Welding, like many things, is easy to learn, and hard to do well. As I ran into problem after problem I realized it is something I will never truly master. Especially now that we’ve learned about the “10 year rule”, I can see why the expert level in some areas is so hard to achieve. I’ve also learned how useful a skill like welding can really be. I now see little projects everywhere that I feel like I could mix with woodworking, something I’m much better at.
For my culminating project I had planned to work with my dad to build some window well covers for my parent’s backyard. I knew getting into it that this would be a lofty project, but the overall scale of it meant that we’re going to need some more time for that to be completed. Now I was disappointed with this at first. However, I’ve taken it as a learning experience as opposed to a failure. I have honestly been able to see learning a little better through my student’s eyes when I consider what I thought about welding at the outset of this 8-week learning process. I felt like the skill would be very easy to pick up, and I would have the time to complete multiple small projects, let alone the very large set of window well covers. There is a certain naivety that comes with learning that is easy to forget.
As far as learning theories go, I continue to go back the Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development. I can't help but think of how much more effective my learning would have been if I were able to not only get the immediate help and advice of an expert, but to also have them there to give me a task or a challenge that they knew what right outside my actual knowledge, or even my comfort zone. I
For my culminating project I had planned to work with my dad to build some window well covers for my parent’s backyard. I knew getting into it that this would be a lofty project, but the overall scale of it meant that we’re going to need some more time for that to be completed. Now I was disappointed with this at first. However, I’ve taken it as a learning experience as opposed to a failure. I have honestly been able to see learning a little better through my student’s eyes when I consider what I thought about welding at the outset of this 8-week learning process. I felt like the skill would be very easy to pick up, and I would have the time to complete multiple small projects, let alone the very large set of window well covers. There is a certain naivety that comes with learning that is easy to forget.
As far as learning theories go, I continue to go back the Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development. I can't help but think of how much more effective my learning would have been if I were able to not only get the immediate help and advice of an expert, but to also have them there to give me a task or a challenge that they knew what right outside my actual knowledge, or even my comfort zone. I