Network of Possible Wanderings
To create the best version of you, you must become an expert in your own learning. You’ve done a considerable amount of metacognitive work already, but there is always more to do. This time, we’re looking to expand your “network of possible wanderings,” a term used by Teresa Amabile to define expertise:
Expertise encompasses everything that a person knows and can do in the broad domain of his or her work. Take, for example, a scientist at a pharmaceutical company who is charged with developing a blood-clotting drug for hemophiliacs. Her expertise includes her basic talent for thinking scientifically as well as all the knowledge and technical abilities that she has in the fields of medicine, chemistry, biology, and biochemistry. It doesn’t matter how she acquired this expertise, whether through formal education, practical experience, or interaction with other professionals. Regardless, her expertise constitutes what the Nobel laureate, economist, and psychologist Herb Simon calls her “network of possible wanderings,” the intellectual space that she uses to explore and solve problems. The larger this space, the better.
The emphasis is mine. Her next paragraph offers examples of this “network”:
Creative thinking, as noted above, refers to how people approach problems and solutions — their capacity to put existing ideas together in new combinations. The skill itself depends quite a bit on personality as well as on how a person thinks and works. The pharmaceutical scientist, for example, will be more creative if her personality is such that she feels comfortable disagreeing with others — that is, if she naturally tries out solutions that depart from the status quo. Her creativity will be enhanced further if she habitually turns problems upside down and combines knowledge from seemingly disparate fields. For example, she might look to botany to help find solutions to the hemophilia problem, using lessons from the vascular systems of plants to spark insights about bleeding in humans.
Again, the emphasis is mine. Read the rest of Amabile’s article online at The Harvard Business Review, if you have a lot of time or a serious interest in how organizations stifle and stop creativity. Otherwise, just read the lectures and notes highlighted in class and on Google Classroom, like this:
Strength in Opportunity: SWOT Analysis
Your most likely assignment, if you’re reading this, is to create and complete an academic SWOT analysis. Start by gathering the definition and a set of guidelines through an in-class, collaborative search. This is inquiry-based work: Ask questions, work together, and seek feedback.
Before you can create a SWOT analysis for yourself, you’ll need to adapt what you find to suit our context and your needs. You’ll also need data. Use your recent grade abatement profiles, feedback from your teachers and peers, and some mindful introspection.
The analysis itself could look like this worksheet that MindTools designed, but that is an example of the need for adaptation: You don’t have competition in this space, for instance. You could head over to Google to search for other templates, models, and approaches to SWOT analysis, as well. Here is a simplistic one from Lucidchart.com:
That won’t be enough in the end, of course, but a list is the right way to begin. You’ll most likely be asked to write something substantial about each quadrant and then submit it all for discussion and feedback. You’ll want as much insight and detail as possible.
Look for any deadlines or other requirements on Google Classroom. Ask questions in the comment section below. And while you scroll to that section, here is the infographic designed by MindTools:
Would you rather have us write a chart on paper, like the example shown, or an essay of some sort putting it all together in one writing?
Both would be best. The chart organizes your thoughts, and the essay clarifies and explains them. A series of paragraphs would work, too, which lends itself to Google Forms.