Personal Learning Challenge (Post#1)

Step 1: Identifying the Problem

Since beginning classes at Uvic in September I have had an ongoing issue: transportation. While its true that I live “relatively” close (by someone’s standards I’m sure), I have found it to be a constant issue that I revisit monthly.

If you have an aversion to math close your eyes and start spinning your mouse wheel, if you are lucky the next few paragraphs may look like the green screen in the matrix. Everyone else, strap on your math caps and get out your calculator watches, because you are in for a treat.

I live approximately 4.2 kilometers away from school, by foot. This should take around 53 minutes per trip, according to Google. On most days I can get this down to 45 minutes, but I tend to average around 50 minutes. Assuming that I actually leave school on a daily basis, that means 1hr40min of my day is walking. Each semester has around 75 school days after breaks and long weekends are taken into account. That means in total I would walk about 125 hours in a semester.

While it can be nice to have the walk, some days it is just not feasible. Homework starts to chew into your free time, you constantly feel rushed, and god forbid if you ever forget something. And some days you look at the mean looking clouds and say “nuh-uh.”

I can hear what everyone is saying, “Thom, take the bus! You have a bus pass.” But, you see, I have a love-hate relationship with BC transit… minus the love. I have put a lot of faith in BC Transit over the years and it has done nothing but disappoint me. Like a bad lover, I keep coming back to it, telling myself “it’s changed” or “maybe it will be different this time.” How sad and naive I was. If I had a nickle for every time an overfull bus has trundled by leaving me standing at a stop, or refused to come at all, I would have almost enough money to pay for this course. But more realistically, due to the fact that I live in a “grey-zone” for buses, it takes about 35-45 minutes to get to school, even assuming that everything works like a well oiled machine. When this is coupled with 45-75 minute wait times (I kid you not) the bus doesn’t beat walking by much and there is too much room for error.

Ultimately this leads me to walking about half the semester while driving more and more frequently as it progresses. More math, hang on.

Driving half the days to school at 8 dollars a day for parking ends up costing around $300 a semester not to mention gas and insurance money.

This is money that I have decided is not worth spending, even if it means I can get to school in under 10 minutes.

Step 2: Stop Whining

There is only one solution to this problem: *internally cringes* get a bike. (The one thing that I have avoided for my entire adult life.) I just don’t know what it is about biking. I just don’t like it. It probably comes down to my mistrust in the drivers that I have seen in Victoria. I grew up in Oak Bay where the average age of the driver is 1,000 and the drivers licences are drafts of their obituaries. Needless to say, there are some careless vehicles on the road. It only takes one mistake to kill someone and I have been pampered by my mobile metal cage of safety.

Step 3: Identify the Goal

I am going to use this as an opportunity to do two different things:

1. Learn how to ride a bike with drop handlebars (riding proficiency)
2. Integrate cycling as my primary transport (lifestyle change)

This may not seem like a difficult task but as I have avoided cycling for around 15 years and have never used this style of bike before; I am less than proficient at cycling. Lets be honest, I look like a giraffe climbed onto a penny farthing.

Step 4: Assessment of Learning

I am going to assess my two goals independently of one another.

To determine my riding proficiency I will be making a series of standardized tests which I will use to chart my progress initially and over the duration of this course. These tests will assess:

• balance
• maneuverability
• safe stopping distances
• top speed

I will record any skills that I find challenging and make additional goals as needed to improve in these areas. I will find online resources for information about proper biking form and how to best increase in ability.

The second goal of integration of biking into my lifestyle will require a different approach. I will be making a travel diary which will indicate where I travel in a day and the method of transportation. When I bike somewhere I will record the distance and time traveled as well as my feeling about using the bike whether positive or negative. If I don’t use a bike I will have to justify why I did not. Periodically I can review my entries to help make adjustments to my lifestyle to make biking more reasonable. I will also have to learn about proper care and maintenance of bikes which I will gain through instructional videos as well as in-person help from professionals.

Learning Methods

It may seem counter-intuitive to have the section on Methods placed after the one on Assessment, but to find the best learning methods I felt like I first had to decide what would be the most feasible styles for this kind of learning. Since I will be learning a new skill as well as making a lifestyle change, I think overlap between styles will be inevitable. Most notably Constructivist and Behaviourist methodological styles will be used.

Coming from a science background my initial tendency is to start making structured tests that will crank out some numbers I can chart. Who am I to go against me? The beauty of concrete numbers and verifiable facts is something that I revel in, but it doesn’t have to be the sole approach taken. I plan on using Behaviourist methodology by instituting some positive reinforcement for days that I exclusively bike. Since the parking costs at school are $8 daily, I will be giving myself half that for extra spending and saving the other $4. As I improve my general proficiency I will try to integrate new techniques on top of basic form. Biking requires a development of balance and coordination, both examples of procedural knowledge, but as the acquired knowledge becomes second nature more advanced techniques (signaling, riding form, quick turns, etc.) can be integrated. This is an example of contructivist methodology, as previous experience is used to integrate new information.

Step 5: Materials and Costs

Several materials are required for this project:

• Bicycle ($40)
• Helmet ($20)
• Bike Lights ($10)
• Notebook ($5)
• Disk cones ($20)
• Stopwatch ($3)

UPDATE: I picked up a bicycle from SPOKES for 40$ but the rear wheel was misaligned so it will be repaired by Monday. They also had a smokin’ hot deal on helmets and lights so I have put the new prices.

I will be using this weekend for collecting materials and preparing my project plan, with next weeks update covering my control measurements and first week results. Stay tuned for more updates on my progress