When I started this class, I didn't quite know what to expect. The name of the course is Creating Significant Learning Environments, so I almost wondered if we were going to be learning about physical classroom spaces. Quickly I realized that we weren't talking about physical spaces, but instead we were talking about creating a meaningful and relevant culture of learning.  In The New Culture of Learning (2011) by Thomas and Brown, there's a focus on shifting from an old educational culture focused primarily on teaching to a new educational culture focused specifically on learning.  

 

          When we focus on learning, we have to define learning.  What does it look like? How do we know that it's happening? This led to some self-reflection about what I believe about learning and ultimately resulted in writing my personal learning philosophy.  I consider myself to be a cognitive constructivist who believes that learners have to experience and construct meaning from authentic learning opportunities while also relying on their cognition to organize, store, and recall information.   My innovation plan  is designed to expose future teachers to blended learning by modeling blended learning.  If I truly believe in my learning philosophy, then IPET/PET students must have the opportunity to use what they've learned about blended learning in an authentic real world situation.  What better authentic real world situation than a local classroom in front of real students? Now that I have developed this big idea, what do I do next?  How do I make this big hairy audacious goal a reality?

 

          In order to tackle this question I must step back to look at the big picture and then consider the learning  goals that make up my big goal.  Once I know my learning goals, I can assess what it would look like to achieve those goals. When I know what successful goal mastery looks like, I can begin the task of designing activities to support the learning goals.  This is truly backwards design on a big scale. In my three-column table, I developed my BHAG and the supporting learning goals, assessments, and activities to support the learning goals.

 

          With my BHAG and three-column table, I have the big picture vision my innovation plan, but what I didn't have was a concrete, granular, nearly day by day plan. To go from the big picture to addressing one day at a time, I had to transition from the three-column table to the Understanding by Design template.   The UbD template also begins with an overarching goal, but a UbD established goal isn't quite as big as the BHAG. Working with the UbD template walked me through the steps of figuring out what evidence of mastering the established goal would look like, followed by designing the more detailed learning activities to support the goal. I think of the relationship between the BHAG and the UbD template as a big, fancy layer cake. The whole cake represents the BHAG where as the individual layers of the cake represent UbD template. When a baker begins with the vision for the big cake, it helps identify what the individual layers should look and taste like.  Each layer could be a completely different flavor and/or have a distinct appearance. The final assembly of the layers would be guided by the original vision of the cake. Working with the BHAG and the UbD template has built up my excitement about my innovation plan.

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          We’re wrapping up this course by revisiting the growth mindset.  Recently, my oldest child flipped the script on me. I am the one who usually reminds her to add "yet" to the end of any “I can’t…” statements that I hear.  I was lamenting over a difficult task ahead of me and said out loud, “I’m just not sure I can do this.” A little voice from the other room said “Mom, yet.”  Thanks for the reminder. It definitely pays to reflect and revisit our thoughts, and if we forget to do it, another generation may gently remind us.

 

          Initially I designed my growth mindset plan to be shared with the Connections classes at the brand new freshman campus. My growth mindset plan was designed without me really knowing what my future innovation plan might look like, so although I was excited about creating the plan, it was a little out of context. I created it for a building that I didn't work in all the time.  A few courses into my graduate program and I'm realizing that although I created my growth mindset plan with freshman in mind, I need to revisit my growth mindset plan.

 

          The belief that I am able to grow, learn, and improve even when things are difficult is vital to my success as an educator and a learner.  Modeling that belief may be even more important. Although I'm not a traditional classroom teacher this year, I am able to use and model the growth mindset in any setting. I can live and model the growth mindset with the IPET/PET classes, with the teachers I work with, as well as my family. Not only can I live and model the growth mindset, but I can also ask the IPET/PET classes to create their own blended learning growth mindset lessons to share with local elementary and middle school learners.

 

          Living and promoting a growth mindset helps to establish the new culture of learning Thomas and Brown wrote about in their book. Thomas and Brown promote cultivation of the imagination that only happens if learners believe their imagination is infinite. Infinite imaginations and fixed mindsets are polar opposites of each other while infinite imaginations and growth mindsets are a perfect match.  My DLL journey has been an adventure in embracing the growth mindset, a reminder that learners thrive when learning experiences are authentic and relevant, and acknowledging that as we engage in meaningful activities, revising and editing the prior ones is a natural step in the learning process. I’m excited to see what comes next.

 

References

 

Dweck, C. (2006).  Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York, NY: Random House.

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Fink, L. D. (2003).  A self-directed guide to designing courses for significant learning. Retrieved from:http://www.bu.edu/sph/files/2011/06/selfdirected1.pdf

 

Thomas, D. and Brown, J. S. (2011).  A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. Lexington, KY: CreateSpace.

 

Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2006).  Understanding by design. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.