Learning to Make Fried Eggs

From the desk of Hope…

I am excited about some action research I did in my house recently. Let me fill you in on why I did this research.

I work with teachers almost every day and a common theme I hear in conversations is “these kids just aren’t getting it.” I also live with a husband that helps coach my son’s sports teams and he often gets frustrated because the kids he is coaching “are not getting it” fast enough for him.

My advice to both teachers and my husband is that learning takes time. It is not very often that you show or tell a learner to do something one time and they immediately master the task.

I set out to prove my point with an action research project in my home.

I recently discovered that I like fried eggs. I am not sure why it has taken me so long to discover that I like fried eggs. Anyway, I decided that I liked them so much I wanted to put the effort into learning how to make them myself.

Since I have never fried an egg in my life, this was “new learning” for me. I decided to track how many times it took me to fry eggs so they are just the way I like them.

How many times do you think it took? It took eighteen times. Yes, that is what I said! It took me eighteen tries to get the eggs just the way I like them.

There is lots to consider when learning how to fry eggs:

• the kind of pan to use
• how much heat the pan needs
• what kind of non-stick product works best
• how long to fry the egg before turning
• how to flip without breaking the yolk
• how long to fry so the yolk is not hard
• all the different ways to cook fried eggs (over hard, over medium, over easy, sunny side up)
• the right amount of salt and pepper
• the best way to get them to the plate

After my eighteen attempts at frying eggs, I felt like I was proficient….. and then… we went on vacation. I faced new circumstances such as a different stove and different pans. The context had changed and therefore I regressed with my ability to fry eggs somewhat.

Learning takes time. It takes practice. It takes reflection and it takes perseverance.  Motivation for learning is also a factor to be considered.  I was motivated to learn this new skill and it took this much time and effort.

For all of the teachers and coaches out there who get frustrated when learners don’t understand or are not proficient at a task after the first or second or even third set of instructions, please consider my fried egg story!