Learning Nerd’s Diary #38
Welcome back Learning Nerds!
👀 Sneak peak
Here is what I have in store for you this week -
💭 Learning About Learning: Progressive Overload in Learning
🥜 Learning Nugget: Learning, Intent & Headlines
💥 Coolest Things I Learnt This Week: Social Microclimates
🔦 Spotlight: Introducing Learning Heuristics
Let's jump right in!
💭 Progressive Overload in Learning
In strength training, we talk about progressive overload -
Progressive overload is when you gradually increase the weight, frequency, or number of repetitions in your strength training routine.
While strength training, the body get’s used to weight over time, leading to a plateau. Weight that once was challenging, no longer requires the same amount of effort.
The same happens while learning. And that is exactly why we need progressive overload in learning too. Here are 3 examples:
1/ Learning how to play the Ukelele
While learning how to play a new instrument over time, instead of practicing the same song over and over again, focus on:
Learning more complex songs over time
Trying to play the same song with a faster beat
2/ Mastering Calculus
Similarly while learning calculus instead of practicing similar problems over time, focus on:
Practicing more difficult problem statements
Attempting a set of problem statements in a given time - try reducing that over time
3/ Building a writing habit
Instead of writing more articles over time, focus on:
Writing articles at a certain frequency - something you can increase over time
Writing longer form articles
Progressive overload in learning stops you from plateauing and also keeps things interesting for you. It helps you learn continuously over time and gives you a sense of growth even after you have the initial struggle of learning something from scratch.
In the learning context, progressive overload can come from varying:
Complexity
Difficulty
Frequency
Time
Mastery is a moving target and progressive overload can help you get there!
🥜 Learning, Intent & Headlines
Intent matters. Headlines matter.
Your learning experience starts from before your learners are in the classroom. What did you say to get them there?
💥 Coolest Things I Learnt this Week
Social Microclimates
I came across this article by Huddlecraft this week that talks about ‘social microclimates’. Drawing parallels between environmental microclimates that are defined by their relationship with physical conditions like light and temperature.
Social microclimates are:
A group of people who have ‘a feeling of agency and a sense of the possible’
Are bounded by a sense of shared purpose
Have some kind of structure and rituals to anchor the group
Have a permeable membrane to invite others in and get different perspectives.
Our classrooms are also social microclimates. How would you look at differently?
Make Learning Great Again!
🔦 Spotlight
I’m starting a new series on Learning Heuristics starting this week. Inspired from Usability Heuristics, Learning Heuristics are 10 broad rules of thumb for learning experiences.
#1 Visibility of the learning journey
Visibility of system status → Visibility of the learning journey
Each learning experience should help learners understand where they are in their learning journey. This includes getting a sense of both their progress (how much they’ve grown) and their performance (how well they’ve grown).
When learners know where they are in their learning journey, they are more motivated to continue and put in more effort.
Examples:
A progress bar indicating where a learner is in and how much more there is to learn
An indication of delta - showcase baseline, midline and endline to the learner.
Stay tuned here for the upcoming Learning Heuristics!
Love & Learning
Until we meet next week!
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