Using the power of curiosity to drive learning.

International educator Scot Hoffman is a big believer in the power of curiosity to drive learning. After nearly two decades of teaching around the globe, he also realizes that school isn't always so hospitable to inquiring minds. (As Einstein said, "It's a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.") That's why Hoffman has developed The Curiosity Project, a self-directed learning experience that engages students, parents, and teachers as collaborators in inquiry. A six week long project design in away to make it interesting and exiting and not stressful to work with kids curiosity.

Using E.T.F.B model with agile techniques – How to make a continues desirable behavior change?

“Research has now shown that it is not the event itself that causes the emotional reaction but the automatic thoughts that run through our head in immediate response to the event “(www.actionforhappiness.org). The way we interpret reality dictates the way we feel, behave and react. When for example we interpret an event as threatening we might attack or run away, we will experience fear or anxiety, while someone else going through the same event will not feel threatened at all. Our thinking is the Couse of our behavior and our feelings.

The E.T.F.B Model (as I prefer calling it) is a common model used for consulting, training, psychology, education and more. It is a behavioral change technique enabling us to mold an interpretation of events and examine alternative interpretations. By doing so, the model helps change perceptions, feelings and reactions related to the event. It helps regain positive perspectives and understands negative thinking causing us to react to events the way we do. However, we can add some additional simple agile tools to this model and take it one step forward into producing  a continues change and making the results into a habit. 

After few years of almost forgetting this model existence I ran into it again during one of my sun’s consulting sessions in grammar school. I admit, the method caught me again as it caught me few years earlier. But this time I felt that the way the consultant is using it does not exhaust the potential of change that this wonderful technique has to offer. I felt we were missing creating continues understanding and learning here. Using   E.T.F.B with just one event, identifying undesired behaviors here and there felt limited to me.

Before we get into explaining how we can use simple agile tools to elevate this model into creating continues learning of new behavioral patterns and reactions let's briefly review the E.T.F.B model itself.

So , the E.T.F.B model holds four main steps or stages : 

 1.       Understanding the event

a.       Event - Facts - What happened in reality? What was the sequence of events?

b.      Thought - What is the interpretation I gave to the event? What I said to myself during or after the event? Whether the event was good, bad or neutral?

c.       Feeling - What feelings arose during the event? How I felt after? How long I felt that after the event?

d.      Behavior - What did I do? How I acted? How the event affected my behavior?

It is important to notice that the source of the emotion is the interpretation I gave to the event - not the event itself. My interpretation is that created my emotions, and though my reaction (behavior). It is important to produce this distinction before we offer alternative interpretations to an event.

2.       Offering Alternative thoughts to the event – (interpretations) and what response (behavior, feeling) would it deliver.

It’s Not easy to change an interpretation or thoughts that are ingrained in our way of thinking, in the events of the past or within our values ​​or messages we received from our environment.

So what do we do to change the interpretation?

We ask questions.

- Why do you think this happened?

- Is this fact or interpretation?

- Will we be able to offer another interpretation?

And more…

For example:

A girl in my class said my shirt in ugly. So I hit her.

Another girl said my shirt is ugly, I gave her a kiss.

Why? What's the difference?

What I was I thinking about when she told me what she thought about my shirt?

What were my feelings in each event? 

Why did I feel different and I reacted differently from one event to another?

And more ...

Do we really expect a child, to know how to change patterns of thinking and behavior after they practicing one or few events using the model? Even with adults that will be difficult. I find it hard to believe in one timers ,or even in a few I find their value limited. How can we take the new thinking patterns into a continues thinking change and make the experience a habit.

If we take few agile tools into consideration when applying E.T.F.B method we can reach a wide range of alternative responses to events and though elevate the E.T.F.B  expected outcomes. The agile tools are so simple, and yet they provide us as parents or professionals the ability to make things happen. We are able to take Individual events into real and continuous learning, we are able to instill change and habits and make it stick. E.T.F.B  model and the agile methods both using cognitive terms and emphasize the need for change and the need to make things happen.

(E.T.F.B is just one example of the way we can use cognitive tools combined with agile tools and make the change a habit.)

So , how would E.T.F.B look using agile?

Instead of running the E.T.F.B model on a single event only, Our goal will be to relate to a series of small events over a period of time. Those events are real and are directly related to reality that the child faced, they are not imaginary events.

