Category: 5313 Creating Significant Learning Environments

Liam’s story

One of my friends has an 8th grader. I’ll call him Liam, but that’s not his real name. Liam was always a happy kid who loved school and saw relative success in class. Since the start of the pandemic, Liam’s grades and behavior really started to change. For starters, he already spent a lot of time on technology. Now, he spends almost the entire day using technology for games and at school. Also, his grades plummeted dramatically. When his grades started to tank, his parents removed all unnecessary technology. Unfortunately, he’s still not doing his work. He tells them he’s submitted it, but when they ask to see the assignment it is “magically” blank. Most worrisome are the changes in his personality. Liam doesn’t seem to have many friends. Also, he has become despondent and forgetful. For example, when his dad asked him to go get something from the kitchen, he watched Liam. Liam went into the kitchen, putzed around for fifteen minutes, and came back without the item his dad had asked for.

This is the story of so many students today. 

Children look for meaning and connection and they lash out when they don’t get it. Some students lash out like Liam, exhibiting signs of apathy and depression. Still, other students exhibit straight-up aggressive behaviors, as demonstrated by the TikTok challenges. While some of these behaviors were common before the pandemic, this story has become too common. While there are a number of factors at play, I also think the pandemic woke all of us up a little to what really matters. What matters to our students? I believe that, at least in part, our students are railing against the industrial model of education. They want meaningful, authentic learning environments and experiences.

“Kids these days”

Kids today are different and have different needs than even I did not so long ago. For starters, they have access to and are inundated with information all day, every day. Because of this, they always question information – they are looking for context over answers. To our students, teachers are not experts, rather we are just another context (Thomas & Brown, 2011). Therefore, teachers can no longer look to the 20th-century classroom as a model for education. We must change.

Information in the graphic from 21st Century Education vs. 20th Century Education (Lewin, 2009). Created by Karin Stateler using Canva.

Change is hard.

On his visit to 60 schools, Lichtman (2013) learned that “we know what good learning looks like.” Schools are becoming and can become adaptive, relevant, permeable, dynamic, creative, and self-correcting (Lichtman, 2013). In fact, many schools solved problems on their own, only to be met with different problems (Lichtman, 2013). If schools work as a community, they might realize that someone else has already solved a similar problem that they have.

What’s keeping us from change?

Lichtman (2013) mentioned three factors that are keeping us from making changes in the classroom:

1. Our biggest anchors are ego and control. We are anchored by time, space, and material.
2. Our dams are treating content as more important than context. In this day and age, students can access information. How can we create a meaningful context?
3. Finally, we work in silos. Examples include our classroom, department, or school. These silos keep us inwardly focused. They also keep us from communicating and collaborating with one another.

We do hard things.

Image from What 60 Schools Can Tell Us About Teaching 21st Century Skills (Lichtman, 2013).

What we are doing isn’t working. We are trying to put square pegs in round holes. What should we do? We need to create significant learning environments in which students have a choice, ownership, voice, and authentic projects. That is, we need to move from the industrial model to an ecosystem model of education. We can use meaningful projects to teach the difficult, unknown, and messy (Lichtman, 2013). Through this, we can create self-evolving learners (Lichtman, 2013). Finally, we teach “students to meet whatever challenges crop up in the world in the next 30-50 years of their lifetime” (Lichtman, 2013). If we do this, we and they might create “self-evolving organizations that embrace constant change and the methodology of constant change” (Lichtman, 2013).

We need to be “preparing our students for their future, not for our past” (Lichtman, 2013).

Let’s stop talking and start doing.

References

Lewin, W. (2009, April 2). 21st Century Education vs. 20th Century Education. YouTube. Retrieved April 27, 2022, from https://youtu.be/HiD1UqLPrOg

Lichtman, G. (2013, March 21). What 60 Schools Can Tell Us About Teaching 21st Century Skills: Grant Lichtman at TEDxDenverTeachers. YouTube. Retrieved April 27, 2022, from https://youtu.be/UZEZTyxSl3gThomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

Independent learner

I’m as independent a learner and thinker as a human can get. Humans can be easy to manipulate and often seek confirmation bias, but that’s another story. However, I’m not sure I’m great at creating independent learners, yet.

We do what is done to us

When I started 5305, I excitedly blogged about my first idea for my Innovation Plan. In short, my plan focused on supporting what I saw as an area of nonconsumption – teaching and supporting administrative assistants with technology use. Then I met with Dr. H and my bubble burst. In my post Winds of Change, I explain how our meeting didn’t go as planned. He suggested a much broader idea for my Innovation Plan that involves going paperless as an office and district to model best practices for blended learning from the top down. After sitting with my cognitive dissonance, I not only accepted but embraced this plan to make meaningful change.

