Connecting the Dots

Does the learning environment make or break successful outcomes in education?

Before working through the coursework in EDLD 5313-Creating Significant Learning Environments, I probably would have said, “no.” In my mind, good teaching was the most important part of favorable outcomes. Much to my surprise, I was wrong. After completing various modules and exploring the impact of learning environments on students, my views have been significantly altered.

The first influential factor in the transformation of my thinking took place through the reading and analysis of, A New Culture of Learning by Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown (2011). Thomas and Brown emphasize the importance of holistic learning and moving away from the traditional “mechanistic” (2011) teaching methods that came about during the industrial age and fail to adequately prepare students to be fluid and collaborative in the 21st Century. Through my research, I came to realize that collaboration, peer-to-peer learning, learning through play, and working in “collectives” (Brown and Thomas, 2011) are essential components of future successes for students who are sitting in today’s classrooms. Shifting away from a teacher-centered learning environment to one that is student-centered is key since most jobs of the future will be technology based and will require learners to know how to be a productive member of a decision-making group. After taking in all the new ideas regarding a new culture of learning, I realized that a shift in my learning philosophy was necessary.

While considering how to revise my learning philosophy, I explored various learning theories and methodologies. Behaviorism, cognitive constructivism, and social constructivism were the three that stood out to me as most significant. While weighing the attributes of these very different learning philosophies, I decided my classroom would be a combination of all three, but we will lean most heavily on social constructivism with the utilization of collaborative groups (collectives), technology, project-based learning, and an occasional direct teach when we are beginning a new unit or when clarification of certain concepts is necessary for the success of the students. I am excited to implement some of my new ideas during the second semester, and I can’t wait to see the impact it will have on my students. In order to adequately prepare for a shift in my learning environment, I have explored a couple of different planning methods to align my desired learning outcomes with my new learning philosophy and environment: Fink’s 3-column table (2003) and the UbD lesson plan template (Wiggins and McTighe,2005).

One of the new units I will be introducing is independent reading with a blogging extension and collaboration among my students. I began the planning process by aligning everything in Fink’s 3-column table (2003). Once I had carefully designed my unit using the table, the end results were good, but I felt more detail might be necessary to make sure the unit was carefully connected to the objectives and desired outcomes I had in mind. This led me to shift to the UbD template (Wiggins and McTighe,2005).

The UbD template (Wiggins and McTighe,2005) helped me to break my unit down into smaller and more manageable bites, and I was able to create a specific day-by-day schedule for our blogging unit along with the inclusion of specific prompts that are connected to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (2010) for Secondary English Language Arts. Although the UbD seemed to be a more comprehensive planning model, I felt the combination of both tools was useful to the creation of instruction that would help me reach the vision and bigger picture I have in mind for my learning environment. After all pieces seemed to be connecting to form my new significant learning environment, I had just one lingering questions in my mind: how will I get my students on board and mentally prepare them to function successfully when faced with a new learning style they may not be familiar with? I would need to teach them to be open-minded and to accept the new challenges head on, and the secrets to teaching students to think differently were found in the book, Mindset by Carol Dweck (2010).

The discovery of new methods for approaching challenges differently was a huge win. Mindset (Dweck, 2010) has opened my eyes to own fixed mind set with regard to trying new things and viewing failures as an opportunity for growth. After reading the book, I immediately knew it was something that needed to be shared with all of my students. The creation of an implementation strategy was the next step in the process. My research and analyzation led me to a mindset booklet created for teenagers by The Superhero Teacher (The Superhero Teacher, 2016). Upon finding the booklet, I knew it was the perfect strategy to help get my students in the right frame of mind to accept a shift in the way I was teaching along with the way they were learning in my classroom.

The shift in my learning environment will eventually lead to bigger and better things: the implementation of my innovation plan. Once all the components above are successfully in place, my students will be in the right frame of mind and will have established a workable site to use as a platform for their current and future learning. After the completion of the blogging unit, they will be in the habit of frequently adding academic components to their digital footprint and this will prepare them to add more academic writings and projects to their sites. My hope is that they will all leave me with an impressive collection of work to share with potential colleges and employers. The creation of significant learning environments will better my students in both the present moment and help them in their future endeavors.

References

Fink, L. D. (2003). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to designing college courses. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Wiggins, G., & Mctighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design, Expanded 2Nd Edition. Danvers, MA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Random House.

Lessons learned learning global connectivity technology [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved December 16, 2016, from http://editor.wix.com/html/editor/web/renderer/edit/d8c1ad84-5453-412c-b57c-3c852af4e8d1?metaSiteId=43773c15-ed69-4faf-9640-2125be484d19&editorSessionId=9BCED6DD-EE75-4DFE-BC01-A42D8A3FDD5F

Texas Education Agency. (2010, February 22). 19 TAC Chapter 110, Subchapter C. Retrieved from http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter110/ch110c.html

The Superhero Teacher. (1970, January 01). Teaching growth mindset in the secondary classroom. Retrieved December 15, 2016, from http://thesuperheroteacher.blogspot.com/

Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. Lexington, KY: CreateSpace?