Blog Post #1 – Motivation Autopsy Activity

Back in grade 11, I decided to center my capstone passion project centred around learning online due to recent events like COVID that forced many to do online learning. I had a hard time deciding what passion I wanted to pursue, but I knew I wanted to keep it light-hearted and fun. That’s when I took up crocheting. I had never done it before, so it was perfect. It aligned with my criteria, but also mixed in with one of my previous hobbies, knitting. Originally, I was motivated by excitement and the idea of being able to learn a skill fully online. I started to really lose that motivation when I was having a hard time counting my stitches. Like in knitting, I kept adding or dropping stitches without even noticing. Things started to look wonky, and I would have to restart quite a few times. This really discouraged me, especially when trying to learn online with no external support and no personalized feedback. Adding to that, focusing on the video while trying to execute the crochet design led to many mix-ups and triple the amount of time. As well as, it became a backburner activity when weighing my academic responsibilities. I found that my competence needs were not well supported. I have realized that I was having trouble learning and pushing myself to participate because I was not being held accountable. On top of that, following along with a video and keeping count of stitches was counterproductive because if I kept track of one, then the other was a lost cause. If I were to design my approach differently, I would split the learning experience into half online and the other half with a mentor. I would also try to use more sources rather than just YouTube videos. Sources like online mentors, blogs and online lessons. Adding a required milestone to hit every week would allow me to assess my progress as well as hold me accountable to be actively participating in it rather than waiting till last minute.

Here’s an image of my presentation’s title page hahaha

Looking back on this experience after reading Ertmer and Newby helped me better understand why learning crocheting fully online was so challenging. I mainly relied on following YouTube videos and repeating what I saw, which matches a more behavior-based way of learning. However, without feedback, guidance, or accountability, it was hard to know if I was doing things correctly. The reading explains that when a task requires more thinking and focus, such as counting stitches while following a video, learners need more support to process information. Because I was trying to watch, count, and crochet at the same time, I often became confused and discouraged. This shows how my learning approach did not match the demands of the task. If I were to try again, using a mix of online learning and support from a mentor would better support my learning, which reflects the idea from the reading that different learning strategies are needed depending on the learner and the task.

References

Ertmer, P., & Newby, T. (2013). Foundations of Learning and Instructional Design Technology. Edtechbooks.org; EdTech Books. https://edtechbooks.org/lidtfoundations/behaviorism_cognitivism_constructivism

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