We will produce a visual “road of events” that contains a collection of many (preferred small) events, lightweight, tough, simple or complex events allowing simulating range of reactions.

Each of those events will be set to the frame using the E.T.F.B model

This continues visibility of analyzed events will allow identify different patterns of behaviors.

The intention is certainly not to highlight a problematic event but to be able to see a pattern of many deferent events (good or bad) that will allow dealing with. If necessary, we will focus on specific cases and produce learning and patterns. We would like to be able to see the whole picture, “walk” in the reality of events , experience events , learn from them , experience the next event, fix again and back again continuously . Though producing continuous learning and growing habits of reactions to events.

How? Let’s say you wish to exercise this model with my child…

1. Create visibility. Visualization is key! - Visibility has the power to make things happen. When I see things, there is a greater chance that I will bring them into my attention and response to changes in the desired direction. Therefore, visualize the event path for resolution using a simple task board.

When the task board holds the events, it’s easier to “break free” of them. I do not overload my memory with lots of events, resolutions, feelings, thought, rather I can relate to them in one place, my task board.  

So get your child a board and get him visualize the path of the event.


2. Active versus passive. The event owner  is the Child that is required to respond to an event, or to understand the event. The event owner should be active by identified the events (physically – not only respond to questions). Ask him to create the list of events he experienced on the board. He will be the one to actively tack and record the steps of  E.T.F.B and the expected behavior. Not the teacher, not a grownup but the one who is accountable and responsible for the change – meaning, the one that experienced the events. The control moves physically to the event owner.
 
3. Focused on events that occurred in the recent past. Last day for example.

4. A variety of options allows reference to diverse and varied learning. Make sure to have a verity of events on the board. Having variety of events on the board, won’t highlight a child as problematic in one area based on one event rather allow the child to experience positive reactions and positive feedback. Make sure to visualize good and ”bad” events on the board.

The board should records a collection of several events, collection of some interpretations and some comments.

5. Communication- selects 1-2events each day; 10 minute conversation and practice to analyze an event.

TIP : start with simple events then move to the more though ones. Gaining the ability to analyze using relatively simple events will elevate the ability to analyze more complex and controversial events and probably will add to the confidence of dealing with such more controversial behaviors or reactions. 

6. Continues improvement – when we have a bunch of events with feelings, reactions and behaviors all visible on the board, we can easily learn from all of them regarding our habits or patterns of behaviors. In addition, when we are dealing with events on a regular basis, we are able to learn from today’s event. Implement it right away tomorrow, learn again and then correct if necessary.

Application – Do not focus on the theory level of learning. Get out there and experience new events and new suggestions for changes. Implement the conclusions to the next event. Learning from a single event without the application on other events with a short period of time passes has limited and temporary value.

Set goals – at the end of a 10minute discussion, set short term goals, small steps of actions to take toward the next event, or the next day and then reexamine those goals against the new events or reactions and decide over the next actions to take. Reflect the change.

For example if you tease me I'm going to be a “wall” (wall = not responding, that wall cannot be offended, right?!) So I'll ask the owner of the event to set his target to the next day or to the next event, such as: How many times this week I think I can be a “wall”? 1, 2, 3? I will re-examine this behavioral goal and the related reaction.

7. learn from mistakes – small events, small steps of improvements allows making small mistakes which can easily be identified and dealt with. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, challenge those mistakes and learn new patterns of behaviors.

8.  And don’t forget to enjoy the journey

Further reading and references:

http://www.actionforhappiness.org/take-action/know-your-thoughts,-choose-your-actions

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affective_events_theo

http://iveronicawalsh.wordpress.com/2012/05/13/thoughts-cause-feelings-and-behaviours/

http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/situation_response_outcome.html

http://www.k6edu.com/4thgrade/social_studies/events-reactions-feelings.html

http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinfoforall/treatments/cbt.aspx

Richard Wiseman's "Rip It Up." - It is kind of an antithesis to "feelings form behaviour": Wiseman shows, based on good scientific research, that it is the other way round very often: "behaviour forms feelings". And he draws a lot of further conclusions and advice from that.

Size matters, and comparing sizes matters even more.

What will be the right size of a task so it will be easier to bring it into execution and action?  How can we size the effort needed to get it done?  And how do we know what is right for us compared to someone else performing the same task?

