Assignment; Peer learning for MIT

1. Assignment 4 LCL, MIT
Activity:
Conduct a learning exchange. Ask someone to help you learn something you would like to learn.
And offer to help someone else learn something you know. Write about your experiences. What
did you learn from teaching someone else? Did you learn something about your own
understanding, when you helped someone else learn?
Statement: I posted a question about this on in the discussion forum. I outlined my idea and
asked if this idea sounded all right. No answer received.
I ascribe to my twenty-two P’s of training: Practice, painless, palatable, prudent, professional,
pictorial, patient, practical, paced, parallel, passionate, perceptive, pertinent, pervasive,
philosophic, physical, playful, polished, positive, potent, precise, and the particular. This list is a
working list.
Background: My friend is interested in buying a riding mower for her country lot. They do not
include hands-on instruction when buying from the local Sears outlet. They do, however,
include a comprehensive manual in English and Spanish, but this will not do for my female
friend.
I’ve agreed to teach J. about operating and maintaining
the machine in exchange for her showing me the finer
points of Dreamweaver software. After we agreed, I
emailed her a copy of the manual for the mower and
asked her to look at the basic controls, including the
ignition key and throttle control.
I ascribe to my twenty-two P’s of
training: Practice, painless,
palatable, prudent, professional,
pictorial, patient, practical, paced,
parallel, passionate, perceptive,
pertinent, pervasive, philosophic,
physical, playful, polished,
positive, potent, precise, and the
particular. This list is a working
list.

2. I already have a copy of Dreamweaver < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Dreamweaver >
Figure 1 Dreamweaver opening screen
but don’t use it because I am so used to using Microsoft Frontpage <
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_FrontPage > to make my web pages. There are a lot of
free introductions and tutorials on line, but J. has used it for site development, so here
instruction is particularly relevant.
I want to learn Dreamweaver, as one of my hosts does not allow Frontpage for editing web
pages, although they did when I signed with them.
We are meeting this week, and she is bringing her laptop and notebook. I will be taking notes
and making photographs. A few days after my lesson, we will meet at my shop and I will spend
time with her showing her how to operate the mower.
Figure 2 My riding mower. Craftsman 420cc 30” 6-Speed Rear Engine Riding Mower

3. I will show J. the machine, how to start it cold after checking it over for anything near the
cutting deck and for the fuel supply on board. The oil will be checked, tires, loose bolts, etc.
The manual will supplement what I show
her. After I show her the basics, I will have
her start the mower, engage the
transmission, engage the cutting blades, and
move forward at the slowest speed to cut a
strip of lawn in my alley.
As I always do when teaching or training
someone, I demonstrate something, then I
ask that “the student” do the same for me,
as I take the role of the student. I also use
the old Dale Carnegie method: “Tell the
audience what you're going to say, say it;
then tell them what you've said.”
Since the mower can remove toes and
fingers in a microsecond, I will be
emphasizing safety from the start. I will
point out all the dangers of the machine as
well as those levers and controls that have
the most impact on the safe operation of the mower.
While planning this exercise, I thought of purposely altering my training methods as a creative
and intellectual experiment. At present, I am reading Creative Confidence: Unleashing the
Creative Potential Within Us All by Tom and David Kelley. This book has inspired some new
ideas that I plan to use immediately and in the future. What steps can I take to alter my
methods? I will have to ponder this for a while. A couple of daydreams and a morning
awakening meditation will help as it always does. I am going to ask my friend to touch all the
controls. Every one. I will ask her to touch the mower’s blades. She will lean in close and hear
the motor start, idle, and run. She will smell the gasoline, and touch the oil on the dipstick. She
will smell the mowed grass. I will attempt to make the experience as memorable as possible.
She will have my full attention.
Coincidentally, we are both kinesthetic learners, so this type of learning exchange is suitable. It
is especially suitable to learning how to operate a machine.
J. has offered to answer all my Dreamweaver questions by email, which will include screen
shots or screen captures. Of course, I will practice using the software.
Figure 3 Red mower deck. DANGER. Emphasis, mine.

4. I did not mention it to my friend prior to the lesson, but if J. answers 7 out of ten of my
questions correctly, following the hands-on training, I will award a
badge to her. All the questions will deal with safe operation.
Dreamweaver is similar to another HTML editor I’ve used since its
inception in 1997. Having used Frontpage for so long, it will be
easy for me to transfer my knowledge to the new software. I asked
about the major differences between Dreamweaver and
Frontpage. J. said that my experience with Frontpage will make
the transition easier. One default setting in Dreamweaver is
bothersome to her, as it is to many other users. The default setting for line spacing is double
spacing, but instead of hitting enter to go to next line, use shift enter.
Today, we created a new web page and I
saved it on my flash drive to take home
and to use for practice.
When I train someone, I try to empathize
as much as possible, and try to anticipate
any problems that may arise. I have been
teaching for forty-four years, and it
included all grade levels from Kindergarten
in a special education school in San Jose,
California, to Doctoral Students at an
International University. It has forced me
to be patient, too listen carefully, to watch
body language and facial microexpressions,
and to ask questions of the students along
the way. I think that I am a good “teacher”. My students learn. My students laugh. I laugh.
I read this recently in Tim Brown’s book, Change by Design. Every problem can be approached
as a design problem. I can approach the problem of my friend not having an efficient and
relatively fast way of mowing her large piece of property, by teaching her how to use a riding
mower.
When I help someone learn something new, I put together the experiences and methods I
remember from teaching and training, plus the new things I’ve only learned yesterday and
today. I have to distinguish here, the difference between learning and training. Learning
changes behaviors. Training usually encompasses skills. It’s ideal to put them together, but
hard to quantify in the academic world.
Figure 4 Hands on demo over coffee at local cafe.

5. Today, J. and I reviewed what I expected of her, and we have set a day for her visit to my shop
and studio for the mower lesson. We just exchanged emails, and she will be over on Friday
morning so I can wrap up my assignment and I can proceed to write up my impression of the
session any any exceptional findings and conclusions.
I leaned on my own understanding of mechanical things and safety related issues when I helped
my friend learn. I’ve harmed myself in several ways when working around automobiles and
motorcycles as a mechanic. I am aware of dangers and possible causes. I am aware of
conditions that contribute to accidents and bruised knuckles and burns. I was able to empathize
with my student, as a novice and as a female. I’ve taught Ms. Mechanics to YWCA, adult ed.,
high school, and in college classes at San Jose State University.
I have also learned from a musician friend that it is often useful to adjust your intention
throughout the lesson – whether you are the teacher or the taught.
My appointment with my student will start in less than 90 minutes. I am nervous, as it has
been a while since I did a one-to-one with someone. I am taking deep breaths and running
things over in my mind so I can calm down a bit and take things slow. I think my last one-to-one
was several months ago when I showed someone how to check several types and voltages with
a specially designed tester. That lesson went so well that my friend borrowed the tester and
checked dozens of alkaline, nickle cadmium and nickle metal halide batteries. I sloughed off
some of the nervousness by wiping down the mower, starting it, and mowing a patch of lawn.
It helped a lot. Now I am excited, not nervous.
The lesson went well. I assured J. that the
controls and safety switch and controls
protected her as the operator. J. checked the
oil and gas first, then took photographs as I
had her review the controls. I demonstrated
the full operation while cutting grass as she
walked along side. The experience was calm,
proceeded nicely, and we were both satisfied
with the time we spent teaching and
learning.
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