“I used to want to design a utopian society or a perfect world or something like that. But as I’m kind of getting older and kind of messing with all this stuff, I’m realizing that my idea of a perfect world really can’t be designed by one person or even by a million experts. It’s really going to be seven billion pairs of hands, each following their own passions, and each kind of like a mosaic coming up and creating this world in their backyards and in their kitchens. And that’s the world I really want to live in.”
Jay Silver in his 2013 TED Talk Hack a Banana, Make a Keyboard!
The first time I watched this TEDTalk, I realized the significance of a learning environment deep in my bones. However, I couldn’t express my desire to push forward into the new, digital age with meaningful language, let alone action. Regardless, the words in the quote above rang in my ears and my heart. More importantly, they were reignited by the coursework in Creating Significant Learning Environments.
A New Culture of Learning
This fire started with the book A New Culture of Learning (Thomas & Brown, 2011). I spent a lot of time thinking about that book. So much so that I called my dad to talk about how he rebuilt my grandfather’s cuckoo clock, demonstrating the tenets outlined in NCoL, particularly the use of tacit knowledge and the collective. Find out more about how I apply these concepts to my Innovation Plan in Grapevine-Colleyville ISD below.
My Learning Philosophy
The fire continued to burn as I developed a learning philosophy for a digital age centered around Humanism, Constructivism, and Connectivism. As I said in my blog April Flowers: Thriving in the Right season:
“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. As I explore what I believe, I notice the importance of the evolving knowledge of the Collective combined with the individual learner. I also notice the importance of creating an environment that encourages individuals to follow their passions, to know where to find the information, and where learners have autonomy, mastery, and purpose” (Stateler, 2022). Explore more below.
Backward Design: Three Column Table Vs. UbD Template
The fire threatened to die down when I climbed into the weeds of backward planning. However, as I wrapped up the UbD Template plan, everything started to come together. All of the planning reminded me that my focus as the instructional designer and teacher is to be intentional about the role I play in the learning environment. That is, my role is designer, facilitator, coach, and model. After all, “we are coaches of their ability to play the game of performing with understanding, not tellers of our understanding to them on the sidelines” (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005, p. 17). Review my planning documents below.
Aligning Outcomes, Assessments, and Activities
Understanding by Design
Growth Mindset Reflection
Like a common theme effortlessly spun through your favorite novel series, the growth mindset rounds out my work on Creating Significant Learning Environments. I’ve never liked the concept of the growth mindset, and after reading works by Dr. Harapnuik and Alfie Kohn, I see why. Find out how the Learner’s Mindset can ignite a fire in everyone. Explore my thoughts on how I plan to revise and support my Growth Mindset Plan for GCISD by following the link below.
References
Silver, J. (2013, May 16). Jay Silver: Hack a Banana, Make a Keyboard! TED. Retrieved March 27, 2022, from https://www.ted.com/talks/jay_silver_hack_a_banana_make_a_keyboard?language=en
Stateler, K. (2022, April 8). April Flowers: Thriving in the Right Season. Cookies N Cache. https://karinstateler.com/?p=897
Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.