Kids (and adults) often mistaken their ability to get things done while getting right into action when encountering a problem or a task. Sometimes, they even are avoiding getting into action due to the fact that the task seems to be too big or too complicated to execute… I sometimes see kids getting to much homework that just looking on the size of their “homework” tasks can be frightening. Who wouldn’t prefer not to play outside instead of dealing with this giant homework assignment? Sizing those tasks has a lot to do with our ability to get them done. It allows us to better scope our attention, better control our activities related to a specific task and gain confident while getting those tasks done.

Much has been written concerning the efforts estimation of a task and its relation to ease our ability to execute it. As is commonly assumed (no matter if it is false or not) that when we know how long it will take to complete a task or what the effort entails it will be easier for us to understand when a group of tasks due to complete.  It is often assumed the same assumption about the size of a task or a problem.  

I say, When we know what’s the right size of a task according to our subjective ability to execute it, it will be easier to estimate a group of tasks and accordingly our ability to get them done.  

There are many methods that can be applied to understand a task size so it won’t be too big to deal with or too small to even consider doing it and accordingly to get it done.

If so, how do we balance the size of our tasks for ourselves or for a chield?

The answer, of course. It depends.

Here are some tips which will help us better understand the subjective size of the task according to subjective personal ability .

One.      Create your task list and make sure it is visible and apparent.

Visibility makes things happen. The Task list should not stay in your head put it on the board. So after seeing it, it gets easier to organize things and make decisions and certainly easier to understand what takes more time or less time comparing to other task.

Two.      Size your tasks by three types of sizes:

Small

Medium

Large

Extra large ** - Optional but not advisable

At this stage all we want to achieve is the ability to visualize tasks in deferent sizes. It is still one big wish lists of stuff we need to do or to achieve.  For better Visibility, create three columns on the board and place each task under the appropriate column, or perhaps even give a different color for each size. The main goal at this stage is that you will be able to see the differences between tasks sizes.

Three.      Listen and Learn

Remember when you were a child, places seemed bigger and greater probably more than they are today?  This is how a child sees tasks. Much larger than they appear to us. Things that seem small and simple to us can be perceived as very large and complicated to children. Often because they lack information or guidance, or just because that's how it is in their eyes. And yes, listening and asking questions to understand the enormity of the task in the eyes of the child is the next step we need to take.

What is a small task ? What is a big task ? What makes it large?

Four.      Once the most important tasks are on the task board, take the large tasks and split them into smaller ones. Remember only small or medium sized tasks will be executed – so make sure to split those tasks to an executable ones. Small task is one that can be completed in a relatively short period of time, defiantly not in a week or a day, and obviously appropriate for a child time frame.

As the following example.

Five.       While executing the tasks - stick to tasks that are small or medium-sized and arrange your tasks in order of action.

Six.      Select one  task at a time and start to perform.  Make sure to visualize your path to execution as well (To do – Doing – Done)  on the task board.

Seven.      When a task is too large to execute, do not be afraid to split I in to smaller ones.

Eight.      Not every task must be sized. In fact, most tasks do not required sizing.

For example, let's say, the child has only two days to study for his next exam, then we can start by splitting the tasks in a very rough manner such as What to be studied today and what to be studied tomorrow. We can then discuss any task and understand it if it belongs to the first or second day and size only those tasks that seems too big to handle.

In short, let’s try to keep things simple.

Sizing a task should be "just enough" so we can get started. We Do not need to dig too much in to the details of a tasks so we can assess accurately hours and minutes that it will take us to execute it.  Three sizes of 'small', 'medium' and 'large' can suffice.

Nine.      What will truly help get things done and understand the right size of a task for a child is parental involvement. Conversation. Children love that we talk to them, relate to what they need to do, help them understand things. So while this simple technique will help them better understand the task and may even reduce anxiety or focuses on what matters, what will make it really happen is the conversation with us, their parents.

Ten.    And do not forget to enjoy the ride.

Top Time Management Tips For Students

The time management skills and disciplines that you develop as a student can help you for the rest of your life. Those skills that we as parents help our children to develop as the same thing

Sometimes we get so many tips, as parents and as students, most of them are theory , using  simple task board , agile thinking and scrum framework will take those tips from idea to action.

Here are some tips and practices to help students (in various ages)  develop good time management skills.

