A New Culture of Learning

     “Everybody wants to change the world but nobody wants to change” (Harapnuik, 2015). People have been tinkering with education to improve the learning process for students since the conception of public education, however the results are not revolutionizing how students learn in schools. Districts buy learning programs and implement new strategies, but what is missing is the ability to step back to see the bigger picture. The learning itself has changed and vast amounts of information can now be accessed easily while the process of learning itself has transformed due in part to the ability to connect with people across the world. The solution to revolutionizing education starts by creating significant learning environments that are engaging, motivating and authentic while allowing students to collaborate and follow their passions.

Igniting passion and imagination
     A New Culture of Learning by Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown highlights the best environments in which students learn and how our educational system is consistently falling short. My blended learning innovation plan is built on the ideas of choice, collaboration, and authentic learning, and the concepts of passion, imagination, and play will be crucial in creating an environment where students are actively engaged and connecting with their classmates. As outlined in my literature review, project based learning is a great way for students to follow a passion to investigate and evaluate complex, real-world issues. Douglas Thomas speaks in his TEDx talk about how educators need to reevaluate the idea of expertise in the classroom. “But what we have to realize is, as experts, if I’m standing here telling you something and you’ve got your laptop with Google, in that battle of expertise, I’m going to lose every time” (TEDx, 2012). This concept of teachers providing context over content supports the use of following passions and project based learning because it allows students to use the resources and connections in the room and the internet to create deeper, more meaningful learning. The teacher’s role then moves from being the expert in the room to being a guide and mentor for students on their learning journeys.

Benefits of gaming and play
     In addition to passion, Thomas and Brown (2011) wrote at length about the benefits of gaming. I find the translation of gaming to history class difficult, but that is in large part due to my complete lack of interest in video games. However, I understand that it is not the video game in itself that is noteworthy, but the interactions between players, the imagination, the problem solving and the environment of fun that sparks learning. I have always told my students that if I am not having fun in class, there’s no chance they are having fun, so I try to incorporate a lot of games and challenges. Kahoot, Gimkit, Quizlet Live, and Blookit are a few of the games that I use to review information and vocabulary. These can be played as individuals or as teams, and I love seeing the competition and the excitement in the class when we switch to games. I have also implemented challenges like having my students complete an authentic literacy test from Louisiana in the early 1960s. The test was designed to be vague, confusing, and impossible to pass. My students understand all this before they attempt the test, but those limits never deter ANYONE from attempting all 20 questions and working the full ten minutes. That challenge is one of my absolute favorites because after taking the literacy test students are eager to learn more and ask such great, probing questions while making deep connections. History is meaningless when it is taught as just dates, people, and events.  The deeper connections and understanding of the bigger picture in historical moments comes from continuously building from previous lessons and knowledge, and games have the potential to fire up students’ imagination and curiosity to really dig for answers. “When we address a problem like a puzzle or a game, we engage in acts of productive inquiry, where the answers we find become part of our stockpile of information, which can then be used to find better and more interesting questions as well as to solve future problems” (Thomas and Brown, p 1698). What I am excited to take away from the concept of gaming as learning is the powerful notion of every player having value and worth that is vital to the success of the mission. Every role, every contribution is an important perspective, and the players and game all benefit from true collaboration. 
 
Challenges
     While the benefits of creating a significant learning environment will be worth it, the challenges will be many. The first hurdle to overcome is the mentality that has been drilled into students’ heads since kindergarten. In his TEDx talk, Thomas (2012) said that instead of a focus on learning, the focus is getting good at knowing what the teacher wants. I can attest that I have also mastered this skill as a student and moving the focus away from checklists and specific rubrics is stressful and difficult even for an adult who is choosing to take the class. The most successful way to move towards a class of self-directed, growth mindset learners is to strongly scaffold the lessons, support each student in their journey, and take the focus and stress away from grades. 
     Another challenge with creating a significant learning environment will be building and modeling true collaboration amongst peers. Teenagers are used to seeking out people and groups through social media and connecting, but the peer pressure and social anxiety in a classroom dramatically affect how students interact with each other. There are several programs available to assist in creating a strong classroom culture and emphasizing peer connections and collaboration on smaller tasks will help students feel comfortable on larger projects where they will need to question, critique and trust their classmates. 
     The last major challenge I expect to face relates to the standardized test at the end of the year. I taught eighth grade U.S. history for 11 years in Texas, and there were literally hundreds of different topics and people that students had to know. Students did not have to pass the test to graduate to the next grade level, but our overall score as a school was used to grade and compare us to other schools. If I taught AP courses at the high school level, I would still face a lot of scrutiny and pressure to prepare students to pass the AP test. One way to address these immovable obstacles is to “sprinkle” in outcome based education whenever possible. Some units are pretty simple and students could learn the content in a matter of days, which would open up the rest of the time to follow individual passions. Some units are consistently a struggle for students, so a change of focus to outcome based learning might actually be more beneficial in getting the students to see the larger picture even if they miss the smaller details listed in the curriculum. We are not working in a perfect system, but there are definitely opportunities for more authentic learning if educators can see the possibilities. 
 
Transformation
     I truly think education is at a crossroads after a year of many students learning in remote settings. Students experienced a taste of flexibility and freedom, and they are not going back to traditional teaching without putting up a fight. Students want to see purpose and meaning in their learning, and a significant learning environment can best create the conditions for that to happen. There will be a plethora of challenges to overcome, but when successfully created by just one educator, the idea will catch on like wildfire and transform the whole school. It is only then that we can really start to revolutionize learning in the classroom.

 

References
 

Harapnuik, D. (2015, May 8). Creating Significant Learning Environments (CSLE).

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ-c7rz7eT4&t=9s

 

TEDx. (2012, September 12). A New Culture of Learning, Douglas Thomas [Video].

           YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM80GXlyX0U&t=1083s

 

Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the

           Imagination for a World of Constant Change. CreateSpace Independent

           Publishing Platform.