Rowan Spazzoli

My thesis is due on Monday 19 February at midday. This gives me exactly 7 days from today

I’m feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment. I started working at 6.30am and have just decided to stop now, at 11pm. My pomodoro timer says I’ve racked up 13 hours of work, excluding all short and long breaks.

The exciting thing is that I’ve found some really exciting results. They act as a unifying framework between trust, depression, risk and the intervention.

The problem is that finding this means a hell of a lot more work, including a deeper literature search and more data work.

Tomorrow I’m seeing my supervisor and hopefully he’ll be able to bring my thinking together on the topic

I’m going to give it my best shot, and try finish by the deadline.

Heregoes!

Image was taken two years ago, just before I started masters. I was one of the last people to leave campus, as I will be today 🙂

P.s. if my writing ain’t so good please excuse it. My brain is mush.

Song of the day: Hot air balloon - Owl City

Thesis update: lots more data work and writing done

Blog 96/365. Read more about my #365of25 journey here

During one of my thesis breaks on Friday I let my mind wonder. I thought to myself: “if there was one thing I could do right now, in this area, what would it be?”

The immediate thought that popped up was that I wanted to go watch the yachts at the Waterfront and sip on a single malt whisky.

So that’s exactly what I did.

It was a little bit of self care coupled with a small adventure. I had allowed myself to do exactly what I wanted to be doing in that moment.

And I came away from it feeling a little more centred and a little bit happier.

Image is my single malt whisky with the yachts in the background 🙂

Song of the day: Said The Sky - Show & Tell (feat. Claire Ridgely)

Thesis update: Another productive day. Need to write faster though :)

Blog 95/365. Read more about my #365of25 journey here

In just over an hour, SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket will be launching! I’m so freaking excited! I’ve mentioned before that I enjoy watching the stars and part of this includes a fascination with rockets/satellites etc.

Tonight’s launch is special for a number of reasons:

1. This is the most powerful rocket ever launched by a factor of 2 (i.e. it is twice as powerful as the next rocket, the Delta IV Heavy)
2. It is the first time this rocket is being launched
3. SpaceX will attempt to land all 3 of the first stage rockets (two on land and one at sea)
4. The cargo for this flight Elon Musk’s cherry red Tesla Roadster which contains a human space suit in it (giving it the appearance of someone driving it)
5. The car will be playing “A Space Oddity”
6. If the launch is successful, the car will exist in space for over a billion years

So yeah. It’s pretty exciting! If you are interested in these things and want to read more, I’d recommend Wait But Why’s post on the BFR (the Big F*cking Rocket, which will make the Falcon Heavy look like a cheap chinese firework in comparison)

Lastly, the live link to the launch is available here.

Regardless of whether it works or not, it’s going to be one hell of a show!

P.S. check out Musk’s instagram for a preview of the action

Image is of the Falcon Heavy, taken from the SpaceX Website

Song of the day: More than you know - Axwell^Ingrosso

Thesis update: Made some awesome data discoveries and got more literature done

Blog 91/365. Read more about my #365of25 journey here

In the winter of 2013, I was on a farm with a few friends when my friend Callum introduced me to progressive house music. He played a variety of mixes over the time we were there, which were around 1-2 hours, and I found them incredibly calming.

Since then I play progressive house in the background when I have some time to myself. But more often than not I’ll listen to mixes when I work.

My favourite of these is Minded Music Sessions (mixed by Roald Velden). They come out every second Tuesday of the month and are usually around an house long. I’ve listened to every one of the 69 mixes that he has out so far multiple times.

Minded Work

Today I got the perfect headspace for work. Lots of things contributed to it, including Jared helping me get an early start and Charly working alongside me.  And on top of that, I had the Minded Music Sessions that got me in the zone and on track.

Progressive house takes some time to getting used to, and it’s not for everyone. But I find the consistent rhythm, pretty melodies and light vocals are the perfect combination to help me relax and keep me focused 🙂

Image was taken in 2013 on the trip where I first listened to progressive house

Song of the day: Roald Velden & South Pole - Billion Stars

Thesis update: most productive day to date. Lots of data and literature work

Blog 90/365. Read more about my #365of25 journey here

A new tradition has sprung up with some of my close friends. On Sunday evenings we all get together and one of us cooks. And we’ll spend the rest of the time catching up, playing computer games or watching series.

It rounds off the weekend nicely and gets me in the right space for the week ahead. It has become such a special and enjoyable time. And, conveniently, it helps fight off the Sunday Blues.