In this meeting, I talked to Dr. H about helping an admin assistant. The admin assistant had asked for support in creating a Google site for her boss. Instead of supporting her, I created and designed the site for her and just showed her how to edit what I had designed. When I proudly detailed that experience to Dr. H, he asked me why I did the learning for her. Deflated, I said, “I’m not sure.” Dr. H kindly replied, “We usually do what was done to us” (Harapnuik, 2021).

Rube Goldberg Machines

My mind immediately went back to middle school. You see, in the eighth grade, we were challenged with designing a Rube Goldberg machine. The moment I got the assignment, I drew a picture of my Self-Diffusing Night Light. When you light the candle it burned a string, and eventually, a cup would fall on the candle to snuff it out. Next, I excitedly showed my wonderful, mechanical father. When I arrived home from school the next day, my dad showed me the machine he built based on my design. He did most of it without me! I was happy to be done but disappointed that I didn’t get to build my design.

During my conversation with Dr. H, I realized that I had done the exact same thing to this admin assistant! I deprived her of the opportunity to learn and I kept her dependent on me for her learning.

The conversation with Dr. H has really affected me and I vowed to become better at creating independent learners, much like I want to be an independent learner.

Start with Why

As I think about moving forward and creating independent learners I consider the purpose of the Big Hairy Audacious Goal. To me, creating and sharing a BHAG is all about the Why and reaching the affective domain.  

Like I said in my post What a Strange Machine Man Is! (2021), “You need to connect to someone’s affective domains first: Their values, motivations, attitudes, stereotypes, and feelings. It’s like the saying “Maslow before Bloom’s” – you need to meet people’s physical and emotional needs before you can reach their cognition.” Also, the BHAG sets the context for the course. By setting an overarching goal, you answer the question, “Are you preparing them for a test or are you preparing them for life?” correctly (Harapnuik, 2021).

Once you have your BHAG, you can align planning, delivery, and assessment. In this case, the intended curriculum goals represent what you plan to teach and the activities show how you plan to teach it, and the assessment shows what students achieved (Harapnuik, 2021). Finally, all of this should be viewed through the lens of specific situational and environmental factors.

Aligning outcomes, activities, and assessments

The beauty of the graphic is that it demonstrates how interdependent the outcomes, activities, and assessments are on one another (Fink, 2003). The model also helps us to see when we have integration and when we don’t (Fink, 2003). If we engage in the practice of creating solid alignment, there is a high likelihood that students will have a significant learning environment (Fink, 2003). As I consider how I’m aligning my outcomes, activities, and assessments, I recognize that I must avoid the four most common pitfalls mentioned in Aligning Outcomes, Activities, and Assessments (Harapnuik, 2021):

1. Systemic problems: Teachers are responsible for information transfer; our system is based on standardized testing.
2. Personal: “We do what was done to us.”
3. Looking for a quick fix to a complex problem.
4. Partial Perspective: We only assume the cognitive domain and not the affective domain (values/attitudes) or psychomotor domain (physical)

By applying this cohesive planning process, I hope to create a significant learning environment. In doing so, I will cultivate independent learners and thinkers.

References

Fink, L. D. (2003). A Self-Directed Guide to Designing Courses for Significant Learning. Jossey-Bass.

Harapnuik, D. (2021, February 24). Aligning Outcomes, Activities & Assessments: Learners Mindset Fundamentals. You Tube – Learners Mindset. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsmbuD00Vfg

Stateler, K. (2021, December 4). What a Strange Machine Man Is! Cookies N Cache. https://karinstateler.com/?p=272

My favorite season in Texas is springtime. We are moving out of winter and the days are getting longer. Also, the weather isn’t unbearably hot yet. Plus, during springtime, a buzz lingers in the air – the feeling of summer vacation is just around the corner!

However, the biggest reason I enjoy spring is because of the Texas wildflowers. The diversity and beauty of Texas wildflowers are unmatched by anything I’ve ever experienced.  Part of the joy is that they are temporary. In early April, the roadsides are dotted with purple-blue as bluebonnets move in. Next, come the varieties of paintbrushes in an array of colors. They are followed closely by Firewheel, which last throughout spring and summer. By this time, the bluebonnets are in full bloom and Texas families take the opportunity to take pictures with the state flower. During early May, the pink evening primrose delight with their temporary beauty – these flowers last only one day before they wilt and a neighbor blooms. In May, we begin to see members of the ​​Asteraceae family: Brown-eyed Susan, Mexican hat, and coneflowers line the highway. Eventually, some of the earlier flowers start to die down, replaced by summer flowers that aren’t as vibrant but are more hearty and able to survive the summer heat and seasonal drought.

Unlike spring flowers, I was a late bloomer.

