Educators know that teaching is a gift of heart. One important factor that displays how much a teacher cares about her students is the effort she puts into preparing her students to be successful members of society in the future. There are current educational trends and pedagogies that greatly influence the environment in our classrooms. It is now time, however, to consider a new way of teaching, or, as Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown call it, “A New Culture of Learning.” As a teacher, I have been guilty of following unsuccessful traditional learning systems in my class. Although I made efforts to improve the class environment, there are still some aspects that, across the board, are no longer as effective for learners. It is our job as educators, to investigate these areas. We must improve and combat them with useful and updated ways of learning that will most benefit our students.
It is commonplace to believe that the teacher is the sole
provider of information (Brown & Thomas, 2011). However, the new learner can find any
information he desires at the palm of his hand.
The learner can simply say or type an inquiry and the findings are
displayed on the screen. All learners,
in and out of the classroom, can use the web as a resource to find facts they
need or want to know on any subject they wish. They can use collectives from blogs and
dialogue from their peers on social media to gain insight and create a context
all their own. Teachers must be able to
use and access this information to help students analyze and better understand it.
As Thomas (2011) stated in his Ted Talk, A New Culture of Learning (2012), learning
is natural and fun to everyone except in the school setting. Teachers must be able to facilitate student
learning to become a more natural process in the classroom for the environment
to flourish.
In my experience, teachers are advised to utilize a lesson
cycle that begins by capturing the audience’s attention. This increases engagement and prepares
students for the current lesson. What if
the teacher uses student interest as a primary factor in the student
environment instead of just for a lesson introduction? If student interest is at the forefront of
the classroom structure, the learning is now in their hands. Students become more accountable and
passionate about what they learn, and the teacher can assist and coach. The instructor’s primary job in the classroom
is to motivate and guide students throughout their learning process. We should think of the classroom as a garden
(Bates, 2015). As teachers, we can
nurture the garden, water the plants, and provide the room to gw. In the end, however, the plants must do the
growing. Teachers cannot make students
learn. Students should be the central
focus of the classroom so that their interests will increase their engagement and
passion to continue their own educational journey.
The last and most difficult factor to change in the learning
environment is the presence of assessment based learning. Standardized testing cannot be ignored,
however, increasing the significance of a student-centered classroom that focuses on student engagement
coupled with their imagination with the challenge of restraint will bring about
a learning perspective of fun. The
combination of these three elements is described as play (Douglas & Brown,
2011). Instead of a place of rules and
restrictions, students would use the confines of the classroom and assignment
parameters to create opportunities through understanding and imagination. Students would be asking questions, having relevant
conversations and using their interests coupled with positive peer influence to
learn. Douglas Thomas argues that assessments create
a culture of surveillance that shows teachers cannot be trusted (TED, 2012). More so, it stifles imagination and is toxic
to creativity, innovation and passion. Assessments are not going away anytime
soon. Instead of making the standards
the first item used to plan, teachers should instead ask themselves important
questions that help decide what is best for the learner. Backward design and looking at the bigger
picture will help all the details fall into place, standards included
(Harapnuik, n.d.). The ultimate goal is
for students to learn as naturally as possible so they will continue to do so
on their own.
Based on Creating Significant Learning Environments (CSLE), planning
with the student in mind first will help align all the other elements that
would greatly enhance the student learning process (Harapnuik, n.d.). Introspectively, I plan to implement a
progressive and student-centered learning environment using student ePortfolios
from my innovation plan. This tool will be used to
reinforce learning through creativity, technology and structured play that comes
about when using technology to learn.
The next school year comes with several challenges and unknowns. Planning for a physical or virtual classroom,
planning for student gaps that may be larger than usual due to the school
shutdowns from the pandemic. In addition,
we must consider the unknown future of state testing. Despite these obstacles, ensuring the student
is the main priority in any learning setting will be beneficial for
growth. My hope is that using evidence
of student ePortfolios, positive classroom culture through peer influence and student
accountability will reduce hesitancy and increase buy in. In the end, creating a positive learning
culture in the classroom will create a safe space for failing forward and
student achievement for the present and the future.
Resources
TED. (2011, September). A New Culture of Learning, Douglas Thomas at TEDxUFM [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM80GXlyX0U&feature=youtu.be
ChangSchool. (2015, December). Dr. Tony Bates on Building Effective Learning Environments. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xD_sLNGurA&feature=youtu.be
Harapnuik, D. (n.d.). Creating Significant Learning Environments [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ-c7rz7eT4&feature=youtu.be
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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