An existential struggle

My move towards open education represents a radical paradigm shift, not just in how I teach, or how I operate my startup, but in how I view myself and my value in the world

In the past, my self-worth was strongly bound up in the learning materials I created. To transform this limited view of myself entails active cognitive effort. This involves challenging my assumptions about what teaching is, how learning happens, and what my role is as an educator. I need to recognise that my wealth of experience, knowledge and skills doesn’t just allow me to create learning materials, but also improves the quality of interactions I have with learners, how I facilitate collaborative learning, and the way I solve problems as a course unfolds.

I started this journey of reimagining myself years ago, but committing to open educational practice brings the tension between my old and new perspectives into sharper focus. I am working to free myself of the idea that my identity and sole value are as a repository of information to ‘transmit’, and continue to embrace my new identity as a facilitator and enabler of other people’s learning efforts.

It’s an existential struggle!

A short post today, but fundamental ideas merit their own space and consideration