The Build It Yourself Project
OUR IDEAS AROUND LEARNING AND COMMUNICATION
"Behind me is infinite power, before me endless possibility,
around me is boundless opportunity. Why should I fear?" - Stella Stuart
In summary
Overall we believe creating a different environment can in itself be a catalyst for positive change.
Over the past 20 years many studies into how the brain learns have highlighted the importance of learning by doing. Something the Ancient Chinese (or ancient wisdom from somewhere) recognised:
I see and I remember
I do and I understand'
We aim to create a spirit of mutual learning, of co-creation, which means together we work towards the outcomes you seek, maybe finding some surprises along the way. Recognising existing skills and valuing what each person can bring to a situation and encouraging a curiosity to learn more, this includes ourselves too.
Another way of saying this is we create and 'hold a space' for the ideas within the group to be heard and explored.
If you were to give a label to our approach we would say we bring together 'self-led learning' and the 'coaching approach' in a group setting.
We apply this because we believe too often people are 'done to' and 'talked at' rather than the energy and ideas being drawn from within the group. That after all is the powerful bit, that is where the grounded, understood and owned ideas really come from.
"Give me a fruitful error any time, full of seeds, bursting with its own corrections"
- Vilfredo Pareto
Want more background on our approach to Learning Styles? Read on...
Frequently we find there are unspoken assumptions about 'how things should be done' which restrict free thinking and creativity.
We all learn in a unique mixture of auditory (learning by listening), visual (learning by looking) and kinaesthetic (learning by touching and making) styles, alongside others - e.g. reflective learning which recognises people need varying amounts of time to let things 'sink in' before we can question and double check and move onto the next bit of information.
There is universal recognition that the 'hands-on' learning in the Early Years Foundation stage (between 3 and 5 years old) is amongst the best practice in enabling independent, focused, engaged and fast learning, across all phases. It promotes skills recognised and demanded by the work force. Best UK and American Primary practice has taken on board experiential learning much more - particularly the influence of Gordon Dryden's 'multiple intelligences' work. Secondary and Tertiary education has been much slower to follow, driven as they are by exam outcomes in more traditional formats of knowledge reiterated, rather than new knowledge experienced and created.
The challenge is that historically most teaching/instruction, both in school and beyond, is auditory/visual yet most males lean towards kinaesthetic learning as their favoured style, as do many females, and we all do to one degree or other.
The BIY Project emphasises self-led and kinaesthetic learning partly because it is normally less emphasised, partly becuase it can connect in a deeper way with the world around us and also to include the Kinaesthetic learners in general.
That is why we go outside and move away from sitting down or behind desks or relying on paper or PowerPoint but instead use other processes to create a different dynamic (and have sympathay with those who have challenged PowerPoint as a teaching tool, e.g by the work of Edward Tuft).
We have a special understanding of Dyslexia and Dyscalculia, are approaches are naturally open to both 'conditions'.
Learning something new involves moving past the bit where you 'know stuff' to where you 'don't know stuff' - and that might also be on the edge of where you feel comfortable.
It may be stating the obvious but because it is new it might challenge what you have thought before; but that is where your answers lie, that is where the gold is. We take you there safely, at your pace and the varying paces within any group and by holding 'Adult to Adult' conversations.
We also have experience of working on deeper emotional levels, including the work of Joanna Macey, should this become relevant for a particular situation.
So, when was the last time you learned something new? Something which really shifted your perception.
Was it a bit 'lumpy', maybe that 'Ohhh - now I get it!' moment when suddenly it became clear or maybe the 'But why didn't you say that before' feeling.
Was there some resistance before you 'Got it'?
Is there an emotional aspect to the lessons which have had the most impact on you? And was it reinforced by doing or making?
We would love to hear about the last time you learned something new. If you have time please tell us your story. We won't use for it for any marketing stuff, but just to have a conversation, to keep learning ourselves.
listening - learning - valuing - random - building - challenging - growing - nurturing