Firefly News Flash, October 2018, The Firefly Group

Your ETR (Estimated Time to Read): 10 minutes
Your ETII (Estimated Time to Implement Ideas): 5 weeks

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Say It Quick!

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October 2018
How to Have Fun with Statistics

Say It Quick a thoughtful message in exactly 99 words	Discoveries bits of serendipity to inspire and motivate	Ideas fuel for your own continuous learning	Activities tips and tricks you can try today
Up to Snuff - An ordinary mistake	Quotidian Learning - Insight from the ordinary	Something New Every Day - Looking for learning	Your Turn - The next round of the experiential cycle

Say It Quick

Quotidian Learning:
Our final issue of the Firefly News Flash

Most people don't look to learn something from the dull, ordinary things that happen every day. I do. It's a practice I have consciously cultivated. But in the future, I will not be sharing my insights through the Firefly News Flash.

In this issue I explain why and provide tips for you to expand your quotidian learning on a daily basis by yourself. Learn more in this issue of the Firefly News Flash.

Having taken a full time job, I am suspending my consulting business. As a result, I will no longer publish the Firefly News Flash.

I hope you will still read back issues which you can find HERE. I always enjoy hearing what you have learned from my newsletter or what happened when you tried one of my activities. Please continue to let me know when you have been inspired or if you have a question about using an activity.

Your interest in my work and my ideas has been a real spark of inspiration for me.

Thank you!

Brian

Up to Snuff
One Saturday I noticed that my car was 10 days overdue for its annual safety inspection so I was trolling the streets in search of an auto mechanic. I finally found a shop that was open and scheduled an appointment for that afternoon. I returned for the fifteen minute inspection only to realize I was missing the insurance papers - an essential element of the process!

Rats! A whole Saturday wasted and nothing to show for it - except I've got a story to tell. And that's good enough to keep me on my toes for a while!

Discoveries

Quotidian Learning
Insight from the ordinary

"Of or occurring every day; daily. Ordinary or everyday, especially when mundane."

Thus Google defines "quotidian."

I like this word - partly because of the humorous way it rolls off the tongue and partly because, as an unusual word rarely used, it describes what is most ordinary.

I am intrigued by the ordinary, the things that happen in a typical day, the events that might go unnoticed. Why? Sometimes, the things we would typically overlook can contain lessons that lead to powerful learning. With a few moments of reflection on a quotidian instant, one can find connections to a previous event, book, theory, story, or conversation. Through that linkage we can gain insight and make a plan for how to approach a similar situation in the future.

This is the essence of experiential learning. Observation of an experience, thinking about it, theorizing, then making a future plan and testing it. Done rigorously, this process helps us describe patterns. Patterns named become a hypothesis which, when tested, becomes a theory. A well-researched theory is a shortcut to future learning.

I cannot explain why I tend to look for meaning in the ordinary. But I can say that, when I do practice quotidian learning, my life is richer, my ideas at work are more on target, my reactions to world events are more well-rounded, and my responses to loved ones are more heartfelt.

Ideas

Something New Every Day
Looking for Learning

Since my introduction to Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle in graduate school, I have been fascinated with the process of learning from experience. For me, Kolb's cycle of Concrete Experience, Reflective Observation, Abstract Conceptualization, and Active Experimentation describes learning at its most basic. Infants learn this way. So do children, youth, and adults - especially when they encounter something novel.

And every day holds the promise of novelty. We are improv actors playing our part as best we can in the moment. To do this we have to be ready to respond in the instant to this very instant in an original way.

Learning efficiently through experience is critical. It enables us to be nimble and stay relevant. When we understand the Experiential Learning Cycle and how to use it, we can learn from any situation. We don't need a certified teacher to tell us facts. We don't need an expert's theory to confirm our knowledge. We don't need Google to gain insight.

For ten years I have been sharing my quotidian learning in this newsletter every month. I make links from an ordinary experience described in exactly 99 words to something I have discovered. In the Ideas section, I share my own views, theories, or insights with the hope I might spark similarly thoughtful encounters for you. Then, I offer an activity as a way to test or experiment with the concepts.

Even though I will not be sharing my discoveries, ideas, and activities here in the future, I know I will still be finding, thinking, and making them. Within every day, whether profound or embarrassing (see today's 99-Word Story!), there is always something new to learn - if you look for it.

I hope you have been inspired to do just that.

Activities

Your Turn
The next round of the experiential cycle

By now it should be clear that experiential learners can take control of what and how they learn. They can be self-directed and, over time, gain the confidence to grow as they wish.

But to make it all work, they need to put their new concepts into practice. That's where an activity can be helpful. Here are a few tips for transforming a learning moment into a new entry point on Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle.

Compare - Find three situations that are similar to what happened

Contrast - Find three situations that are different from what happened

Analogize - Make a metaphor representing the concept

Touch - Make a tangible representation or a model of the situation

Listen - Play music while you reflect on the new ideas

Silence - Be still and let your mind muddle around

Read - Locate a library book on the topic

Move - Act out the idea or situation

Practice - Rehearse what you wish you had said

Ask - Talk to a friend about your new idea

Experiment - Try something, watch what happens, make a new plan based on the results

With these ideas, it now truly is Your Turn. And, as always, I will what happens when you take that next trip on the Experiential Learning Cycle.

With gratitude,
Brian

If you like what you have read in this issue, I would like to bring the same innovation, creativity, and playfulness to your next meeting or learning event.

Whether you need a keynote speaker, or help with strategic planning, performance improvement, or training facilitators and trainers in your organization, I look forward to your call (802.380.4360) or .

-- Brian

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