Skill Acquisition Sometimes Requires Experimentation

  • I’ve almost forgotten that knowledge is not a static phenomenon; it’s always moving and an ever-changing substance.
    • It evolves with actions and through interactions with the environment that provides, preferably, clear and structured feedback.
    • It means, if I’ve learned something, then I need to go into the world and collide the idea with reality.
      • Even if this is just a simple idea or a complex concept, there won’t be any trouble implementing some elements of it.
    • It means skill acquisition and learning something new requires trying.
    • Within a classroom, we operate in artificial conditions. In English, we create communicative situations aimed at solving specific problems.
    • In math, it is the process of solving equations on the board.
    • In logic, it is weaving snails, and in reading, it is the interleaving of several aspects of the skill: skimming, decomposition, paraphrasing, and grokking.
  • The process of experimentation starts with prediction. Actually, true learning starts with prediction. If we look at it from a different angle, we can see KWL, the second element, want to know.
    • We can base our experiment on understanding how it might work out according to the current knowledge.
    • Predicting and experimenting make skill acquisition much faster.
  • Smart experimentation is a variation of the scientific method with four key stages:
    • Observation: What are we currently observing?
    • Knowns: What do you know about the topic already?
    • Hypotheses: What do you think will improve your performance?
    • Tests: What are you trying next?
  • The crucial element of such experimentation is a lab journal.
    • The thing that an experimenter uses to track his progress.
    • It is used to form hypotheses as he practices.
    • Track predictions and generate new ideas.

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