are the crucial elements in being a self-directed learner. I agree with most of the competences and elements mentioned in the different articles but for all these things you need a certain level of self-confidence and the competence to reflect on yourself.
Well..still 8 days to get to a final document.

For those who are interested in the topic: a two year European project started on Learning2Learn. You can find information about it on the L2L website: www.learning2learn.eu
And in the coming week a virtual platform will start. When you want to take part in the discussion there please write me an email and you will be invited.

focus on the topic

I don't know if it is because of this blog but I'm behind my able with papers and books around me and the mac book in front of me. I look like a real student. It's all about what I announced in the last blog: studying different stages to become a self-directed learner.
The interesting thing however about it at the moment is to see how I deal...or maybe struggle with doing this. In the last days I have been in this position three times: surrounded by books and articles. The problem is that after ten minutes or half an hour I'm still there but focussed on a totally different topic. Well... not totally different but on topics which are not serving my initial intention. Because of reading things my brains starts to work and I get ideas for other projects I'm working on. The day before yesterday it resulted in me working on the design of a training course that I have to do in June. As such good...but still....
I don't know if this is bad but reading a book or an article for me doesn't immediately lead to me taking the information or theory and add it to my 'knowledge'. I start discussing wit the author, checking if what he/she writes fits into my thinking/knowledge etc. Maybe I'm too pigheaded, too stubborn.
At the same time it works. It brings me further in my thinking. It's not about getting something completely new, not being totally surprised and inspired by a completely different concept. It helps more in refining my already existing views.
Anyway...tonight I managed to stay in the topic, I made notes and I even started to write things down in what should be one day, at the end of this month, the final document.
I feel like making progress here.

Italian..... well...not really a lot of progress there. I only managed a few times to get into quite short Italian conversation. Problem was being in Turkey for two weeks which didn't really help. The good thing is that I found there in my hotel room an Italian TV channel which is quiet interesting. Brings news the whole day and has interesting interviews. It turned out that we have that channel also here at home. So...interesting Italian television!

Exciting

Just a short message. Found for myself a new learning topic for the coming month. It should all end in a document/article about the different stages that learners have to go through in order to be a self-directed learner. Decide already on articles and books to read. And.... I think it's exciting!

Italian first

OK...lets keep this thing going! I'll start with the most 'easy' learning point I put up last week.
Improving my Italian.
In a way it's a shame that after three and a half year I have such a poor Italian. There are some excuses: travelling a lot, Calabresian accent which is sometimes far from Italian etc. But excuses don't help to get better.
I do my 'learning words' quite regularly. I have this notebook already for 4 years in which I write down new words which I then also try to learn. And I do. I know many words. The problem is that many of them don't pop up when I need them. Or they pop up 5 minutes later and then the topic in the conversation already changed....

I see two main challenges
1. to have more Italian conversations
2. to understand Italians
In a way they are strongly linked. I'm quite sure that speaking Italian helps a lot to learn. During an evening with friends in which I have to speak Italian I really learn a lot. I'm not the most speaking person, I have my difficult moments in finding the right words... but in the end I feel very excited about the fact that I survived and did say the things I wanted to say.
It's tiring ...exhausting. It takes all my energy to follow Italians when they speak. And I get lost very quick. Depends a bit on who is speaking. Some Italians speak so clear, word by word, as if they are in love with their language ...I love those people. But most don't and then I'm really struggling.
I see for myself a few 'ways' to make steps.
I keep on going learning my words from my little notebook. Nothing wrong with that and it's an easy thing to do.
I have to get myself more and more into situations where I have to speak Italian. I need practice! Which is not easy. Where I live is not the most crowded place on earth and you can easily end up only talking to your wife for a day. Which is nice but Dutch.
So one thing is to take more advantage of the few people who are around. Maybe not to much thinking about how 'interesting and smart' the conversations are but going for every conversation possible. Just any talk helps. Next year I will go for 'intelligent Italian talks'!

I just had an excellent idea which I immediately put into practice. Instead of listening to all the music on my I-Tunes I put RAI-radio on! I found it and a lot of Italian coming out of my speakers now. I have to hear Italian... that helps...I think. So...did that. Put it in my favourites!

Of course also watching Italian TV helps. I do...sometimes..but not enough. Don't know. I'm not very excited about Italian TV. Should find a programme that I really like.
It's a lot about 'getting expressions' and 'ways of saying'. I'm quiet satisfied with my level of English. Enough to say the things I want to communicate. I know enough expressions and words to make a sentence easily. And I know that I make mistakes but I don't care. My aim is also not to become a perfect Italian speaker. I want to be able to express myself...well and to understand.

I'm thinking now if it would help to write more in Italian. I could for instance write this blog in two languages. I can imagine that it helps two take the time when writing to search and find words and expressions. By writing it could be that it helps you to use that afterwards in conversation. But maybe a bit to ambigious at the moment. It would probably stop me from writing this blog.... a bit too much. But I can make that a goal for later. To do that starting from after the summer, in September.

To summarise for the moment:
- continuation of learning words
- looking like crazy for opportunities to have a smany Italian conversation as possible
- listening to Italian radio when working from now on
- from September this blog will be bilingual

For now that's enough!
My second learning point for later. Much more difficult but therefor important to start on as soon as possible.

A start......

I have been thinking a lot about how to start this blog.
To be honest I still don't have a clear idea.
So just starting maybe is the best solution....

This blog should be about my learning.
But then the first thing to do would be to decide for myself what I want to learn.
To write that down here in the first blog and then to describe in all the coming blogs how successful I am, or not...
Sounds great....but.... life is not that simple.

What do I want to learn!!??
Already for years I tell everybody that I want to learn how to better structure my work.
That I want to plan my work and then do it according the plan.
But in the end I do everything on the last day.....
And it seems that I'm quite happy with that.
Or maybe the only thing I have to learn is that I should be real happy about that and stop feeling stupid and guilty when I don't follow the plan...and just stop making plans that only frustrate me.
So... not something I want to focus on here...

What I really want to learn is to speak better Italian.
I live in this country now for three and a half year and it's poor ...very poor.
I'm motivated for that.... it makes sense to speak well the language of the country you are living in... it helps me for my survival...for my social life...
So... that's a clear learning point!! Speaking and understanding better Italian!

Then there's something about expressing myself more clear. A difficult one. But I think one that makes sense to work on. Needs in the first place some thinking, some analysing. Related mostly to working situations. To colleagues but maybe even more to participants in training courses. I have sometimes this tendency to say nothing when I should say something. Sounds a bit stupid....but I think it's worthwhile to dig in a bit...

Well...that's already two learning points!!
Maybe it's not necessary to decide now on everything... it is all life long learning...

Well there is on other thing related to this blog. I want to experiment a bit with other ways to express myself. Not only by words. Trying with pictures....video...or whatever.

OK...enough for now. My next step...blog...should be about taking at least up one of these two learning points.
But...I started!!