Maven
The Maven embodies a deep love and knowledge of a subject. They are passionate about a subject, and they relish learning the ‘tricks of the trade.’
You notice your subject in the world around you
Our world is made up of the various subjects we study. We are surrounded by them. The Maven pays close attention and looks closely to make connections to the real world. When we notice our subject in our environment, we learn from those who created the parts and pieces of our surroundings. The Maven knows that what they’re learning in school is real and not just isolated to school.
Micro Challenge: Find all examples of a given subject around you right now
Look around you right now. See a table? That’s design and engineering. Lights? Electrical engineering. Art on the wall? That’s art and history. Books on the shelf? Written expression. Keep going!
Try making a table and collect as many noticings as you can.
You think about what you could learn from famous role models
Have you studied their work closely? Read their biography or listened to interviews? What can they teach you that will help you lift the quality of your own work?
Micro Challenge: Name as Many Famous Role Models as You Can In All the Subjects You Teach or Study
Step 1: Name a role model.
Step 2: Describe what it is they do that inspires you. The more specific, the better.
Step 3: If you were going to teach someone else about this person, what resource would you point them to, or what would you show them first?
You learn tricks that the pros use
Professionals make choices when creating their work. We can learn from those choices. A writer makes choices about how wordy they want to be, the details they include, the characters they put in. A Mathematician makes choices about what pattern they’re going to explore, and how they’re going to make their case. An artist chooses what they’re going to spotlight, how abstract or realistic their work will be, or how simple or detailed. We can learn a lot from analyzing the choices that the pro’s make.
Micro Challenge: The Slider
Choose an artwork, essay, poem, book cover, data visualization or other form of communication. Create a slider using these directions where each parameter represents a choice the creator made to communicate a message. Move the parameters to reflect the choices they made.