regardingjohn

Why Ruddering is Good:

There’s a certain structure to learning any task. As educators, we are often cognizant of  ”inefficient” moves, or the “wrong way” to do things (that we may have gone through or done ourselves when learning), and we often try to squash guide learners around these moves. I argue that sometimes it’s better to allow the “errors” and let the learners (safely) figure it out for themselves when they’re ready — with the appropriate guidance, of course — allowing for and respecting (and even speeding the learner through) Vygotsty’s (1980) Zone of Proximal Development.

At Flying Moose Lodge, after campers learn to flip, we teach them to do the C-stroke and the J-stroke, and we emphasize how bad it is to “rudder” (dragging the paddle in the water to steer; often part of a beginning or lazy J-stroke) — this is, in my opinion, a wrong-headed strategy on our part.

First, let me explain why ruddering is considered bad (in canoeing on a lake). The longer the paddle is in the water, and not being “pushed” through it as propulsion, the more it contributes drag that slows down the canoe and counter the effort of paddling forward. But to turn a canoe with a J-stroke, the stern paddler has to put the paddle in the water and push it away from the canoe. Any lingering of the paddle in the water causes drag, even though it may still be turning the canoe. So a good J-stroke will involve a strong forward pull, and a strong, smooth push to the side.

The problem is that it’s awkward and difficult to do this efficiently —especially for new paddlers. So there tends to be a lot of excess ruddering, because the paddlers immediately recognize that ruddering is an effective way of turning the canoe. What it is not, is an effective way of maintaining forward momentum. I argue that the primary thing to learn here is how the paddle position affects the direction of the canoe. We should explicitly teach them to rudder because in ruddering one learns, in a very physically compelling way, how the paddle can affect the canoe.

Once the new paddler has a good understanding of how to turn the canoe effectively by ruddering, we can (and should) emphasize that ruddering slows down the canoe and is an inefficient way to maintain forward momentum while steering the canoe (on lakes, whereas in whitewater the current takes care of momentum and keeping the paddle in the water aids in balance; it’s a good thing). Eventually good paddlers will learn an efficient J-stroke. But to condemn it early on ignores a natural learning curve, and discourages campers from developing at their own pace the embodied understanding one gets from  ”simply messing around in boats” (says Water Rat from Wind in the Willows).

Broader Educational Take:

Kolb Experiential Learning Cycle (1975)

People learn at their own pace, depending on motivation and access to environments where they can learn. A good overview on motivation here: Huitt, W. (2001)). They are very adept at mimicking and adapting ideas and methods that they recognize as working well enough (peer pressure is one instantiation of this). When they try something that seems to work for others, if it promises to work for them, they adapt and adopt it for the specific strengths, weaknesses, and constraints that they face in their circumstances. Essentially people follow Kolb & Fry’s (1975) Experiential Learning Cycle for much of their learning.

What I argue is that, as educators, we need to respect their processing of this learning cycle, and not guide with too heavy of a hand. The trick is find the right balance of course — if they head down the “wrong” path for too long, we need to address their choice with respectful challenges. But if we direct on too soon or too heavily we risk crushing their:

• willingness to seek out their own answers
• develop their own hypotheses
• do the work of customizing according to their own circumstances/abilities/constraints.

To respect a learner’s natural tendencies and processes requires a lot of flexibility in teaching methods — especially in situations where learners are grouped more by age than by ability. The simple truth is that people catch on to different skills and concepts at different speeds and times. Structures for learning must then take into account and allow for these different paces.

At Flying Moose Lodge, we do this whenever we can. I’ll discuss a few examples in upcoming posts — “Playing on the Edge” and “Rapid Prototyping.”