Entry 1: Describe your own meaningful learning experience
My most memorable learning experienced occurred when I was 10 years old when I first learnt how to play badminton. I had played tennis for several years prior to this, but had no experience playing badminton or knowledge of the techniques or rules. My first lesson of badminton coaching covered the basics of the sport, such as hitting techniques, footwork (series of movements for moving around the court efficiently) and the rules. I was confident going into the session, as I had good hand-eye coordination from playing years of tennis and I assumed it was like tennis but on a smaller scale, so I must know all these basics. My memorable learning experience involved finding out that I didn¡¯t, in fact, know these basics, and how my coach showed me I was wrong.
One of the key aspects of badminton is the lifting of your non-racket arm as you hit overhead shots. I thought I would look foolish lifting my arm up for “no reason”, so throughout the session, I ran around the court and attempted to hit the shuttlecocks my own way. The coach pulled me aside for some individual coaching, and as he threw shuttlecocks up in the air, he asked me: ¡°show me how you would hit these shots¡±. I remember trying to hit overhead shots as I would have done in tennis, similar to a serve. However, unlike tennis, in badminton you raise your non- racket hand as you hit the shuttlecock as it helps maintain balance and time your swinging movement. I was confused as to why I couldn¡¯t hit the shuttle at all and frustrated at myself for missing it and losing balance when it seemed so simple and similar to tennis. He then pointed to a corner of the court and said, ¡°show me how you would move to this corner and back to the centre of the court¡±. I had no idea what he meant, so I ran forwards to the corner and ran back to the centre. He then pointed at several corners and told me to move between them in succession and asked another student around my age, who had already learnt footwork, to perform the same task on the court next to me. I saw the other student move so effortlessly and quickly to the corners and so again, I was confused and embarrassed as it must have looked like I was running around like a headless chicken. Since that day, I have always used the proper techniques without question, and every time I get tired of practicing footwork I think of this day and remember how necessary good footwork and technique is to win in badminton.
This learning experience was positive in the fact that I saw what was possible for children my age and how effortless the game could be when using the right techniques. Furthermore, this learning experience was different to others as it gave me a chance to do what I thought was best and learn though watching someone and then being proven wrong. When I was coached in tennis, for example, when I did something different, the coach would instead demonstrate the technique himself, and then just tell me to do it that way or suffer a forfeit. I didn¡¯t know why what I was doing was wrong or inefficient or what effect it would have on my game.
Entry 2: Assumptions about learning
Given my learning experience, an underlying assumption of how people learn would be that people learn best when given the chance to learn from their mistakes. When they see what they were doing wrong and are shown the correct way, they can compare what they were doing before and make alterations to their actions to match the correct method.
Another assumption is that people learn through reasoning and consequences of their actions. I was shown the effect my technique had on my game, and so had good reason to change my beliefs and learn the proper techniques.
A third assumption could be that people learn physical skills better when able to physically practice what they¡¯ve been shown. It would be much harder to learn footwork from a manual of instructions, a series of photos, or even from a video. Being able to physically copy and practice the series of movements allowed me to learn them much quicker.
A final assumption could be that not every coaching/teaching technique works well for each student. Learning the overhead technique through my tennis coach¡¯s teaching method (verbal/demonstration) took several months to master and several years to be up to low-level competition standard. However, after one month of learning badminton footwork (learning through reasoning and mistakes), I could move around the court easily, and within 3 months I was playing national competitions and after a year I was playing for England and ranked in the top 10 in the country.
Entry 3: Theories of learning
My learning experience was predominantly behaviourist. Drill work and repetitive practice are examples of behaviourist learning and are two key aspects of learning any sport. For example, when learning to utilise my non-racket arm, and my coach first asked me to use my technique, I received a stimulus from the environment (a shuttle being thrown into the air), I reacted to it (attempted to hit it my way), and received the negative feedback as a consequence (failing to hit the shot). Then, when I used the proper technique, I received the stimulus (a shuttle being thrown into the air), I reacted to it (using the proper technique) and received the positive feedback (hitting the shot successfully) as a result. As a result of this, I repeatedly practiced the proper techniques, allowing me to successfully play badminton.