Last Thing First - Back-chaining

Usually the process of teaching people how to successfully complete long sequences of is to teach how to start the task sequence and then proceed right along to the end of the chain of events. Backward chaining however refers to breaking down the steps of a task and teaching them in reverse order. The biggest advantage from the learner’s point of view is that it offers immediate satisfaction. It  minimize anxiety and provide a sense of accomplishment. This feeling of success will increase confidence and keep us motivated to learn and complete the entire sequence of steps. 

Setting your new year goals with agile - Happy Agile New Year!!

The last few weeks of the year are already upon us. The end of the year, for many also means a time for a resolution and setting new year’s goals. Let’s reflect on how some basic Agile principles and tools can help us set and achieve our new year’s goals and keeping our resolutions.

Change is the new habit – Personal Coaching with Agile

Shirly Ronen Harel and Avi Naparstek

As published in: http://www.coachinginteractive.co.il/news/main/articleCL.asp?a_id=1776&MID=120&lang=1

Something is happening for several years now in the high–tech industry. An evolution called Agile. Agile is a working approach that entered the high-tech world in around 2001. It entered into the day to day activities of the industry employees and introduced an agenda of working with simple tools that leverage their natural abilities, empowering them and giving them motivation to continue to grow. Tools that have inspired, directed action that brings quality results. One of the growth engines of this change is the ‘Agile coaching’ that Tangent to the life coaching, professional coaching, business coaching or in fact any other coaching method that leads to growth.  One of the biggest problems in high-tech is the astronomical cost - each project is costing a fortune, every delay costs money and risking on losing potential customers or business opportunities - sometimes bungling of such an opportunity could cause the Company to fade completely.    "The need to develop study habits and adapt to changes is the root of many coaching methods - if it is that the programmer needs to deal with new operating systems, or a parent that has to deal with changes in the needs of his children" In addition, the pace of technological change is one of the highest ever for the history of the industry - techniques and methods which we experts only a year ago may no longer justify themselves today.  There is a constant need for learning new things, standing at the forefront in technology and business. You cannot even wait a few months to produce your products, you need to work fast. You need to get use to change, and not just get used to it, in order to survive in this industry you should embrace change as a way of life, as your new reality. Customers are not waiting; they change their minds because their reality changes as well. Manufacturers must recognize that and develop methods to get used to the change. One of the things we're working on in agile coaching is reducing these risks and teaching the agile teams’ new ways to respond quickly to change, Improve and internalize practices that change rapidly. The pace of change in the world is only growing. We'd better get used to it! The need to develop study habits and adapt to changes is the root of many coaching process - if it is the programmer that needs to deal with new operating systems, or a parent that has to deal with changes in the needs of his children and his role as a parent, or if we need to take on a diet, quitting smoking, changing business dealing and so on. Change and the human need to deal with, is universal.  As coaches we all recognize this need, particularly the difficulty that our coachees , learn and understand what they need to change , and mostly the need to preserve this change, so it will not dissipate within a week and a month, but will become a habit of a new life. Which is exactly what agile coaching does - helping coachees to change old habits effectively and quickly, to leave the comfort zone and make a habit of dealing with the new change. So what can we learn from agile that can be related to personal coaching? Among other things: ●  Create constant Heartbeat Or constant pulse -  Agile teaches us to produce a pulse of constant action - setting objectives, walking towards the goal immediately, collecting feedback from the environment and learn from them and setting a new destination. And back again, creating a uniform and constant ‘doing and reflecting’ rhythm. This type of “Rotation" (of placing a goal – moving toward the goal – collecting feedback - and a setting new target) is usually set to be from 1 week to four weeks, while the tasks are relatively small - sometimes the whole process takes an hour or even a few minutes. The 'secret' that enables persistence over time is to maintain a constant Heartbeat. A team that finds that it work for them with the rhythm of the round of every two weeks, would be good if they continue with the exact same rhythm over time.  The team should not be tempted to "change the pace" - even if there is pressure to finish something just in a week and a half. Using Agile We have learned that changing the rhythm of things is like changes in a human heart rate – the price we pay in the long term is greater than the immediate shock that we may make. ● Visibility - Is key . Things happen when you see them. We will visualize all that stands in front of us and we will manage it. In some cases we will place big whiteboards and sticky notes that will symbolize the road a head and the goals we see and though create full transparency for ourselves and our friends to the journey. Using agile teaches how to reflect clearly in a way that cannot be ignored-(processes, mindsets, priorities, problems and solutions)  . Using big visual boards) Information Radiators) Has become commonplace in agile teams. You will not find them looking at a computer screen, looking for a file with a list of tasks, but standing together in front of a huge board on the wall, where you see the tasks, failures, obstacles, strengths of the team and their shared vision.  