Sunday, May 13, 2012

#8 F16 fighter pilots & the PGA Tour

The PGA tour is a far cry from a classroom full of devices and fighter pilots are something we only see on a playstation. However while meeting with superintendent Carver and a week at TPC sawgrass the ducks started to line up a bit.
Targets keep moving, this has never been truer when you talk technology and even more so when you talk student achievement. As kids learn stuff we don't stop and say you now have reached your potential, we kick on, the playing field is always moving, the target never sits still.
An F16 fighter pilot is tasked with having to hit a target which is moving. If you are to be successful you can't go on a linear line. Orientation Observation Decision Action OODA. You head for your target but every time your orientation changes you have to see things (observe) along the way and make your decisions, taking appropriate action. Change is fluid, targets cannot be reached in a linear fashion, targets are fine but understanding that playing what is in front of you is essential to the classroom.
Nothing was more evident at the TPC sawgrass about playing what is in front of you and also changing your game plan half way through an event. These guys practice between 6 and 8 hours a day for years. They have all the preparation done, everything is worked out, they have every gadget, their clubs are super rockets, the balls missiles. These guys are neat as a pin and cool as ice. But what happens to them as they play that final round they really have to play what is in front of them. They have to change their expectations based on the lie of the ball and the pin placement, the wind, the long grass, the difficulty of shot. They have a goal (winning) but reaching their goal is never linear no matter how much planning they put in.
If you have a plan for learning at your school, a plan that includes these mobile devices as a tool to help, then don't think linear, think fluid. Think OODA.


The thing you might miss is identifying your target
Don't have a plan for device implementation, have a plan for learning. Knowing your target is fairly important, the F16 pilots have a clear target, so did Matt Kucher.

I'm getting close to extended abstract, do i get a funny symbol?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

🈳😷
Which funny symbol were you thinking of.
Reminds me of Grtski's comment Don't skate to the puck, skate to where it will be.

Matt ODowda said...

On the mark bro which is more than can be said for your approach shots. Plan for learning and what devices you need becomes obvious.

ash.m@kbs.school.nz said...

Wouldn't have seen the connection without reading the Post - great analogy, insightful and on the money.

Podgorani said...

Have some great stuff coming to a blog near u

Fletchspeak said...

Been working with the kids on the I-Pads. Interesting thinking. The whole concept needs planning - can't just throw the gear at them and hope for the best. Exploration is great- for a short time but real learning needs to be structured from the littlees up. But to do this the teachers need to have the plan as well Sam!