CREATING SIGNIFICANT LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS
I cannot believe that we have been doing it wrong for so many years! When I first began my journey into the DLL program, I focused on how to create an environment that will encourage engagement in my classroom and decided I would introduce a Project-Based Learning with Design-Thinking method. Well, since then, I have had an opportunity to dig deeper and have realized that yes, in addition to our educational models being mostly outdated as noted in my Innovation Plan, I also believe that the Professional Development (PDs) meetings teachers attend are also grossly outdated. I have come to realize that in order to create a significant learning environment for our students, we must first create significant learning environments for teachers.
How teachers learn is Important, too
If you look at my learning manifesto, you will see how I discuss the need for teachers to learn quite differently than the way we have learned in the past. For example, teachers should acquire new knowledge as it relates to the modern world and our content, thus, tying it into the lesson. For example, if a math teacher can take a trip to a nearby distribution center and visualize how distribution takes place in today's manufacturing process, maybe he/she can use this model as a real-world example when teaching the unit to their students. The same would apply to teachers in other content areas, including electives. If we can find real-world content, then we can use it to tie into our lessons and see a shift in our students' learning and engagement.
The current way we (teachers) learn is by attending outdated Professional Development meetings and Professional Learning Communities. During these meetings, we sit and listen to other teachers (who have probably learned from other teachers or a former "highly effective" teacher) discuss the latest “innovative” ways to implement an old process. As Ham says, so eloquently in the movie, Sandlot, “You’re killing me, Smalls”.
Dr. Harapnuik states, “learning is dependent upon the creation of an effective learning environment and the immersion of the learner in that environment”. Since teachers are the ones providing the information to the students, isn’t it important that we are placed in an effective learning environment, also?
Impact on Students
Dr. Tony Bates states in his YouTube video, Building Effective Learning environments that it is important for teachers to “cultivate imagination and honor passion”. I can not help but agree with this notion. I also believe that in order for teachers to cultivate imagination and honor passion, is to be a part of significant learning environments. When I first began teaching, I decided that I would do all I can to include in my classroom real-world connections. This approach not only keeps the students engaged but also keeps me relevant and up to date with current events.
As teachers obtain more information while embarking upon the study of a new teaching approach, bringing important teaching techniques into the classroom can enhance the learning environment for both students and teachers. This concept brings me to how I plan to include a significant learning environment in my classroom. My ultimate goal as a teacher is to have a classroom filled with questions and conversations as students make relevant connections to their lessons through their project-based learning which incorporates design thinking. For more information, please refer to my Innovation Plan here.
In the book, A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change, Thomas and Brown discuss learning inquiry,
“We call this style of learning inquiry. It creates a motivation to learn and provides a set of constraints that make the learning meaningful. Inquiry is an extremely powerful technique for learning because it produces stockpiles of experiences. Things that result in dead ends for one particular question may wind up being unexpectedly useful later on—even, perhaps, for a completely different question. The process forces us to explore the various ways in which information that we already possess can open up new sets of questions. Asking questions is not an act of demonstrating whether knowledge has been transferred. It is, instead, an act of imagination.” (Thomas and Brown, 2011)
Since Inquiry is a component of significant learning, you can understand how it can play a major role in my innovation plan. I discuss how bridging project-based learning with design thinking can be a game-changer because the process invites students to think critically while investigating. Because Inquiry is not simply researching, the student can learn in a variety of settings and experiences.
“Most traditional approaches overlook learning through hands-on activities, although it requires a deep and practical knowledge of the thing one is trying to create, and it can alter one’s personal investment in learning considerably,” (Thomas and Brown, 2012).
I agree with Dr. Thomas when he spoke in his TedTalk, "The jobs we're preparing our students for no longer exists." Having a significant learning environment in today's classroom is extremely important and I believe our goal is to facilitate our students' learning that offers students opportunities beyond the classroom. Having worked in the corporate sector for more than 20 years, I understand how crucial it is to have employees who can research, think critically, communicate, explore, and solve problems. The path to get them to this point is very important and we need to make sure that "students learn in the right environment" (Bates, T.)
Incorporating any new process into education can sometimes be problematic, especially since I am considering significant learning environments for both teachers and students. However, I truly believe that we can not have one without the other. Doing so will bring great benefits to the classroom and offer "cultures of context rather than content" (Thomas, D. 2012).
Resources
Dictionary.com (n.d.). Retrieved November 21, 2020, from https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/you-39-re-killin-me-smalls/
BxKitty. (2010, January 25). Sandlot [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/hxJPJ6JY0Pk
Harapnuik, D. (2012, September 25). Significant Learning Environments http://www.harapnuik.org/?p=2988
Bates, T. (2018, April 11). Dr. Tony Bates on Building Effective Learning Environments. https://youtu.be/WwTpfVQgkU0
Thomas, Douglas, and John Seely. Brown. A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change. CreateSpace, 2011.
Thomas, D. (2012, September 12). A New Culture of Learning, Douglas Thomas at TedxUFM. https://youtu.be/lM80GXlyX0U
