End. Begin. Continue.

2 CommentsBlog, , , , , , , ,

Excited about the new year? Many people are. People are ‘pumped’ with starting something new  and fresh that would changed their lives. Gym subscriptions begin rising, new diets are intended, changes in looks, and the list goes on and on. Generally the excitement of the new year lasts just a few days. The routine takes over and we completely forget about new year’s resolutions. The fact is that changes and getting used to changes won’t happen in a day, or a week. It is said that it takes a minimum of 21 days to develop a habit. What we forget is that there are no new beginnings without endings and that the line between the two is not as thin as it looks. There is a period of transitioning from ending to beginning.

William Bridges explains in his book Transitions – Making Sense of Life’s Changes how to understand change in order to cope with it. Life is a continuum full of endings and beginnings and are often the transitions that are the most difficult times to endure. We leave behind experiences, people, things, practices, habits, and thoughts to move on into new ones but it doesn’t happen magically at midnight like in a fairy tale. Changes take time and we humans don’t like that. We want things to happen right away, don’t we?

What if you decide to make changes happen instead of waiting for them to just happen? Visualize the ideal you. Be wise in doing this. Don’t visualize yourself in comparison with someone else. Be realistic. The ancient Greeks defined ‘sin’ as ‘missing the mark’. If you go too high, too low, or to the sides you are missing the mark. Can you see it? Now, consider what needs to be done in order to achieve that visualization. What does it take to get there?

Educate yourself. Listen to the experience of others. Weight their points of view in light of your context and needs. Follow what fits your vision. Try new things within your means. Some risks and leaving the comfort zone are necessary. Stop doing what is not working for you. Keep doing what is working so far. End. Begin. Continue. Results take time. Enjoy each achievement. Most importantly, love what you do. Life is incomplete until you are complete. Life is only complete when you are not. Is the transition that matters and makes a continuous change in you.

If We Only Knew We Could Predict Behavior

2 CommentsBlog, , , , , ,

Learning and teaching are complicated endeavors. Every component of a purposeful learning process is important to achieve results. However, there are so many factors and variables to consider that it is almost impossible to count them all. As educator and instructional designer I aim to provide effective learning solutions. Some people might think that an effective learning solution is to provide all the possible answers to a given problem. I prefer to think that guiding people to find the answers for themselves is a better approach.

How can we accomplish this? We must draw knowledge and tools from other disciplines. Psychology for example provides information to facilitate learning, or as Howard Gardner suggested, it provides an understanding of the conditions where education takes place and of the recipients and practitioners of knowledge. If we only knew how people would behave in a specific learning environment, won’t we make sure to be ready to suit the needs accordingly? Understanding what people think of themselves and their skills to succeed in specific learning endeavors can provide instructional designers with direction to design learning goals and instructional strategies that aim not only for the acquisition of knowledge but also providing for a transformative learning experience. Knowing how learners perceived their likelihood to achieve success also provides for a better understanding of the constraints and opportunities of a proposed learning solution.

In my research, I explore self-efficacy beliefs as entry behaviors. Self-efficacy beliefs are personal perceptions of the skills to achieve a goal. If we only knew that self-efficacy beliefs could provide hints not only in how people will approach a learning situation, but to us to be prepared to teach or guide accordingly, won’t we take time to know our students better? According to the results of the study, people not only approach a task according to their self-efficacy, but they also behave as predicted. This provides a better idea of opportunities and constrains in proposed learning solutions.

Confronting new challenges brings consciously or unconsciously the need to assess and balance skills with requirements. Individuals consider what is required to achieve a goal and examine if they have the skills to achieve it. They also consider if they have the skill to learn the skills required to achieve the goal. Task engagement, performance, anxiety, stress, persistence, and coping skills are also affected by self-efficacy. Knowing this before hand prepares instructional designers to create learning solutions accordingly and to provide a transformative experience through the learning process.

In order to provide learning solutions of transformation it is necessary to know what needs to change. This is another way to measure success. Let’s call it “base line”. Assessing previous knowledge is important. However, knowing how people feel about the knowledge and skills they possess can make a great difference in how they approach a task. The act of teaching and guidance could be designed and approached based on learning strategies design to fit the specific needs. We could also be changing lives. Instructional designers could be helping to improve self-efficacy along with providing effective learning solutions.

Art Changing Lives

1 CommentBlog, , , , , , , ,

A few years ago I was teaching art to children with disabilities. It was my first official teaching job and one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Back then, the kids called me “Mr. T” (since it was easier than trying to say: “Tirado”). In one of the older kids’ classes I had a student who ran to the bathroom and stayed there every time I can to teach the class. He was friendly outside the classroom, I spent time with his class many times in different activities, and we even had lunch together many times. He never ran away to hide or anything like that. One day during lunch I had to ask: “Why do you hide in the bathroom every time there is art class?”. His answer changed my perception towards teaching and ignited my curiosity to understand self-efficacy beliefs (although I was not familiar with the term back then). He said: “Mr. T, I can’t take that class. I can do nothing of what you teach. I grew up listening to people telling me that I’m stupid. I don’t want to try and then disappoint you too.”

During my doctorate studies I focused my dissertation towards understanding self-efficacy beliefs as a way to predict how people would engage in new learning experiences (you can read about my research in my bio if interested). Based on Social Cognitive Theory, self-efficacy beliefs are the product of the interaction between environment, behavior, and cognitive (and physical) capabilities forming the way with think about ourselves and our skills to reach a goal. The interaction of these factors of causation (environment, behavior, and cognitive) is known as Triadic Reciprocal Determinism. To make it simple: Our experiences and how we react to and interpret these experiences shape what we think of ourselves now and how we are going to approach new challenges. I know you might be thinking: “What in the world does this mumbo-jumbo has to do with art?”

Art affecting factors of causation

Art affecting factors of causation

Take a look of the benefits of art in all three factors of causation:

Physical factors: motor skills, eye/hand coordination, neurological reconstruction, stress reliever.

Cognitive factors: emotional relief, attitude change, understanding of culture and society, knowledge increase in art history, coping skills.

Environment: Different approach to decoding social and cultural symbolism, decoding environmental responses.

Behavior: better response to challenges, problem solving, better articulation of ideas.

Remember the kid hiding in the bathroom during art class? I had a conversation with him during lunch one day and taught him how to draw the human figure using basic shapes and proportions. He went his way and a few days later came to show me what he had accomplished. It was very impressive! This kid had so much hidden talent that was captive under the belief that he was stupid because that’s what every one said. That year he achieved the certificate for best improved art student and not only that, he also improved in other domains. He began to understand that what people said won’t count if you know you can do it. After graduation, He became a role model and mentor for younger kids.

I am not saying that art is the solution to your life’s problems. IT IS NOT! However, ART opens spiritual and neurological pathways facilitating the release of repressed emotions, internal conflicts, and traumatic experiences. ART also helps as anxiety, depression and stress reliever. ART is a powerful tool to facilitate transformation. We are not talking about clinical therapy (although it is used clinically), art is therapy in itself, and the results and benefits are available to anyone who engages in the creative experience. This is not at all limited to children. It is often the child who grew up hurt who needs it more.

Art changes lives!