Picture was taken at last weeks Sunday dinner

Song of the day: Sharpest Lives - My Chemical Romance

Thesis update: Little to no work done

Blog 90/365. Read more about my #365of25 journey here

Lecturing Lesson #4: The Curse of Knowledge

The curse of knowledge is a cognitive bias that happens when an individual has extensive knowledge of a subject area. When they communicate or interact with other people with less knowledge than themselves, they may unknowingly assume that others have the same background as they do.

It’s really easy to fall into this trap, particularly when you’ve been lecturing a subject for a little while. You may use jargon, assumptions or rationale that your students may not have heard of before. And in doing so, they may not be able to follow what you’re teaching them.

An example of this was when I was teaching management accounting a few years back. My class mostly consisted of property studies students. I was trying to teach a topic called relevant costing, and they really seemed to be struggling with certain aspects of it.

It was only after a two sessions that I realised they hadn’t learnt about the concept of depreciation, as this was not taught in their degree, and this hindered their ability to do relevant costing. Once we sorted this out, it became smooth sailing.

It’s difficult to prevent the curse of knowledge bias. But by setting up an environment in which students are comfortable to ask questions, they’ll be able to speak up if you do fall into it.

And, most importantly, if they do speak up, be patient in explaining the concept. It may seem simple to you, but it might not be for them. The curse of knowledge is a common bias in academia, we need to be cognisant of it when we teach.

Picture is of the plane I flew in to and from Pretoria. The seats are configured with 1 on one side of the aisle and 2 on the other, meaning that on the way back I got a seat that was both aisle and window at the same time. Winning

Song of the day: Illenium - Fractures

Thesis update: consulting in Pretoria :)

Blog 86/365.Read more about my #365of25 journey here

Lecturing Lesson #3: Support your students

It is one of the most rewarding parts of teaching: supporting students and watching them grow. This may often mean going over and above the call of duty. It means caring more, spending more time with them and putting in more effort.

Support students when they:

• Have exciting ideas that they want to try for their assignments.
• Start businesses (e.g. follow their social media pages, buy their stuff)
• Apply for programs and opportunities (be their reference and write them a reference letter)
• Are struggling with coursework

Support them proactively by sending them opportunities, such as jobs and competitions and scholarships. Introduce them to people who might be helpful in advancing their careers.

This doesn’t have to be done at great personal cost. And it doesn’t have to be done all the time. Sometimes it’s a 5min chat after a lecture or even just an email with a link.

The difference is that, in doing this, you become more than just a person that delivers content. You bring opportunities to life and help them on their path to success.

And that’s one of the most important things about teaching. The students have not come to you just to learn dull theories. They signed up for degrees to improve their chances of success in the world.

Be someone who helps them succeed.

Image is was taken in Leslie Social during the entrepreneurship expo 🙂

Song of the day: Robbie Williams - Feel

Thesis update: consulting in Pretoria :)

Blog 85/365.Read more about my #365of25 journey here

This week I’ll be traveling to Pretoria for my consulting work. So for the next few days I’ll be sharing some tips and lessons I’ve learnt from teaching/lecturing at UCT. I’ve taught as a tutor, an assistant lecturer and as a lecturer for 4 years. It’s been an incredible journey and I know that this is only the start.

Lecturing Lesson #2: Don’t over plan

The first lecture I ever gave in 2015 had 43 slides. The lecture was meant to last 2 hours. It lasted 30min.

The lecture I gave at the end of last semester had 3 slides. We spent 2 hours in full conversation and only made to slide number 2.

Lecturing for the first time was terrifying. I tried to make sure I had everything planned to the last word. Every slide was full and had notes on it. And the whole think ran like a high school public speaking event. Cringe.

As I’ve grown in confidence I’ve learnt that this kind of approach may be reassuring, but it ultimately limits your creativity and your ability to connect with the students. You end up excluding them from the conversation while you stand up and ramble your way through notes. And to be honest, they could probably learn more from a text book.

A simple framework 

Nowadays I plan my lectures very differently. I set up the outline of the lecture and the rest is designed to allow room for engagement and story telling. It’ll usually start with some admin and an overview of some of the content. And from then on I relate the content to the real world and to my own experiences.

And as I do I find that students are able to relate more and bring their own stories to the party. Suddenly the material becomes easier to understand and learning happens between peers as much as coming from me.

The real value in lecturing doesn’t lie in delivering the content. The real value comes from making it understandable, relating it to the students and bringing it alive.

Image is was taken this morning at Wonderboom National Airport. 

Song of the day: All Falls Down- Alan Walker

Thesis update: consulting in Pretoria :)

Blog 84/365.Read more about my #365of25 journey here