Creating Significant Learning Environments
Introduction
When creating significant learning environments like we have envisioned in our innovation project, Blended Learning: Personalizing the Future of Education, Veronica Balli, Ileana Reyna, and myself have had to consider many factors.
We began this semester learning about cultivating imagination by reading A New Culture of Learning - Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change by Thomas & Brown (2011). This novel study, helped shape our minds in what we want to see in our innovation project. We then dove deep into learning philosophies in order to reflect on our own learning and teaching. This self reflection has also helped mold our innovation project by allowing us the time to reflect on the change we seek and aligning it with our beliefs about learning.
After learning and reflecting, we created a sample lesson based on Fink’s (2003) guide. Our 3 Column Table helped us align our learning goals, activities, and assessments for a 4th grade blended learning Poetry Unit that included choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning opportunities (COVA) while keeping in mind the learning environment and other situational factors. After using Fink’s (2003) guide to develop our 3 Column Table we were able to dive deeper into that lesson and create an Understanding by Design (UbD) template (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005) where we used backward design to not only align our goals, assessments, and activities, but to also ensure that our desired results were met.
Below you can learn more about each assignment that has molded our innovation project of creating significant learning environments where students have choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning opportunities.
A New Culture of Learning
According to Thomas & Brown (2011), “play, questioning, and imagination lie at the very heart of learning. When children play, they experience the world, and they learn that questioning the world is one of the key ways they can understand it” (Thomas & Brown, 2011). Our goal is to begin to remove the physical constraints of the four walls and include play, questioning, and imagination, through a global element in our learning spaces. To learn more about cultivating imagination in a New Culture of Learning, click the button below.
My Learning Philosophy
I believe that learning is a unique process similar to what Lynda Kelly (2002) describes. She states that “learning is a very individual, complex, and, to some degree, an indescribable process: something we just do, without ever thinking too much about it” (Kelly, 2002). As an educator and student myself, learning is at the core of not only my career, but also my life.
In my learning philosophy I explore the relationship between teaching and learning, reflect on myself as a learner, and identify which learning theory I connect with the most. To read more about my learning philosophy, click on the button below.
3 Column Table
One considerable factor we need to take into consideration while creating significant learning environments is the alignment of our learning goals, activities, and assessments. According to Fink (2003), the basic components of this design are analyzing the situational factors, formulating learning goals, designing assessments, and selecting learning activities. To learn more about how we aligned our outcomes, activities, and assessments, please click the button below.
Understanding by design
According to Wiggins and McTighe (2005), the best designs derive backward from the learnings sought and only by having specified the desired results can we focus on the content, methods, and activities most likely to achieve those results. After using Fink’s (2003) guide to develop a 3 Column Table plan for a 4th grade blended learning Poetry Unit, we were able to dive deeper into that lesson and create an Understanding by Design (UbD) template (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005) where we used backward design to not only align our goals, assessments, and activities, but to also ensure that our desired results were met. To read more about our UbD lesson, please click on the button below.
Growth Mindset
According to Stanford University psychologist, Carol Dweck, there are two types of mindsets people can have, a growth mindset or a fixed mindset. A “growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts, your strategies, and help from others.” On the other hand, a fixed mindset is “believing that your qualities are carved in stone.” People who have a fixed mindset believe that you are either smart or not (Dweck, 2006).
Having a growth mindset is essential and vital for success, especially in a school setting, but a Growth Mindset alone does not have the significant impact that we seek. Implementing a Growth Mindset with our students is only the first step to a positive change. We must also incorporate a change in teaching and a change in learning environment to truly be successful in growing our students.
To read more about my growth mindset plan and how we plan to use this as a stepping stone to foster a wholistic learner's mindset click the button below.