Tyler Nakatsu
It was September in Washington D.C., on a weeknight, just after midnight, and I had a one way ticket to Boston. 21 years young, I had just traded in mymarketing job in Seattle for a year serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA with
. And, I was without a place to live when the Greyhound pulled up to the curb.
When it comes to how we learn, rarely is something more impactful than navigating uncertainty.
Deeper Learning happens when people are in situations where they must simultaneously learn, apply thinking, and reflect. In these situations, it's the individual's unfamiliarity (with the environment, stakeholders, cultures) that is core to the learning experience.
The only stop on the bus ride was at a service station, in Connecticut I think, during the morning, but the sun wasn't up. I walked around the parking lot pushing around the reality of having to find a place to live and living out of my backpack until then, navigating a city I've never been to, and beginning a national service term that I knew would pay me below the poverty line. The stakes were high but I couldn't ignore my privilege as the support of my folkswas just a phone call away. I wanted to test the value of my traditional K-12 and postsecondary pathway. I was stepping off the direct path to
, tryingto
, and
.
, that was shared at the 13th
, Johansen, Ekambaram, and Hald recognized that:
Managing / dealing with uncertainty requires, among other things, the following aspects that are connected to learning and knowledge sharing: Reflecting
and making sense of the situation individually and / or collectively; Utilizing existing knowledge or exploring new knowledge to manage uncertainty;
Gaining new knowledge and competence by managing uncertainty effectively.
As we prepare students for careers (most don't even exist yet because they haven't been created by the students that will occupy them), we must engage students in learning experiences where they are faced with navigating uncertainty; where it's also okay to fail and learn, and be exposed to risk, where you really have to "make it work."
Uncertainty and HigherEd
At a recent Seattle Arts Lecture series, Frank Bruni talked about his new book
. Bruni described how college is a unique opportunity for a clean slate, to have access to opportunities, to explore new thinking, create relationships, and to learn from people who you don't agree with. "Widening a base of experiences is so important," he emphasized. "If you grew up in the city, go to college in a rural setting, if you grew up in the country, go to college in an urban setting."
This is great advice for GenDIY students who are considering
.
He shared his ideal college orientation: Have all freshmen unfollow half of the people they agree with on social media, and follow or like with the same number of people, organizations, or companies that they don't agree with.
"We use social media, and as a way to cocoon ourselves in entrenched paradigms, grooves.
This is creating and growing how partisan we've become as a nation, which is hindering our ability to work together to solve problems," he said.
Developing an Innovation Mindset
My interest in uncertainty began in communication theory, with
. While wrapping undergrad at
(Go Cougs) I interviewed real estate companies in the Spokane - Coeur D'alene corridor on how the industry managed making decisions about water with the lack of water policy between Washington and Idaho, Spokane and Coeur D'alene, Spokane County and Kootenai County, and how they are adapting, or not. From this grew a much wider application and recognition of situations that involve uncertainty.
For students, learning experiences that are focused on recognizing and navigating uncertainty, are adaptive learning environments.
that traveling, experiencing new environments, and visiting other cultures can support in developing an innovation mindset. "Gain the full sense of what they've done and how they do it," and be, "reflective about how you think - the first step to developing an innovation mindset."
"Figure out what you're passionate about and get to work reading, writing, visiting, and thinking about it with some smart people," he concluded.
Looking back on that 11 hour GreyHound ride, I think what's as important as me figuring it out what the hell I was going to do, was the decision to actually get on that bus. It was the decision to engage in the unknown. As students look for ways to take control of their journey to college, career, and contribution, we must emphasize the importance of treading the uncharted, inside and outside the classroom.
How to Integrate Ambiguity in Learning
One way teachers can implement uncertainty is to build a lesson plan that involves problem solving as part of a virtual field trip. Go outside the designated learning area. A low tech solution I love is Snapchat Live Stories. Everyday a different city is profiled in short videos (each 10 seconds max) shot by local young people sharing what they love about their community and their lives. Here's screenshots of a story profiling Belo Horizonte in Brazil.
Other high quality virtual field trips include
,
, and
.
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Tyler Nakatsu is the Managing Editor at Getting Smart. Find Tyler on Twitter at @post_west.