Active listening was at the core of this in-class lab, from conversing with my partner Nafisa to completing the Melody Mirror CPX project. For me, my understanding of active listening is very similar to the definition given in the video, which is that you communicate and listen to a person with an effort that goes beyond hearing in the pursuit of mutual understanding. While active listening is not something I actively think about, I think it comes a lot more naturally to me than being aware of my self-efficacy or self-regulated learning. I believe that active listening helped me immensely when I communicated with Nafisa, myself, and revisited the CPX and JavaScript.
Themes: Active listening, self-regulated learning
Talking with Nafisa was a great way to begin project three. We were both initially shy, but when we applied active listening, we both learned that we had similar journeys concerning project one, and different journeys for project two. I was surprised and even a little happy that I was not the only one who had gone in with low expectations; they are a CS major, after all, and apparently I have not stopped spinning my own narrative about them being hyper-competent and the paragons that everyone in STEM should aspire to be (I must be watching too many movies). I also learned that Nafisa and I diverged at project two: I went for the dandelions and they went for a field of stars since they were only really comfortable with setting up and programming one strand of lights. Reflecting on this, it is interesting to see how self-efficacy manifests itself differently in all of us, and that we all have something to learn from each other.
Speaking of self-efficacy, active listening played a role in modifying mine in project three. As I opened the CPX Memory Mirror document, I realized quickly that I needed to have my Playground Circuit on hand. The only problem was that I was currently using it in my Dandelion Scene. I was legitimately scared to disconnect it from the alligator clip set-up, and the narrative of “I’m not good at tech” began to play out like a broken record. However, I was much quicker to notice it playing, and I took a big mental step back: “I can do this,” I thought. “Maybe I can even use active listening for my own thoughts, or actively ignore this unhelpful idea.” This fusion of both self-efficacy and active listening was what allowed me to swiftly remove all six alligator clips, plug it into my computer, and get to work.
The CPX Memory Mirror project itself relied on a lot of active listening! This was because we were programming the Circuit Playgrounds to play 8-bit-like music chords (i.e., C major, F major, D major) whenever we touched the silver pins that corresponded to each coded chord (i.e., A1 = C, A2 = A). Side note: I am not a musical person. My experience consists of playing the snare drum in fifth grade, quitting one year later, and then listening to a D&D podcast in my Junior year of college that mixed music theory into the magic and narrative. But even though I am still not musically adept, my understanding of the code came easier than when I completed the packet in preparation for the Dandelion Scene. That, coupled with listening intently to the differences in sound that each pin made allowed me to program all seven of them, and even play hot cross buns! It is honestly crazy how useful and applicable active listening is for people, plans, and projects. I cannot wait to see how we will use it next!