Lately I've been thinking about the power combo of a novice paired with someone-slightly-beyond-novice.

This pairing is shown to be more powerful than matching up a new learner with a total pro.

It might be surprising, given that many "teachers" feel, or are required to obtain, a sense of expertise prior to leading another group. Wouldn't we all think the best teacher is going to be the Gold Medalist, the one who never makes any mistakes, the one who has won some great awards?

But the distance created by someone who is running a beautifully oiled machine, and someone who is just trying to figure out where or how to jump on, creates discord.

Today, I gave a professional presentation on the evolution of maker work and our lab facility at my school.

During my set up, I asked people to chat about big dreams, a huge hope they have for themselves, or what's their story? How did they get to this place of working in maker-focused STEM or science?

Listening around the room, I heard so many people reflecting they were overwhelmed; they didn't know where to start; where was the inroad? Where was the key to open the door to this house they were building?

In introducing myself next, I decided to share: hey, I still feel like a novice here.

10 years ago, I was following in the footsteps of a phenomenal science teacher, and trying to pick up his awesome lab for launching snowball catapults. At that time, I didn't know how to properly use a drill, cut wood, or build anything.

I planned an entire fashion course and didn't really understand how to choose the right scissors, or right & wrong sides of fabric, or how to wind a bobbin.

I built an interactive display board for a hallway, but before that project, had never created a circuit that needed to actually work. I had never used Scratch, but somehow got my students to code animated videos about each of the planets.

I openly shared (and share) that I often just stay 1 day ahead of my students. If that!

Someone asked me where I learned all of this: how to use copper tape to make a paper circuit, how to solder, how to teach students all about electricity.

• I asked someone in my close network who knew.

• I watched someone who was better than me, and copied everything they did.

• I searched on YouTube. I found free websites. I asked questions on product pages.

• I woke up each morning and said, I think I can figure this out. But, if I can't, a student is sure going to figure it out for me.

I've had an amazing team in this work. I'm so lucky. The people who have guided me through this, my teammates are forward-focused, and patient, and want to grow every day too. I would call them experts, but they act like they are just beyond the horizon of figuring it out themselves.

I'm so, so grateful for great partners, great teachers, and great mentors that never stop learning themselves. Thank you.