by: Erika Peña
EDLD 5313: Creating Significant Learning Environments
95/100
EDLD 5389: Developing Effective Professional Learning
95/100
My Road to Creating Significant Learning Environments
and Professional Learning
As I come to the end of my third set of classes for my Applied Digital Learning masters program at Lamar University, I continue to reflect on the road that led me here and the road that continued.
Just like I mentioned last semester, I have been an educator for over 9 years, learning and growing each year. This year has to be one of the toughest ones yet. From
huge learning gaps to extreme and tough behavior, we have seen it all this year.
I wholeheartedly believe that now more than ever we need to disrupt the current educational system and make big changes. Along with my coworkers, Veronica Balli and Ileana Reyna, I have created an innovation plan to bring the change we seek to our campus. In our innovation plan, Blended Learning: Personalizing the Future of Education, we plan to create a significant learning environment that will be personalized and tailored to meet their needs. We believe that by giving students choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning opportunities in conjunction with building our students up with a growth and learner’s mindset we will be able to accomplish our goal.
Within these last three semesters, I have gained a wealth of knowledge more importantly I have learned how to learn. I have grown, pushed myself, and have become an agent of change, adding and strengthening our innovation project along the way. Of course it hasn’t been easy, this time of the year is extremely hectic at work, but by collaborating with my core group daily and being in the GroupMe group, I was able to keep up with all my assignments.
In order to continue to grow as a self-directed learner, I will reflect and assess my learning and contributions in both classes.
Self Assessment of 5313 and 5389
Due to work and family commitments, I was only able to attend a couple of the live classes in EDLD 5313: Creating Significant Learning Environments and EDLD 5389: Developing Effective Professional Learning. Even though I was not present in the LIVE classes as much as I would have liked, I watched the recorded videos and participated actively in the discussion boards by completing the readings, videos, and other supporting resources. I also met with my core group several times a week to discuss the LIVE classes, discussions, readings and assignments. Furthermore, all my assignments were turned in by the deadlines indicated in the calendar and I was able to continuously refine my e-portfolio on the WIX platform showcasing my ongoing learning in the ADL program. I not only spent hours adding blogs that reflected my learning, but also added pages to reflect each course I have completed thus far.
EDLD 5313: Creating Significant Learning Environments
In EDLD 5313: Creating Significant Learning Environments, I learned about the power of cultivating imagination by reading A New Culture of Learning by Thomas & Brown (2011). I not only reflected on the readings and videos connected to A New Culture of Learning, but I also entered into discussions about the topic. Next, I reflected on my learning philosophy. By engaging in this self-reflection activity, I was able to see the growth that I have accomplished as an educator and a student. I also learned about creating significant learning environments by aligning outcomes, activities, and assessments and using backward design to plan impactful lessons. Lastly, I updated my growth mindset plan in order to reflect my new learning.
EDLD 5389: Developing Effective Professional Learning
In EDLD 5389, Developing Effective Professional Learning, I learned how to become an agent of change by learning how to implement alternative professional learning. In order to create an effective Professional Learning plan, we embarked in a 3 step process. Step 1, was a call to action presentation to promote a Go & Show approach to professional learning. Step 2 was to create an PL outline that provided an overview for the PL sessions we will provide in order to implement our innovation plan. Lastly, Step 3 was a fully prepared PL session that will introduce our staff to blended learning. My collaborative group and I worked diligently to ensure that we had everything we needed to present a successful alternative PL session.
Collaboration Group
Although I am a part of a larger group of students on the GroupMe app, my core collaborative group consists of Veronica Balli and Ileana Reyna. We currently work in the same school and are working on a shared vision, our Innovation Project: Blended Learning: Personalizing the Future of Education. We collaborated via text, Teams, and in person daily and we all took on leadership roles at different stages of our assignments. From discussing, planning, writing, and creating to giving feedback, we all participated and contributed to our learning. I have learned so much since beginning the ADL program and credit our synergistic collaboration for this.
The Road that Continues Ahead
As I look to the road ahead of me, I ask myself, “What can I do differently next semester?” Well, since my next semester will take place in the summer, I want to be able to get ahead with my readings and discussions. I will also be able to do a little each day and should be able to attend more LIVE classes. I have also looked over the ADL Program Map so that I can continue to learn with the end in mind. I have also looked at the upcoming two classes on my schedule, 5315 Measurement Strategy and 5317 EdTEch Publications and have looked at the reading lists, the three column tables, and assignment examples. I continue to look forward to growing and learning from my professors and my collaborative group.
Resources:
Harapnuik, D., Thibodeaux, T., Cummings, C. (2018). Choice, ownership, and voice through
authentic learning [eBook]. Creative Commons License.
Harapnuik, D. (2015, May 9). Creating significant learning environments (CSLE). YouTube.
Harapnuik, D. (2021, April 16). New culture of learning. YouTube. https://youtu.be/G4RIBNgK6xI
Thomas, D. & Brown, J.S., (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
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