Expanding Your Skillset

Sharing my hacks for learning something new…

I often wonder how my bilingual students pick up multiple languages so seemingly easily. For instance, in many, if not most schools, there are English Language Learners. They always amaze me! Even if, technically, their grammar isn’t 100% perfect, many of them can still speak a language that is not native to them fluently enough to communicate their ideas with 100% accuracy.

I have my ideas about why they are so successful. You can take it with a grain of salt since there’s no survey attached here…just my observations.

I believe that those students that are most successful with speaking two languages fluently are likely immersed in a language they are trying to learn on a frequent, near daily basis.

And therein lies the basis of the hack…Immersion.

Now, as a teacher, I’d be remiss if I did not add a piece about SMART goals. In education, we are really big on SMART goals. SMART is an acronym for the qualities any goal should have.

S for Specific

M for Measurable

A for Achievable

R for Realistic

T for Time-Bound

Following these guidelines, coupled with the idea of immersion is like a fool-proof map toward learning anything you are motivated to do.

Case in point, I’m attempting to learn how to engrave simple florals for an upcoming event. Scribbling and rendering some flowers into existence is my go-to.

Remember these?

Yup. All scribbling. No formal knowledge of florals whatsoever.

But, hopefully convincing!

Still…drawing florals with an economy of line, minimal fuss for shading, and still have a semblance of a flower when you’re done? That’s challenging for a chronic scribbler! But, I need to learn more efficient ways to draw florals. It’s highly possible the clients I meet will be short on time and I still want them to have a great experience.

You can see my florals practice from a couple nights ago below.

Did you notice the flourishes? I’m definitely feeling more confident about them!

Here are the steps I am taking to learn florals (and how I pretty much learn anything 🤷🏾‍♀️).

Steps to Expanding Your Skilkset

Set a SMART goal with a deadline.
You have to set a goal for whatever it is you’re wanting to do…and it has to be specific and achievable. It has to be a target you can hit and know it when you get there. For example, saying I want to learn florals is a bit vague. But, saying I want to learn how to engrave ten, minimal florals by the end of the month…That’s much more specific and I can measure my progress over the course of the month to know whether I’m on track with my goals.
That goal should also be realistic. Like, if you are trying to master copperplate (🙋🏾‍♀️), if you can write, it’s achievable…But that’s likely not going to happen for most people in three months. Possibly not even in six months. There can be a greater level of proficiency than what you started with…But, mastery of copperplate could take a year or more to truly develop mastery of your hand for a practice as specific and deliberate as copperplate. Everybody’s brain works differently, so, that time period from novice to intermediate or master can vary widely.
Gather the resources you will need.
For this, I like to also assess how much I already know about what it is I’m trying to learn…In this case, how much ability do I already have? Since it’s pretty minimal for floral line drawing, I need to gather resources that are beginner-friendly for what I want to do. I also don’t need it to be overly technical for the goal I set. So beginner tier is my starting line for floral drawing. If you know more about your topic, feel free to start at a more intermediate tier.
Immerse yourself in the topic with an eye toward your goal.
This step, I actually call “front-loading”. It’s eating, sleeping, and breathing that thing you are trying to do for as long as it takes to get the hang of what you’re doing or develop some muscle memory, etc. When I’m not drawing them, I’m looking at examples from a variety of sources. At times, I trace…Other times, I mimic…And, when I feel ready, I try to generate from my own memory and imagination. To me, it’s the equivalent of repeating until I feel like I can learn to put together my own sentences. At some point, when drawing florals becomes easier, I can ease up a little on the amount of time I have to devote to practice and research. But, at this stage, it’s baking that thing into my brain and hand to be doing it constantly…It’s like getting a jump start in the direction I’m traveling. I do the same for everything I want to learn.
Assess your progress on the way to your goal and adjust as necessary.
Determine whether your pacing is correct for your aptitude to pick up the thing you’re trying to learn within the timeframe you set, and adjust as necessary. If it’s a reasonable goal, and you are making progress more quickly than you thought, you can party dance or add more on your plate if you choose. On the other hand, if you are lagging behind your deadline a bit, you can extend your deadline based on your current pace.

Of course, there are always going to be times we do not hit our desired target at the time we want. But, regardless, with a SMART goal and front-loading your topic, you will definitely experience an expansion of your initial skillset.

Now, maintaining that new skillset…that’s a whole ‘nother story.