This course has forced me to think very deeply about the environment necessary for my Innovation Project. I am working with a lot of people outside of my classroom and department. My students are working with another teacher and their class. I really have to be mindful of the environment necessary for this project to be successful and sustaining. It won’t happen by accident. Prior to the course, I had a strong idea and sense of direction for my project. You can read about it here. As I started looking at creating a Significant Learning Environment, I watched several videos about creating a culture of learning. My thoughts on that are in this blog post. The book, A New Culture of Learning by Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown gave new shape to the organization of my project and how to go about creating a Significant Learning Environment. Read about it here.
All of this work has been influenced by my Learning Philosophy. At the same time, my Learning Philosophy has grown by what I have learned to this point. I am one that is continually learning. To that end, I know my Learning Philosophy will evolve and change over time. My philosophy is grounded in the Constructivist Learning Theory. As such, it is important to plan projects and learning with the end in mind first. By working backward, I can better ensure that I design learning experiences that will lead to the learning I wish my learners to achieve. At this point, I have created several documents to guide my Innovation Project. The first is a pair of 3-Column Tables. One table is for the educators I will be working with, the other is for my students. These tables outline the learning objectives and related experiences that will be involved in the project. I followed these up with a Unit Plan for the project based on Understanding by Design. The unit plan goes into greater depth than the 3-Column Table and looks at the learning outcomes in a different light. Together, these documents give a clear picture to both the learners and me of the learning outcomes. Wrapping up my work on Creating a Significant Learning Environment for my learners is a Growth Mindset Plan. The projects and work we are doing is not governed by dates and arbitrary benchmarks. Learning is inherently messy and individual. It is important that learners keep working at a skill until they have mastered it. This requires a growth mindset from both the learner and me. This growth mindset must also be reflected in the way I assess work. Everything about the environment I create needs to reflect this growth mindset. I am excited about this project and so are my students. We have already begun putting things into action and can’t wait to see what the road ahead brings.
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About 5313This is my fourth course in the Lamar University Digital Leading and Learning program. From here, I will be working on creating an environment conducive to the successful completion and longevity of my project. ArchivesCategories |