{"id":22382,"date":"2022-06-23T12:59:44","date_gmt":"2022-06-23T12:59:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/?p=22382"},"modified":"2023-09-13T15:55:00","modified_gmt":"2023-09-13T22:55:00","slug":"learning-comes-to-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2022\/06\/23\/learning-comes-to-life","title":{"rendered":"Learning comes to life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Gavin Doyle, lecturer in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences<\/a>, isn\u2019t a typical college professor. He avoids lecturing students or simply giving them information. Instead, he gives them experiences \u2014 and with that, the power to seek information themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In his Discovery Core<\/a> class, The Art of the Myth, students undergo a quest to learn about the \u201chero\u2019s journey,\u201d which Doyle explained is a common template for stories that involve a hero who goes on an adventure, is victorious in a decisive crisis and comes home changed or transformed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I was thinking about teaching this section of the class, I thought wow, this section is going to be really boring,\u201d Doyle said. \u201cThere are 17 steps you have to go through in the Hero\u2019s Journey and to sit through all of that would be painful. So, I decided to get them engaged with the material and make them heroes by sending them on quests.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Call to adventure <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first step of the hero\u2019s journey is the call to adventure. In groups of three, students in the spring 2022 session were given a gibberish phrase that they had to decipher using a code. Once translated, the phrase sent them to a blog post that held a cryptic poem pointing them to a location on campus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clue number one: A rocky nook to read a book \/ Like Gattacca with mossy page \/ And UW, too, does hide it well \/ Sheltered by the garbage smell \/ A theater with a boulder stage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those wondering what on earth that means, the students were thinking the same thing, too. \u201cWe read it over at least 10 times,\u201d said first-year student Amy Lin. \u201cWe thought the reference to reading a book might be the Campus Library, but then we thought the \u2018UW, too\u2019 could mean the UW2 building.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the clue, the students didn\u2019t really have one \u2014 but Doyle said that is par for the course. \u201cPart of the hero\u2019s journey is facing challenges; if these clues were easy, it would negate the lesson,\u201d he said. \u201cFiguring it out means working together and forming allies, another essential component of the journey.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is exactly what the students did. They put their heads together and devised a plan, or more accurately, quite a few. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trickster god \u2014 and professor <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It was their fourth plan that proved successful. They found their next clue, which was in fact at UW2, or Commons Hall. There is an amphitheater that has a big boulder for a stage, located behind two trash dumpsters. Between several other boulders is a metal art installation that has books, including one titled, \u201cGattacca.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Underneath that book was a hide-a-key rock that, when opened, revealed the next clue: A metal nest outside of thought \/ With frozen plants of iron wrought \/ Within the reeds where fire stole \/ You\u2019ll find the hidden secret scroll. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This clue played off the class material, as students had recently read a creation myth about Prometheus, an ancient Greek god, who rained fire from heaven in a bundle of reeds. Doyle explained, \u201cThe story goes that Prometheus tricked Zeus by making the god of the sky eat bones and fat instead of the best meat during a meal at Mt. Olympus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cZeus was angry and took away fire so that man would have to eat his meat raw. Prometheus then stole the fire, hiding it in a reed, and gave it back to humanity.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The moral of the story, Doyle explained, is that when Prometheus stole fire from the gods, there were unintended consequences. \u201cHe thought by bringing humans a tool, he would make their lives better in every sense,\u201d he said. \u201cBut powerful technology must be used responsibly. Giving humans fire also meant giving humans a moral choice: to use the tool for good or for evil.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The obstacles <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First-year student Hadi Chohan said he knew instantly that the poem was a reference to the myth. \u201cI remembered because that one was my favorite myths we studied,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd it was fresh in my mind because we had just discussed it the week before.