Creating Significant Learning Environments
(CSLE)
Learning is not something we do to students. Learning is what students DO.
A New Culture of Learning
Our education system is broken. School is not working, and our students are suffering for it. We’ve heard these complaints for so long now, yet very little has changed. Maybe because we’re not sure what the change should look like? We can continue to argue over the individual components of education: state testing, grading, homework, teachers, and so on. But we need to take a broader view and ask ourselves, who is school for?
The change we need is a new culture of learning. So many students have disengaged from school because we are not providing what they need. The world continuous to change at a faster rate and emerging technologies necessitates the ability to continually learn new skills. We developed the factory-model of education to cope with 19th century industry. We used education to train people, to develop a specific set of skills, in order build a skilled workforce. The problem is we no longer live in that world. It is no longer sufficient to have a static set of knowledge and skills. Learners need new tools and strategies to navigate this ever-changing world.
Students need to learn how to learn. We cannot continue our standardized form of education where we attempt to pour knowledge into students’ heads. We must build learning environments that engage the passions and imaginations of every learner (Thomas & Brown, 2011). From the time we are born we learn easily and naturally by exploring the world around us. We are curious, inquisitive, and not afraid to fail. Until we go to school. Sir Ken Robinson said that in our quest for conformity with our fast-food model of education, we stifle curiosity, but the irony is we need curiosity (TED Talks, 2013). Curiosity is the engine of learning.
A New Culture of Learning harnesses the power of curiosity through imagination and play and encourages the learner to engage in the world around them (Thomas & Brown, 2011). Within a structured environment, learners are given the independence and support to investigate and experiment with their learning. My Learning Philosophy embraces these ideas and provides a framework to ensure I make the best instructional decisions for my students.
“To live and learn” is one of our most common adages, but we don’t give students much room to do either in school. To develop the critical and creative thinking skills that students need now, and in the future, we must proactively design a significant learning environment that sparks curiosity and engages students in deep, meaningful learning.
Creating Significant Learning Environments (CSLE)
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to learning. To develop the unique aptitudes and talents within every learner, they need time, space, and the tools to interact with the world around them. Trial and error are critical aspects of learning and provide experiences learners need to make meaningful connections.
Through my innovation project on blended learning, I will create a significant learning environment that is personalized and customized to my learners’ needs. A technology enriched environment will provide a variety of tools and supports to promote autonomy and mastery. To encourage creativity and critical thinking, students will engage in authentic and collaborative learning experiences. They will investigate, experiment, and tinker (Connected Learning Alliance, 2012). By allowing students to tinker, they will have the opportunity to develop mastery and gain tacit knowledge.
My role as a teacher is not to simply impart knowledge. The information age has made knowledge available to anyone, anywhere, anytime. My role as coach, mentor, and guide, is to help students make sense of that knowledge, put it into context, and apply it in a relevant way. With purposeful planning to align outcomes, activities, and assessments, I will build a framework for successful learning.
To meet the challenges of creating a significant learning environment, I will continue to develop and promote our growth mindset culture. We are embarking on a new journey and, with anything new, there will be trepidation. But we are endeavoring to improve the lives of our students, so we ourselves must embrace our school motto "my past is not my future!"
References
Connected Learning Alliance. (2012, September 18). The Global One Room Schoolhouse: John Seely Brown
(Highlights from JSB's Keynote at DML2012) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Harapnuik, D. (2015, May 09). Creating Significant Learning Environments (CSLE) [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ-c7rz7eT4&t=2s
TED Talks. (2013, May 10). How to escape education’s Death Valley, Sir Ken Robinson [Video file]. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX78iKhInsc
Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. Lexington, KY: CreateSpace.