The entire team related information is large and clear for all to see, in an atmosphere of trust, mutual support and joint motivation for action (Team Spirit). In Agile personal coaching we use similar tools to help the coachee manage the process of his transformation. Using the board’s visibility allows the change to become a sustainable habit over time. ●   Kaizen - Routine of continuous improvement - The idea of continuous improvement is first of all, do it all the time, and in small doses. It is particularly effective when adapting a routine or (the way we like to call it) a pulse, which we examine our doing all time. Agile holds a structured processes called Retrospective- This is an hour of  "coaching session", held once a week / two weeks (depending on the rhythm of the team), the session is run by a coach (or by a Scrum Master). The purpose of the meeting is to allow the team - together -to define goals and objectives of improvement – related to the process of their work, interpersonal conduct, dealing with obstacles and problems, and basically anything they see as contributing to or interferes with their effective conduct together as a team. In agile Personal coaching we also employ similar methods to create a pulse of progress, improvement and problem solving in the coachee. Make the improvement itself - a habit for life.  ●  Value Focus- Value as a motivator – in order for me to be able to recognize the value generated for my own benefit, its best that I will embrace an approach of which I think of myself as a customer that his money is important to him and his quality requirements are high, and also think about myself as a provider, and provide myself the best service I can. A very important agile principle is placing myself in my client's shoes (as a product manager or as someone that is responsible in any way to provide a service). This allows us to think like a customer and make decisions - sometimes not easy decisions – that will ultimately serve the customer, and will allow us to deal better with pressures directed against us from management, other stakeholders, and most importantly - ourselves.  Agile developed structured tools and techniques to define customer needs from the perspective of the customer himself. Sometimes (and highly recommended to do it as a routine ) we will seek our customer real feedback. In agile personal coaching we apply the same principle -we Identify the true value for the coachee in every decision or in any progress direction, in order to get to the bottom of it (and quickly), and realize what the coachee really want and need in life. ●  Baby Steps  - walk in small steps   - Smaller is easier to control, easier to make a mistake and easier to fix. In our experience, Effective change and the ability to make things happen  - Better be happening gradually and Incrementally. Using Feedback Loop will allow a proper understanding of the events in the changing reality. An agile Heartbeat (mentioned above), in small doses produces the ability to cope with changes, react to them and learn. This pulse, in small doses, creates a flow of action, and routine, but a kind of routine that creates special feeling of success. Once we get used to it, this routine will become a part of us and embrace the change as a habit. ●  I am my own organizer and director, and I learn to do it well even after the coaching is long over and not just as part of a coaching period. The concept of self-management and self-organization Is fundamental in agile -  It enables employee empowerment, allowing him to discover and invent for himself the best way he could function.  It's not as simple as it sounds - it is necessary to create supporting frameworks and set clear boundaries. The role of the manager is turning at 180 degrees here – from a manager that decides for his employees their tasks to a manager that defines responsibilities, supports, protects workers against interference and allows them to maximize their abilities (Servant Leadership). The principle of self-organization, decision making and taking responsibility for them and for your own actions (both over the successes and over the failures) - is also an essential part of the agile personal coaching – it’s the accountability and responsibility the coachee in the coaching process, to his own life and those around him.  There is so much more to write about agile ... so much .... There is an entire infrastructure in the heart of the agile practices that ultimately enables action and constant growth,   Continuous improvement in work habits and life. So what's next? We wish to take the knowledge, methods and concepts of agile into the world of personal coaching – we initiated a project called Jelly – agile coaching. This is the first article in the series. And best of all .. Do not forget to enjoy the way - it's also one of the most important agile principles. ** Shirly Ronen Harel and Avi Naparstek - both personal trainers and activists for many years in the high-tech industry. Members of the Agile Life group  Whose goal is to take the agile into other areas of life (education, art, society, etc.) and project partners Jelly - Agile coaching- designed to bring the world of agile into the  personal coaching area. **