Learning and Teaching

What Is Learning?

Why, When, Where, What, and How Do We Learn?

Let me start with my failure to learn…………….

Learning Front Crawl (Freestyle) Swimming in the Summer of 2021

To feel and understand like a student, often, I would like to make myself a student such as preparing and taking an exam (e.g., PE licensing exam i`n 2021, Quality Certification exam in 2020, and Ergonomic Certification exam in 2017). Nevertheless, I have never felt like a struggling and frustrating student until I have tried Freestyle (Front Crawl) swimming in the summer of 2021! While I was struggling to learn this supposed to be easy–as it is called freestyle swimming–to learn, I had a lot of time to think/ponder about my students, teaching, learning, me as a student, teacher, learner, my triathlon racing, so many other things as well.

I grew up in a swamp area in my early childhood. Swimming is a survival skill there. And I knew/know floating and surviving hours in the water. However, in a long-distance race situation (over a couple of miles), freestyle is more efficient as compared to the other styles (e.g., swamp swimming techniques–head is always above the water to watch out for a venomous snake like cobra!). So, I have determined to learn freestyle as I am thinking about racing triathlons, especially the long-distance ones! I have started with watching a lot of YouTube videos on how to do a freestyle swimming – got all the techniques – and jump into the pool! After swallowing some pool water, I was able to make/swim freestyle. However, a month of practice 5-8 hours a week, I was still getting out of breath after about 100 to 200 yards! It feels like I was stuck somewhere, and I was not improving at all. So, I called a friend of mine who is a swimming coach for some lessons. After he watched me swimming freestyle, the look in his eyes told me that I was doing everything wrong as I know him for a while, and I can read him a bit! First thing he noticed that I was not kicking right – and my kicks are too weak for freestyle swimming!!! Nothing could be as surprising as this when a cyclist and a runner – averages over 150 miles of cycling and over 30 miles of running per week – hears that his kicks are too weak/inefficient for swimming. And the hand movement, head position, body position, and body rotation are as bad as it can get for a good freestyle swimming. Following his plan, now I am getting better.

This freestyle learning provided me with a great perspective/explanation for my teaching philosophy and theory that I have been believing for over two decades of teaching and learning. I have realized again and again that:

1. What is taught must be useful in a race situation at that time and place, as everything in life, in fact, is a race!
2. It must be challenging enough. If it’s not challenging, it’s probably not worthy to learn to be useful in a race situation.
3. Students bring many strengths that are needed to be utilized to make them learn the new challenge!
   1. A strong cyclist and runner probably has a very strong set of legs that can be used to develop efficient kicks that can eventually help going long distance swimming easily.
4. Students should be coached rather than lectured/lessoned
   1. Over 450 YouTube videos that I have produced will probably help them to make just a couple of 100 yards. However, to prepare them to win a race, they need coaching!
5. Students must be challenged enough so that their weaknesses are visible to us – the coaches.
6. We, the coach must also know their strengths so that it could be strengthened as well as utilized to strengthen their weaknesses.
7. Once a weakness is addressed, a new challenge must be created to discover more weaknesses for improvements.
8. And the process continues.
9. Coaching must aim for a continual lifelong learning process that is sustainable for years to come.