Positive/negative learning experiences

As it was such a long time since I was at school, I've decided to write about a couple of relatively recent learning experiences!

The negative one that springs to mind was when I was studying for my degree in Art History with The Open University. Overall, the experience was an excellent one - the tutors returned completed assignments promptly, the summer schools were a brilliant experience and the materials supplied were first class. However, when it came to the 'Democracy and the City State, 5th Century Athens' unit, things became more complicated. One of the lecturers who regularly led our Saturday morning sessions was the most boring speaker I have ever heard! He was incredibly knowledgable and probably a very nice man, but the way he droned on for hours with no animation in speech or motion actually meant I was regularly trying to stay awake. I can remember no visual resources, no demonstrations, no participation and no opportunity for interaction - in fact I can honestly say that the majority of my learning that year was from the text books and worse than that, I never got to see or know the man himself.

To the contrary, a positive learning experience was when I took part in a 'Felt Making and Batik' workshop in London. The ladies' beautiful little house was tucked away in a converted Victorian stables, her studio area and compact walled garden overlooked by grand terraced properties at the back. She made the small group very welcome, laid on a lovely lunch which we ate in the sunshine and engaged in light hearted chatter inbetween organising materials, demonstrating techniques and facilitating our learning and practical outcomes. Although I had already used the techniques before, I left at the end of the day with my samples firmly secured in my sketch book and with a sense of renewed enthusiasm about teaching those skills to my students. I felt refreshed, spoilt and had a general sense of well being and although I will probably never see the ladies again, I think that we all made a deeper connection with eachother on that day.

Judy Goring