By Sandra PHi

Even though I am a degree student I do not consider myself a good or quick learner, however I consider myself to be a good student, and I really know that teachers love this kind of people.

Not long ago I was reflecting about why I prefer distance education methodologies. Not only have I worked professionally for well over a decade in the creation of contents in that field, but also I have been enrolled in formal, non-formal and informal programs online. I find the processes very convenient, because they are indisputably suitable and the information is available 24/7 and there is the space to study without extra displacement. So, looking at this picture, I tried to go further back and I suddenly remembered when I was a bachelors’ student in Art School.

During the turn of the millennium the way I worked and studied were the same. In short, I went to school almost to take the assignments and some days after did a fabulous display of my designs. I received good feedback, self-internal gratifications, drank something with my friends to celebrate the success and came back home full of motivation to continue and develop lots of other projects. Thus, most of the time of my study, research and creation time were at home. Surprisingly I understood that is the way I do a lot of things in my life: working hard by myself, then sharing the findings, conclusions and abstractions with others and then finally receiving feedback and constructive criticism from teachers, classmates or clients.

In the early nineteen-eighties Donald Schön talked about this non-scientific but traditional learning methodology from art and design studios and art schools, based on coaching and learning in action, or learning by doing. He coined the term reflective practicum to explain it, where the student reflects on their action, and as a result of optimal conditions a dialogue between student and coach is initiated.

After five years of being an English student I realised that it took me four and a half years to be a professional graphic designer. I now wonder how much longer it will take me to be a professional speaker.

With the accumulated experience from these years, and considering that I am an advanced student, I firmly believe that at this level I do not need typical language classes anymore. On the one hand, this is because of my style to acquire knowledge, which I have described above and I currently find that the class is like a practice track. On the other hand, there I can train and show my knowledge in a safe and controlled space, and I have the great opportunity to perform the best I can, preparing myself for real interactions and receiving the advice of my coach. She is really helping me to reach the goal that I am pursuing, she is encouraging me to improve my performance and to be aware of my faults as well.

It is clear that this conclusion could not be possible without the scaffolding created by my past learning experiences and the structures of my mother tongue, the development of my study techniques, the interaction with others, and the guidance of someone who knows better. All of these background processes are the base of the construction of knowledge according with Vygotsky’s theory settled one century ago.

Therefore, on this practice stadium it is possible to play roles learning in action and interaction. In this context I can learn from making mistakes and from corrections, building collaborative knowledge, being aware of the success of others, having healthy competition among the coachees, and being reflexive of the process and aware of the steps that have been taken to achieve common and personal goals. The state of my second language is the same when I was a practitioner in design, and let me draw on my knowledge, structures, vocabulary and theory, seeing that now it is time to put the chips on the board and start the game thinking what I am doing while I am doing it.

Thereby, it is not about accumulating knowledge but rather using what I have learnt during five years of practice, preparing myself for the upcoming match and feeling the rain of rewards over me when I do it well. Fortunately, that metaphor has been true any time I meet a new foreigner friend, or when I can keep a long international conversation, or the times when I have got a project abroad and managed meetings and tutorships with my clients, or lately that I have been able to give to a sick friend moral support from a distance lifting their spirit.

Now I can assert, that many wonderful things have been happening during the last five years, my life has changed completely because one day I encourage myself and decided to reset my program and restarted all the systems.

M.A.D Sandra PHi

Photo: Andrea Piacquadio (editada)