Learning from Experience
by Searching for Insight
This page has not been revised
since May 2001, but
the version on another website has been revised and is
combined with other ideas about education and motivation,
so I strongly recommend that you read
THE
REVISED VERSION.
What do you think about these two ways to cut a tree?
One person is working hard, but isn't
getting much done.
The other is working smart, using an
effective tool, and is getting results!
Which kind of worker do you want to be?
Without proper tools, you'll often experience failure and frustration.
With good tools, you'll feel the thrill of success and satisfaction.
Your confidence will increase, and you'll look forward to the challenge
of solving new problems.
Some tools are physical, like a power
saw. Other tools are mental, like creativity and logic, curiosity
and enthusiasm, perseverance and flexibility, concepts and strategies, attitudes
and habits.
Where do you find these mental tools?
You know many already, you'll learn some from teachers and colleagues, and
others you'll discover for yourself. The goal of this website is to
help you develop powerful strategies and skills for problem solving, especially
in the fields of design, science, and education.
The following true stories about myself
(a skier) and my friend (a welder) illustrate essential principles for learning.
cartoons by Frank Clark
Learning from Mistakes (how I didn't
learn to ski)
My first day of skiing!
I'm excited, but the rental skis worry me. They look much too long,
maybe uncontrollable? On the slope, fears come true quickly and I've
lost control, roaring down the slope yelling "Get out of my way!
I can't stop!" But soon I do stop -- flying through the air sideways,
a floundering spin, a mighty bellyflop into icy snow. My boot bindings
grip like claws that won't release their captive, and the impact twists
my body into a painful pretzel. Several zoom-and-crash cycles later
I'm dazed, in a motionless heap at the foot of the mountain, wondering what
I'm doing, why, and if I dare to try again.
Even the ropetow brings disaster.
I fall down and wallow in the snow, pinned in place by my huge skis, and
the embarrassing dogpile begins, as skiers coming up the ropetow are, like
dominoes in a line, toppled by my sprawling carcass. Gosh, it sure
is fun to ski.
With time, some things improve.
After the first humorous (for onlookers) and terrifying (for me) trip down
the mountain, my bindings are adjusted so I can bellyflop safely.
And I develop a strategy of "leap and hit the ground rolling"
to minimize ropetow humiliation. But my skiing doesn't get much better
so -- wet and cold, tired and discouraged -- I retreat to the safety of
the lodge.
The break is wonderful, just what I need
for recovery. An hour later, after a nutritious lunch topped off with
tasty hot chocolate, I'm sitting near the fireplace in warm dry clothes,
feeling happy and adventurous again. A friend tells me about
another slope, one that can be reached by chairlift, and I decide to
"go for it."
This time the ride up the mountain is
exhilarating. Instead of causing a ropetow domino dogpile, the lift
carries me high above the earth like a great soaring bird. Soon, racing
down the hill, I dare to experiment -- and the new experience inspires an
insight! If I press my ski edges against the snow a certain way, they
"dig in." This, combined with unweighting (a jump-a-little
and swing-the-skis-around foot movement) produces a crude parallel turn
that lets me zig-zag down the slope in control, without runaway speed, and
suddenly I can ski!
Continuing practice now brings rapidly
improving skill, and by day's end I'm feeling great. I still fall
down some, but I'm learning from everything that happens, both good and
bad. And I have the confident hope that even better downhill runs
await me in the future. Skiing has become fun!
This experience illustrates two important
principles:
1) INSIGHT AND QUALITY PRACTICE:
I learned how to ski by doing it correctly, with high-quality practice,
not by making mistakes. There was no amazing improvement until I discovered
the tool for turning. This insight made my practicing effective so
I could quickly develop improved skill: insight --> quality practice
--> skill. Working as cooperative partners, insight and practice
are a great team. Together, they're much better than either by itself.
2) PERSEVERANCE AND FLEXIBILITY:
My morning ski runs weren't fun and I didn't learn much, but I kept trying
anyway, despite the risk of injury to body and pride. Eventually this
perseverance paid off. Because I refused to quit in response to frustrating
morning failures, I experienced the great joys of afternoon success.
/ But if I had continued practicing the old techniques over
and over, I never would have learned the new way to turn. Perseverance
led to opportunities for additional experience, but flexibility allowed
the new experience that produced insight and improvement.
Perseverance and flexibility are contrasting
virtues, a complementary pair whose optimal balancing depends on aware understanding
(both personal and external) and wise decisions. In each situation
you can ask, "Do I want to continue in the same direction or change
course?" Sometimes tenacious hard work is needed, and perseverance
is rewarded. Or it may be wise to be flexible, to recognize that what
you've been doing may not be the best approach and it's time to try something
new.
Learning from Experience
One of the most powerful master skills
is knowing how to learn. The ability to learn can itself be
learned, as illustrated by a friend who, in his younger days, had an interesting
strategy for work and play. He worked for awhile at a high-paying
job and saved money, then took a vacation. He was free to wake when
he wanted, read a book, hang out at a coffee shop, go for a walk, or travel
to faraway places by hopping on a plane or driving away in his car.
Usually, employers want workers committed
to long-term stability, so why did they tolerate his unusual behavior?
He was reliable, always showed up on time, and gave them a month's notice
before departing. But the main reason for their acceptance was the
quality of his work. He was one of the best welders in the city, performing
a valuable service that was in high demand and doing it well. He could
audition for a job, saying "give me a really tough welding challenge
and I'll show you how good I am." They did, he did, and they
hired him.
How did he become such a good welder?
He had "learned how to learn" by following the wise advice of
his teacher: Every time you do a welding job, do it better than the time
before (by learning from the past and concentrating in the present) and
always be alertly aware of what you're doing now so you can do it better
the next time (learning from the present to prepare for the future).
This is a good way to improve the quality of whatever you do. Always
ask, "What have I learned in the past that will help me now, and what
can I learn now that will help me in the future?", while concentrating
on quality of action in the present.
Steps and Leaps
In many areas of life, much
of your improvement will come one step at a time. Each step you take
will prepare you for the next step as you make slow, steady progress.
But you can also travel in leaps. This is possible because many skills
are interdependent, which is bad news (if you haven't yet mastered an important
tool, everything you do suffers from this weakness) and good news (because
key insights can let you make rapid progress, as in my skiing experience).
If you consistently learn from experience
by searching for insights, your steps and leaps will soon produce a wonderful
transformation. You will find, increasingly often, that challenges
which earlier seemed impossible are becoming things you can now do with
ease.
http://www.sit.wisc.edu/~crusbult/methods/ski.htm
copyright 2000 by Craig Rusbult
cartoons, copyright 1989 by Frank Clark