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also knew from the phrase \u201cfrozen plants of iron wrought\u201d that it was located at Food for Thought and found the clue in one of the reeds in under 10 minutes. \u201cIt was definitely the easiest one,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The next clue read: The answer to life, the universe and all \/ Is found above a parking stall \/ Beware of pot holes in the way \/ Red means go and green means stay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This, too, was a reference to the curriculum, specifically to Douglas Adams\u2019 central joke in \u201cThe Hitchhiker\u2019s Guide to the Galaxy\u201d when he wrote that \u201cthe answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything, is 42.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doyle said that the joke has since become something of a myth as people have spent years and undergone massive efforts trying to ascribe a deep, symbolic significance to the number and its occurrences. \u201cThe students were really intrigued by this so I figured they would remember, and I hid the last clue in the parking garage in stall number 420.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wise mentor <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

He may have been a bit too optimistic, though, because the students were initially stumped. Doyle thought this might happen as many heroes face challenges in pursuit of their quest, so he took on the role of the wise mentor and allowed the students to call on him for hints \u2014 but only when necessary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis one was the hardest,\u201d Chohan said, \u201cbut the challenge made it more realistic. I felt like I really was a hero on a journey, and this was my major obstacle to overcome. After about 30 minutes though, I decided it was time to ask for help.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He reached out to Doyle, the wise mentor, for a hint and shortly after found the clue in the parking stall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Once the students completed the entire cycle of clues and made their way back to their starting location, they earned a copy of the study guide for the final exam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The apotheosis <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMythologically speaking,\u201d Doyle said, \u201cthey came back to the known world with wisdom and experience gained through their quest, as is typical of the hero\u2019s journey.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The students also learned about the campus and its myriad resources. There were multiple different teams of students who all received different clues. Among the hidden locations were the Writing & Communication Center, Quantitative Skills Center and the library. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI loved just walking around, finding good places to have lunch or go on a walk and get to know the campus better,\u201d Lin said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The introduction to the campus paired nicely with the goals of the Discovery Core series which aims to help first-year students acclimate to University life. \u201cNot only did the quest help the students get familiar with their surroundings, but it also helped them get acquainted with each other,\u201d Doyle said. \u201cThey got to have fun with their peers outside of the classroom and start building those friendships.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reward <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Chohan said the quest was the most fun he has ever had in a classroom. \u201cI was so used to sitting through lectures that I forgot about how fun learning can be,\u201d he said. \u201cFrom this class, I have learned so much \u2014 about myths, about the campus and about my peers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt has been the highlight of my college experience so far.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The clues are still in place, and Doyle invites readers to go on their own hero\u2019s journey by searching for them on campus. Begin with the first clue in the story and follow it to the end, and enjoy learning about the UW Bothell campus along the way. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Students in Gavin Doyle’s Discovery Core class, The Art of the Myth, go on a quest in search of clues hidden on campus grounds. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_is_archived":false,"_archived_contact_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[202,218,229,197,204],"tags":[],"school":[419],"class_list":["post-22382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-campus-news","category-community-engagement","category-faculty","category-news-releases","category-students","school-school-of-ias"],"acf":{"related_links":{"toggle_visibility":false,"link_1":"","link_2":"","link_3":"","link_4":"","link_5":""},"highlight_box":{"toggle_visibility":false,"title":"","content":"","button":"","button_style":"angled-purple-button","button_screen_reader_text":""},"contact_type_1":{"toggle_visibility":true,"contact_title":"Contact Us","email":"test@uwb.edu","phone":"(206) 999-1234","box":"Box 358500","address_line_1":"18115 Campus Way NE","address_line_2":"Bothell, WA 98011-8246","location":""},"contact_type_2":{"toggle_visibility":false,"contact_title":"","email":"","phone":"","box":"","address_line_1":"","address_line_2":"","location":""},"social_media":{"toggle_visibility":false,"facebook_url":"","instagram_url":"","linkedin_url":"","twitter_url":"","youtube_url":""},"blog_archive_sidebar_visibility":false},"yoast_head":"\nLearning comes to life - 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