How We Learn by Jane Geddes.

Introduction.

Jane and I often discuss beekeeping education and how to engage beekeepers in ongoing learning. We know that there has been a shift since Covid-19 in the way that many people want to get beekeeping information. Numbers attending meetings in person have dropped off consistently across most associations and learning online has become very popular. Some beekeeping associations, such as Newbattle, https://www.beelistener.co.uk/children-in-beekeeping/the-newbattle-approach-to-education-part-2-by-neil-rutherford/, have an ongoing tradition for high attendance at courses and gaining beekeeping qualifications, but many less motivated groups struggle to get members involved beyond a cuppa and a chat about bees informally. Jane likes to learn in a variety of settings and not just in beekeeping. This week she shares the second part of her education blog with us which I hope you find helpful. You can catch up with the first part here: Learning Styles for Beekeeping Education. (beelistener.co.uk). Thank you, Jane.

Workable Model.

I used to work as a lecturer at a university in Edinburgh. I loved teaching (and learning) – in particular, what makes learning exciting and how to motivate students. There are many theories round teaching, learning, and assessment, however the most accessible, common sense, and sensible model comes from Phil Race. He facilitated a workshop for us lecturers a few years ago and we all left it buzzing with excitement. The model he used then has never left me. It is called the Ripples model.

Learning.

Learning is one of those fundamental skills that we all acquire throughout life. We learn to read, write, play sport, learn to drive, and learn different skills in the workplace. As beekeepers we learn how to keep bees, manage swarms, change combs, undertake Integrated Pest Management (disease prevention) and practice high levels of apiary hygiene to promote health and maximise their lives.

So, how would a model from an expert author and educational developer cross boundaries and have his learning model applied to beekeeping?

I suppose what I am saying is that there is never any room for complacency and harbouring the feeling that “it’s all ok, I can do this, I’ve been keeping bees for years” in relation to beekeeping- therefore ongoing learning, education, and curiosity is important.

Phil Race’s Ripples model is composed of seven concentric circles, radiating outwards (see image). At the centre is “want/need” We can explore this model, step by step and use learning about bees as our focus.

 Wanting/ Needing.

This is the enthusiasm or the motivation or interest to learn something new. I suppose that there is an assumption that if we are deciding to keep bees, there is an underlying motivation and curiosity at heart that drives us. We are inherently interested. We may browse YouTube for videos, eyes-caught-by-yellow/orange pollen baskets as we sit in the garden. We may sit for ages alongside our hives and observe the comings and goings of the bees, wondering why they “wash” their faces and antennae prior to a flight. We hear the almost instant response when we inadvertently knock against the side of the hive and wonder how they can hear or feel so rapidly. We wonder why bees swarm and how we can manage this.  We are curious for an explanation when we notice that our bees are lined up staring out at us when we take the queen excluder off on a sultry day in late summer.  The chat we have with a mentor can fire this curiosity even more, leading on to “needing” more. And so on….

“Needing” lies with “wanting”. Needing is the necessity, the driving force, the desire to know more. For some people, (like me!) are motivated by the acquisition of knowledge but also driven by certificates (SBA exams), medals (bike or kayak challenges), Qualifications (Academic awards) and publications. It is a satisfaction of working in a consistent way by training and focusing on the outcome. Enjoying learning for learning’s sake, with an inherent “itch that needs to be scratched” or just enjoying that AH!!! moment as the penny drops.

Doing.

Doing sits outside “Needing” in the model. This is the “practice” of beekeeping, the repetition of looking, observing, undertaking inspections, and so becoming familiar with our colonies. This can also include a time of trial and error- what works well for us and what does not. we practice handling frames full of bees, finding the Queen, finding Queen cells, extracting honey (done with The Boys Next Door), trying something new such as managing an out apiary (this did not work for me!). Working with a mentor is satisfying, observing, and practicing how to keep the smoker alight, learning how to move in a slow deliberate yet gentle way when handling colonies- listening to advice of what worked well for them (and therefore you will try that out too) managing swarms together and so on. “Doing” can also mean accessing information and refreshing the memory when debating the concentration of sugar syrup in spring or autumn for example. It can mean accessing Beebase to learn more about varroa and utilise learning packages on various topics.

Making Sense.

This feeling is like the AH moments, and those times when you see it in a student’s expression; the momentary widening of the eyes, slightly opened mouth, raised eyebrows and the intake of breath. That similar feeling when you realise that the line-up of bees across the frame looking at you is because they are angry with you, feeling under attack! I can now “speak bee” – a new language!

Feedback.

Feedback is verbal but also non- verbal. When teaching you can tell by observation if you are hitting the mark-or not. Sometimes engagement with learning is a tangible thing. At other times a momentary vague look or slight frown that passes through the eyes can indicate a lack of understanding, which can be addressed immediately, by observing aloud that you are seeing a slight look of uncertainty. With bees, the feedback comes from a colony that carries on with the daily business while you are lifting the roof, extracting frames, looking for the Queen. Feedback is the colony you watch in spring, seeing pollen going in, indicating that all is well, they have survived the winter. You have hefted the hives over winter, and fed fondant as needed.

Verbalising.

This is basically getting your head around what you have learned and chatting with beekeeper friends. For example, discussing how best to manage a swarm, how to undertake a Demaree, discussing how to make pollen slides and examining bee parts under the microscope. Or consolidating the understanding of the life cycle of varroa and realising why it is important to monitor varroa drop, the behaviour of the bees and keeping alert for signs of disease. Making sense of and discussing why being stung hurts so badly, when seeing the barbs under the microscope while revising for Module 5 exam (Honey Bee Biology).

Assessing.

Assessing your colonies for health. I used to undertake disease inspections with the view of a midwife- you look for the normal and report abnormality. Recently our association had a lecture from a local bee inspector who advised us to treat each inspection as if our colonies HAD disease, therefore you will look more closely – the penny dropped. I need to remind myself to do this as 35 years of midwifery has embedded “normality” within me! So, I must remain fluid and revisit another ripple, and make sense of this new idea, and verbalise with my mentor.

It is important to remember to move back and forth across the ripples and acknowledge the “rebound” that water gives us and maintain a sense of free movement between each ripple, allowing us to learn and develop. And thank you, Phil for that workshop!!!

Reference.

Welcome

Curiosity.

A few weeks ago I was checking a colony for emergency cells after removing the queen to a nucleus box as part of swarm control. I found a queen cell a little larger than a drone cell with no textured outside surface like the indented peanut shell-like marks of a typical queen cell. I could easily have dismissed it but I knew better and removed it carefully. Out stepped something in between a worker and a queen and had obviously been produced from a larva way too old to make a good healthy queen with fully functioning ovarioles. The colony would probably not have allowed this queen to live unless they had nothing else better on the production line. I had students coming to spend the day with me in preparation for their Basic Beekeeper exam so I kept this bee for them to see. It just happened that I’d removed the lovely mated queen from the mini mating Apidea nuc that day so I popped this one in to replace it.

One of the students was particularly curious to know if this queen would go out and get mated so I left her alone for a couple of weeks and she did indeed mate and lay a few worker eggs. I took this video before freezing her for dissection to check on her ovaries which I expect to be greatly reduced in number from the usual 150 of a healthy robust queen that will keep the colony going for at least a couple of years. Here is the mated scrub queen https://youtu.be/1eFLKDch0g0

Thank you, Kasia, for your curiosity which spurred me on to experiment and learn more. If we can keep curious ourselves and motivate others to search for answers we are doing a good job in beekeeping.