Or at least I’ve always thought of myself that way. As a child, my interests shifted rapidly; I struggled to land on a hobby or interest for long. For example, I played floor hockey and softball before I discovered cross country. Also, at different points in my life, I wanted to be a zookeeper, cure Alzheimer’s disease, be a famous singer, author books, study evolutionary biology in plants, and of course, teach science. Even as an adult, I hopped from job to job. I started my career teaching eighth-grade Intro to Physics and Chemistry to affluent children. Then, I took a year off to take a break. During this time, I worked in data entry. Next, I taught fifth-grade science at a Title One school. Honestly – this was probably the most rewarding job I ever had, and the one in which I learned the most. Then, I ended up at a mostly ELL, all-girls public school where I taught a STEM elective class to sixth through eighth grade. Finally, I ended up back in the district I started tackling my current role on the Digital Learning team. 

At 41 years old, I decided to go back to school because I found the ADL program. I feel like I can finally see a path to my future, albeit a bit blurry. I never felt like I knew “what I wanted to be when I grew up.” Honestly, I don’t know if I’ll ever land on one thing. As soon as I begin to wrap my brain around a job or passion, a new door opens and pulls me in another direction. 

Why did I change jobs so much?

When I reflect on Why, it’s hard to pinpoint. Each job change had slightly different reasons. For example, I left my first teaching job after my sixth year of teaching. During my fifth year of teaching, I had a banner year. I connected with my students so well and truly felt I had mastered “teaching.” Then, my sixth year of teaching fell flat. I wondered, “Should I even be a teacher? Maybe I’m not cut out for this.” I was no longer learning and growing in a way I wanted to.

Daniel Pink (Stephenson et al., 2010) shares that three factors lead to peak performance:

1. Autonomy: Self-direction “You probably want to do something interesting. Let me get out of your way.”
2. Mastery: The urge to get better at stuff.
3. Purpose: Making a contribution that is bigger than yourself.

I see this in myself. When I reflect on my itch to switch jobs, I notice a pattern. In all instances, I was lacking autonomy, continued growth, or a connection to a transcendent purpose. Much like plants, all learners – adults included – must have the right environment to be able to grow. How does this connect to learning philosophy?

It’s about learning.

“Our ability to learn what we need for tomorrow is more important than what we know today. Connectivism presents a model of learning that acknowledges the tectonic shifts in society where learning is no longer an internal, individualistic activity” (Siemens, 2005).

As I continue to explore learning philosophy, I think I’m landing on Connectivism. However, there’s a strong probability that will change over time, possibly rapidly. Because learning is as much about the environment as it is about a person and the environment evolves, I posit that learning theory must continue to evolve too. Humans learn in a similar way – inquisitively, always exploring their environment – but in a different context. As humans, we change our environment, so what we know about the environment changes. What was true has changed. As we become connected through technology, knowledge no longer exists in a vacuum. What we know exists in ourselves, in others, and in non-human appliances. Learning must be about creating a meaningful environment for knowledge construction that goes beyond what we see as capable now into a realm that explores what might be capable.

I have more questions than answers.

Questions I’m still exploring:

• Where is the line between what benefits big business – humans as machines who become cogs in society – and how people really learn. What is the effect of this on how learning theory developed and continues to develop?
• Where is the line between humans and technology? How might that evolve?
• Where is the line between the individual and the collective? How might that evolve?
• What “skills” or “knowledge” do all students need to have? Beyond number sense and literacy?
  • Do students need to memorize multiplication facts?
  • Do students need to know how to at least read cursive?
• What is innate and what isn’t?

I think my beliefs about learning will continue to develop as I explore some of these questions in depth. However, I wonder if I’ll ever land on one learning theory forever, as I think that theories evolve as we need them to. Also, if you look at my track record, I don’t tend to hang onto one interest for eternity.

The right environment to flourish:

Regardless of the learning theory that you or I land on, I think we can agree that what we are doing now isn’t working. We must move from an industrial model of education that is about linearity, conformity, and batching (Robinson, 2010). That is, we must move to an agricultural model where human flourishing is an organic process (Robinson, 2010). We must also accept that we cannot predict the outcome (Robinson, 2010). Finally, we must just create the conditions under which learners will begin to flourish, and hope for wild, uncontrollable growth beyond what’s imaginable (Robinson, 2010).

Maybe I’m not a late bloomer. Rather, maybe – like all learners – I just thrive in the right environment. Maybe I just need the right conditions, and maybe those conditions are seasonal. Just like Texas wildflowers in the spring.

References

Robinson, S. K. (2010, May 24). Bring on the learning revolution! | Sir Ken Robinson. YouTube. Retrieved April 8, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9LelXa3U_I

Siemens, G. (2005, January). Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. International Journal of Instructional Technology & Distance Learning, 2(1). https://jotamac.typepad.com/jotamacs_weblog/files/Connectivism.pdf

Stephenson, A., Park, A., & Pink, D. (2010, April 1). RSA ANIMATE: Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. YouTube. Retrieved April 8, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc