Learning and Teaching Experience #6

Learning #6

I learned how to make hobo dinners while I was camping in Zion this past weekend.  I didn't have any seasoning or salt and pepper but ketchup with the potatoes, carrots, and beef tasted just great. First I got the ingredients and necessary materials: potatoes, carrots, beef, knives, peeler, and tinfoil. Luckily a friend on the trip had made hobo dinners before and she knew to wait for the wood to burn down to coals and then place the tinfoil wrapped meal on the wood. My friends pitched in and helped peel and cut the potatoes and I cut the carrots and made the hamburger paddies. We did this all by flashlight. I learned that making something like hobo dinners is a good source of protein and energy, which is especially important if you are hiking while you are camping. It helped to have someone teach me who had cooked hobo dinners before. I like models or hands on teachers who can guide me in person. I have realized that making crockpot dinners from recipes online are difficult when I have a question or don't understand something because I can't ask someone. With my experienced friend Erica, I had a better cooking experience and probably learned more than I do when I just follow a recipe from online.

Teaching #6

After working on lag putting, I taught Siri the basics to chipping. "Chipping is an art form," I told her, mostly because all of my teachers have told me this, but I have come to believe that the aspects of golf are so personal and really are acquired by practice and personal preference. I explained to her that you can use every single club in your bag for any kind of shot. That is a cool aspect of golf because there are so many options. However, to gain consistency, it is best to practice with the same clubs for the same shots or choose one or two clubs and practice several shots with those. A chip is when you have more green to work with and less fringe or rough to carry. So the idea of the shot is to keep it as low as possible, more like a long putt. You can bounce chips on the fringe, but the fringe can be inconsistent and cause errant bounces. After explaining the aspects of a chip I showed Siri how to position her feet and hands in relation to the ball. Then I described the swingmotion as being slightly larger than a lag putt motion. After watching her hit a few balls I noticed that she was trying to "pick" the ball up. I gave her feedback explaining that to hit the ball consistently or to make good consistent contact with the ball, the club must come down and "pinch" the ball then take some grass. I repeated the swing and caused a divot in the ground which made a thud pinching sound. I told her that if she heard that sound, and could practice that motion and hit the same spot repeatedly, she would gain better consistent contact. She practiced after I gave her this feedback and understood the concept of chipping better.

Teach and Learn Experience #5

Teaching Experience #5

Yesterday morning Siri and I met at 7:30 am at Bonneville golf course.  It was so cold we could see our breath.  I took into consideration the cold weather and planned breaks throughout our two hour golf session. Luckily, Siri is warm blooded and was comfortable in her shorts that she arrived in. I on the other hand needed the chance to warm my hands between golf segments. She seemed bright and eager to learn. I reviewed our first golf lesson by asking her what she remembered from our first meeting. She remembered more information than I thought she would because it has been a couple weeks, and I know she is a busy person. She reiterated four out of the five basics to putting.  Then i had her do about a 15 ft putt drill going through each of the five steps. I gave her feed back on her aim, her stroke, and her tempo as she continued to gradually get closer to the hole with each putt. After that drill we played a little competition game where we both would putt to each of the holes around the putting green with the goal to never 3 putt. This drill helped her to understand the importance of reading the green  correctly, getting the speed and direction down so that you can have a short second putt.

As we played I talked her through how a golfer thinks on the green or while playing in general; adding in jargon here and there, and also competetive or visual strategies or what I have learned from past instructors. She appreciated knowing the ins and outs that students sometimes don't get in lessons because teachers feel that students can't handle the information overload. This is true in some cases; usually I do go with short and sweet. If Siri were trying to become a real expert golfer than I maybe would have left some details of instruction out of the lesson, and focused soley on skill aquisition, and competetive strategies.  However, I know that she can handle lots of information, make sense of things pretty quickly, and appreciates knowing the mental aspects of the game just as much as the physical.  I know this because she is skier and a coach herself and knows the importance of positve mental and visual balance. I discovered this about Siri through many conversations in and outside of class.  She is a holistic individual and also a hands on learner.  I made sure to give her the chance to putt with my putter more than I was using the putter.  Ideally, I would like if she had her own or could rent a set.  I also tried to explain how touch and feel with the distance is acquired through repetition and practice but she could also get a feel for how hard to hit a putt by looking at the hole and taking practice strokes before hitting the ball. I told her I'd make a mini golf champion out of her. After the putting drills I proceeded to teach her additional golf skills in the learner progression.

Learning Experience #5

I did two crockpot recipes within the last week that turned out amazing!  I love chicken and rice so last Wednesday, I decided to throw in four frozen chicken breasts, two cans of condensed chicken soup, along with some mushrooms, and a few other ingredients and let it cook for a few hours.  About 30 min before dinner time I steamed some rice and broccoli in my slow cooker.  This recipe was extremely easy because it didn't call for a great deal of ingredients and I didn't have to defrost the frozen chicken. My roommates loved it, and I felt like "Hey, maybe I could be a cook after all!" However, I did notice that no matter how simple the instructions seemed, I was still a little bit more stressed than I probably should have been.  I realize that I was probably feeling stress because I wasn't just cooking for myself but for my roommates as well, and that whenever I am learning something new or challenging there is always that edge or stress that comes with pushing yourself out of your comfort zone.  I had these same feelings while I was preparing the second crockpot recipe last night, beef enchilada soup.  I was more stressed at the grocery store because I couldn't find the green enchilada sauce easily.  After a long time of searching I finally asked a grocery store attendant if they had some, and where I could find it. He immediately directed me to the isle without hesitation, and said that he would start checking my other items while I went to get some. From this experience I learned that it is so much easier just to ASK WHEN YOU HAVE A QUESTION or when you need help or assistance. It really does save time and energy, and it is worth any minimal ego blow I might experience.  Also this experience reminded me of the idea of interdependence and how the people in the grocery store are trained to help and assist customers.   They are experts in their field and I should ask for their assistance because I am not an expert in negotiating the grocery store.  In a vicarious way I help others to be more fulfilled when I allow them to serve or help me.  Interdependence is the way small and big jobs get done. Yes, learning how to negotiate the store without help can be a great independent accomplishment, but I learned that it is just as great to talk with someone who works there, find my items quicker, and enjoy a pleasant conversation with a person. I think we are trained to be so independent that we actually lose social skills as we go through high school and college.  Then employers wonder why their employees don't work well with others or as a team? ---The crockpot turned out to be one of the best beef enchilada soups that I have ever tasted!

Teach and Learn Experience Blog #4

Teaching #4 Experience

I was unable to get with Siri to teach her some golf, but I was able to teach my roommate how to make a head band. She is still working on her hat, but I got her started on a separate headband that should go by quicker because it is half the size of a beanie. Head bands are a fun cute style these days and I like to wear them in the mornings when I go running when it's cold or when I have a kind of bad hair day. Beanies are the best for bad hair days but they can be too hot sometimes. Headbands are right in between. Anyways, with beginner crocheters (Or even me when I am getting back to crocheting season) often start with tight stitches. I taught her how the tension you keep in the string and the consistency of how you loop creates the feel of the stitch. If the tension is very tight and you loop very close and have to tug hard to get the string through, the tighter the stitch is going to be. If there is some slack and you loosely bring in loops, the stitch will be looser. It takes a lot of practice to get to this point. Most beginners go between too tight and too loose, but with practice you will get better. It's just hard to find the time! You'll also get faster with more practice, which helps.

 Learning #4 Experience

I learned how to bake banana bread for the first time. I was surprised by how simple it was actually. The grossest part was handling the bananas. But I learned a great trick from my roommate! She said to cut the tops off the bananas and then just squeeze them out! Genius! This soon became my favorite part of the experience--besides for eating the banana bread. I made the pretty standard banana bread recipe. Next time I want to try to make a healthier version which uses apple sauce and a few other substitutes. This cooking experience was great because I was making the bread with my roommate who has made it before. However, we both needed to see the recipe and follow the directions that we got from online. The product was overall satisfying but very salty in some parts. I am pretty sure that we did the mixing in the right order, but next time I will try to mix it up better. I hope to learn how to make zucchini bread as well! The following website has healthy recipes for breads and muffins. http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/recipe_slideshows/healthy_muffin_recipes_healthy_quick_bread_recipes?slide=12#leaderboardad