I recently watched the movie Sachin: A Billion Dreams and it was inspirational.
At the heart of it, the story of one young man's intense striving and effort to achieve excellence, in his own words. The humility with which he acknowledges the support of his family and coach, the recognition that it was a constant battle against complacence, and the great respect for the coach who deliberately refused to applaud him, to make him stretch, and keep stretching the boundaries of what he could achieve. And also the immense desire to make his country proud, and win for his country. A warming and energising story.
It brought to mind one of the most important fundamental principles of learning design -- the experience must be designed with a recognition and understanding of the knowledge, experience and assumptions that learners bring with them, and that there are distinct differences in the way experts and novices perceive their world. Read this article How Experts Differ From Novices for more insight.
In one scene of the movie, we see Sachin batting with his eyes closed, to improve his accuracy and timing. Incredible brain training, to develop the sense of where and when to strike, an instinctive feel for the motion of the ball.
'...experts have acquired extensive knowledge that affects what they notice and how they organize, represent, and interpret information in their environment. This, in turn, affects their abilities to remember, reason, and solve problems.'
It's about developing fluency. Here is another really insightful discussion of the differences between Experts and Novices.
There are many lessons in this for learning designers -- the need to first and foremost, offer learners an insight into what it takes to become an expert, and the milestones they must pass in that journey from Novice to Expert. Many of our learners are thrust into the journey without that critical road map.
If you are engaged in teaching young learners or any learners really, even adult learners, then, this holds many insights about the need to develop strong conceptual foundations and identify gaps and misconceptions early in the learning experience. In an educational system that rewards marks, and misses out on identifying and plugging fundamental conceptual gaps, this is dangerous,...
'...because it’s the bits they may be getting wrong that cumulatively have a considerable impact on future learning (the 10-20%). Taking even the smallest misconception forward could make future learning less clear and more difficult.'
For more insight, read How Experts Differ From Novices and Current Theories on Expert and Novice Thinking
