From my first blog, I used a mixture of this prompt: “Share a story about your best learning experience (could be a formal course or something more personal). Why did you enjoy it?” and “Describe an example from your life of when you were taught using each method described in this article: behaviourism, cognitivism, and constructivism.”
My personal favourite learning experience of my life was when I started Brazilian jiu-jitsu a couple of years ago. I have not been very consistent since then, partly because I miss the instructors I had at the time. The head instructor’s name was Stu Cooper, accompanied by another instructor, Douglas Cho. Both Stu and Doug were not just instructors, but friends of mine and they were always very respectful, receptive, and helpful. BJJ is a martial art designed to submit or control an opponent through grappling and problem-solving. It is almost like solving a Rubix cube but with your body. There are five belts in BJJ, and each belt is a significant jump in skill and ability.
With that being said, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Stu and Doug because they were able to break down each move into steps, and work consistently with students; with no bias and no ego. Many MMA gyms I have been to are stricken and full of egotistical people whose goal is to hurt rather than teach you. With Stu and Doug, they taught you self-worth and made you feel like you are constantly learning, and pushed you to achieve your goals.
A small example is in the warmup before BJJ class starts, we had to complete certain exercises that I was unable to do at the time, as I was completely new to the class. I held up the warm-up line many times and felt embarrassed because not only was I performing the exercise wrong, but I didn’t allow myself to learn it – because I would just move to aside and let everyone pass, then fall back in line. Doug came up to me and walked me through each exercise I wasn’t getting right, and after a couple of weeks, I was at the front of the lineup. It was such a wonderful feeling; to feel like you are cared for and not just another notch on the registration.
Throughout the couple months I spent with them, I learnt through a mixture of all three methods of learning. Firstly, I learned through behaviourism as I fed off of positive reinforcement from my classmates and the instructors. There were times when I would be rewarded with a water break if I completed a move correctly, or even simple things such as a smile when I finally was able to get something right. My partners would constantly give positive reinforcement and I would do the same, to keep the environment positive and at an optimal stage for learning. Secondly, I learned through cognitivism as I watched closely as the instructors would perform moves on each other so that the students could memorize, and then perform them with their partners. The instructions promoted active engagement with our partners and allowed us to work with each other one on one to complete the moves we just watched. Finally, I also learned through constructivism as there were many times when we would roll – which means we had to have a grappling match, and you wouldn’t be able to simply copy the moves you drilled. You had to improvise and be creative. Through that, I learned new techniques, and this enhanced my learning experience as a whole.
Overall, I feel like I enjoyed this experience because it made me feel like mastery in BJJ is achievable, I just need to dedicate my time and effort towards it, whilst surrounding myself with strong-willed, intelligent, respectful human beings. I would say this is my favourite learning experience because it gave me an enormous amount of confidence, while also humbling me at the same time. A very unique experience that is somewhat indescribable.