This learning experience could arguably contain constructivist elements too. An important part of the constructivism theory is that learners construct new ideas based on prior knowledge and resolving conflicts through accommodation and assimilation. Therefore, making mistakes is crucial to learning and internalisation. I resolved the conflict of how to move around the court and hit a shot using my technique versus the proper technique, ultimately allowing me to alter my mental model to accommodate the new technique. However, the outcomes are not always predictable with constructivism as learners are constructing their own knowledge, yet my learning experience resulted in me solely using the proper method, not combining my technique with the proper technique to make a new technique.
This leads me to believe that the learning experience is more cognitivist than constructivist. This is because in cognitivism, learning involves the reorganisation of experiences, either by gaining new ideas or changing old ones. Therefore, when I learnt of the new technique¡¯s better performance, I reorganized my knowledge of how to hit a shot/move around the court to change to this new technique. The change in behaviour could have indicated that changes had occurred inside my mind.
Entry 4: Theories of motivation
My learning experience was largely supported through intrinsic motivation. I enjoyed playing badminton, regardless of the learning and I wanted to succeed for my own benefit. My motivation to learn the proper technique and improve in badminton was underpinned by a certain level of challenge (goals and performance feedback) and interpersonal motivations (competing with and observing others my age) as shown in Malone and Lepper¡¯s model of intrinsic motivation. I received consistent and encouraging feedback on my performance, and reaching the goals and milestones of being able to execute certain shots also boosted my self-esteem. I also found motivation to improve through interactions with other members of the club. Frequent competitions and leader boards allowed my improvements and achievements to be shown to others. A feature of this particular learning experience that I found motivating was observing another student of a similar age performing the footwork and shots perfectly. Seeing what was possible for someone just like me to achieve motivated me to reach that level and surpass it.
It is also possible to relate my learning experience to Keller¡¯s ARCS model. My initial attention was grabbed through perceptual arousal as I was being taught something that went against my past experiences and point of view (not using my non-racket arm, running versus footwork). I was also shown the relevance of the footwork and techniques when the other student performed
them on the court next to me. It showed how it could improve my game and maintain energy efficiency and balance. My confidence was boosted through positive feedback and being challenged to an appropriate level when playing matches. The fact that I was intrinsically motivated, alongside the positive feedback, led to feelings of satisfaction and created an overall rewarding experience
Further on from this learning experience, however, I felt the motivation to train and learn decrease as a result of the international and national tournament environment. Pressure increased dramatically and people expected me to perform well, meaning I practiced more through fear of disappointment and failure and for extrinsic motivational pressures, rather than through intrinsic motivation. This eventually led to me retiring from competitions and regular training from age 17 onwards. However, I regained motivation when I started university as the environment here fostered my renewed motivation through the same intrinsic motivators that this learning experience had originally given me.
Entry 5: From real to digital
In order to re-create my learning experience in a digital environment, it would be important to utilise virtual reality or augmented reality to simulate the environment of a badminton court and the shuttlecocks. It has been shown that my learning experience was largely behaviourist as I learned through repeated drills and practice. This indicates that the digital version of my learning experience should allow for repeated practice of drills. As my learning experience featured a physical skill, to ensure effective practice, the system should allow for physical practice and movement. As a result, I will incorporate virtual reality (VR) into the digital environment, over on- screen interactions.
Secondly, the system should foster intrinsic motivation from performance feedback and give an appropriate level of challenge. In the prototype, the student works under the observation of the parent or teacher, much like how I trained under the observation of a coach. Similarly, just as my coach gave me frequent feedback, the use of a real person can allow for regular specific performance feedback and also the appropriate level of challenge.