If you tell an all-knowing god about your plans, he will probably laugh. My plan was to quickly build a learning platform for meta-competencies. In the first step, I wanted to introduce various areas such as mnemonics, reading and writing skills, problem-solving techniques, etc.
The teaching material was to be delivered through texts in the blog section of a WordPress site and, for visual learners, through short, illustrative YouTube videos based on the blog posts. The texts were to be improved through practice and feedback from the students. For visual presentation, I followed Ali Abdaal’s tips, especially those for the first 10 videos.
However, I didn’t get further than the seventh video on the essence of communication. A stupid vestibular neuritis abruptly interrupted my progress for many weeks. As an incurable optimist, I still found something positive. I didn’t have much constructive criticism anyway, so there was no good basis for improvements. But my illness, by abstaining from all passive media consumption, gave me some distance from this project, and I recognized countless mistakes.
Attentive website visitors may have noticed the “Version 01.1” in the footer, as I never assumed that I could create sufficient quality teaching material and an overall learning experience on the first try that might even justify a paid membership – although such a membership would only be an additional option to the already very extensive and helpful free course material.
In any case, I used the forced break and the insights gained for a clear cut and transition, and I am continuing the learning platform in a Version 2.0 with a more narrowly defined target group of adults in further education, studies, or professional life. The focus will be narrower and will only include problem-solving techniques, i.e., methods that are used when it is unclear what to do.
One might argue that especially students could use these techniques. And yes, should they find the motivation to seek solutions outside of their required curriculum, then my future shorter and clearer teaching content will gladly help them – but I will keep the general level relatively high.
In contrast to the previous rather superficial introductions, there will now be a deep course based on Sells and Schimweg’s “Solving Problems – Thinking in Complex Contexts (Probleme lösen – In komplexen Zusammenhängen denken).”
I don’t just like talking about meta-competencies and trying to teach them; I also apply them. During work on a project, I often have no idea what to do. Google and AI often don’t help either. So I can’t rely on existing solutions or ask ChatGPT for advice. So I grab a blank sheet of paper, roughly sketch the current and desired states, mark possible intermediate steps, ask for all relevant information, and thus create a minimal structure. If I were to document and publish this real applied process, it would offer an organic approach. Similar to organic advertising that gives insights into the development or manufacturing process instead of simply saying, “Buy product X because it’s good.” So there will be a new category “organic“. Even if I no longer prioritize the LMC project, I would still work on something, solve problems by applying problem-solving techniques, and have the opportunity to provide new teaching content in the form of a short, informative blog post and possibly a simple talking-head video. The benefits would mainly be on my side because by posting, I would repeat my techniques, they would solidify, and by bringing them into an understandable form, I would realize if something is not well understood, as otherwise, there would be no problems in explaining/illustrating it.
If I want to share something outside of existing categories, I will label it as “off topic“.
The new focus, the narrower target group, etc., now force me to make adjustments to the WordPress site, the corresponding section on mjmrozek.com, the YouTube channel, etc., which involves a lot of work. The framework, website description, intro video, etc., must become more general, broader, and more flexible.
As already stated in the header of meta-kompetenzen.org, I am focusing on English content. Basically, I write my texts or blog posts, which always form the basis for everything else, such as videos, social media posts, assignments, etc., first in German. This doesn’t mean extra effort, as German is my second native language and I naturally write in German first. Then I translate the texts into the best English with the help of ChatGPT. Therefore, it is no trouble to post them on the German WordPress site as well. However, I will probably no longer create assignments and exercises in German and definitely not videos.
Originally, I was only aiming for a position as a course author at brilliant.org. To that end, I wanted to do more than just write the usual application. I noticed on this learning platform that the meta-competencies used in the otherwise effective interactive exercises were never really named or systematically practiced. The latent methods in mathematical exercises, such as the analogy principle or the brute-force method, remain in the dark and are not expanded or positioned in the comprehensive toolbox.
I would appreciate positive feedback from the brilliant.org course authors, but I prefer building my own learning platform!
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