Creating a significant learning environment can enhance learning by enabling student’s to spread their wings and fly. When students’ have a passion for something they are more motivated, more enthused, more interested and more eager to learn. By creating significant learning environments it will influence or impact my innovation plan that I created. My Innovation plan will be a plan in which I hope to make a change in High School Campuses and students’ personal education plans and future. Students will be engaged in their personal education plan. By utilizing technology, students will access personalized learning experiences. Students will be productive in their personal learning environment, engage in learning, students will build their own plan, they will challenge themselves in meeting their goals and be an advocate for their own learning and education. Students’ will encounter personalized learning experiences, learner-centered growth, active learning, engage students in their own choices of classes, education and career choices.
A positive environment for students in the area of education, learning and counseling will be influenced. Blended Learning will be introduced, learning experiences will be interactive, engaging, hands on, in which students will be productive and own their personal educational goals. A system will be created to work with each student in planning their education and future.
The book by Douglas Thomas, a New Culture of Learning offers a great deal of information and unlimited resources for students to increase their passion and develop their imagination. As educators’, it is our responsibility to guide, and cultivate students’ imaginations using meaningful and purposeful learning activities. Play is an essential tool to use to get students’ imagination to grow and expand. Douglas Thomas, says that to get imagination going, “play” rules should be in place to get their imagination going. Thomas states’ that we must “marry structure and freedom to create something altogether new.” (Thomas & Brown, 2011) I strive to be proactive in creating a student-centered learning environments’, imagination is the beginning, we live in a digital age, with continuous change. I will develop an environment where students share their interests, passions, and immerse their imaginations in play that leads to being an experiment advocate. I will create a student-centered environment with structure, with that will come innovation and strong resources.
Issues that could arise would be, getting administrators and school boards on board. The Internet scares some people, they believe that it can be dangerous. It is my responsibility to convince them that their fears’ are legit, but the outcome will over power their fears. I believe that workshops would be a productive way to introduce the new culture of learning and the idea of significant learning environments to everyone. It will definitely be a challenge convincing faculty that changes are needed in their current course structures. Therefore, I must facilitate peer to peer learning, collaboration, and demonstrate how things will work. There will be challenges, but by structuring a student-centered learning environment it will allow students the freedom to roam, play, and experiment. According to, Dr. Harapnuik, the key to designing student-centered learning is to make it “engaging, motivational, contextual, and authentic.” (Harapnuik, 2015) He stated that is important when students learn how to learn and adapt to new situations and problems.
I will create technology projects to enhance the students learning base. By defining goals and the end in mind, students will have access to technology and will use many resources such as the Internet in which they will use higher-order thinking skills. Students’ will learn by doing, imagination will open many avenues for the students’. Students will be encouraged to form collective groups, according to their tacit knowledge. Students; will be influenced by inspiration, motivation and passion.
The future is our number one goal when it comes’ to our students’. The internet has evolved over the years and I see many positive resources in the future. It is very important to get the schools’ to embrace this change. I think it would be a great idea for me to introduce the book, A New Culture of Learning to all school board members, administrations, and teachers. This book could be a start to educating schools about the ever changing technology information networks. I hope to create a positive student-centered significant learning environment. I will create, a new culture of learning by using the book as a resource. The advances in technology have drastically changed, there are many new technology devices, digital media, and information that we as educators need to use in education. Education and our learning environments need to be enhanced and we must embrace technology.
“A New Culture of Learning” by Douglas Thomas and John S. Brown, focuses on constructivist theories, “learning by doing”. It is apparent that we create a “new” culture of learning by creating significant learning environments for all students. We must focus on a learning-based approach to education. According to the holistic view of education, there are many factors in the learning environment that must come together in the right combination in order to make a positive impact on the learner. (Thomas & Brown, 2011).The future of our students is up to educators, peer to peer learning will enhance technology skills, it will help to stay abreast of our rapidly changing world, if technology is introduced in the beginning it will be a natural learning experience for all students.
I would introduce to faculty ideas to build significant learning environment. We must encourage everyone to embrace change, to always educate themselves and gain more knowledge in areas of interest. Students’ must be able to “play”, engage in meaningful learning experiences’ and not be afraid to use their imagination and find their passions’. Artifacts are useful to create, students’ will feel accomplished by incorporating ePortfolios. By using ePortfolios students’ can own their learning and at the same time we are creating significant learning environments.
We as educators’ must be life-long learners, in turn it is our responsibility to also encourage our students’ to progress in this ever-changing world. Digital media and mobile learning is the future and it must take a stand in all learning environments. As educators we must shift to a more holistic view of learning. By creating new learning environments’ for our students, we are enriching their learning experiences. “Give a student a new learning environment, and the student will grow and expand and think outside of the box.” Learning needs to be a natural effort, it will allow children to have more control over their learning, be more engaged and motivated to learn. (Brown & Thomas, 2011) According to Brown and Thomas (2011), there are many information networks, a variety of digital tools and resources to learn about, students’ must use their own knowledge and make their own connections and experiences. We as educators’ must encourage and challenge students to think in complex ways, use problem solving skills, and to be in control of their own ideas. “It is the educator’s job to combine freedom and constraint so that we can properly cultivate imagination and learning and enable students to think for themselves in innovative ways” (Brown & Thomas, 2011). “It is essential that children engage in the world around them as well as using different types of technology in order to be better prepared for the unknown future” (Brown & Thomas, 2011).
Students’ must engage themselves in significant learning environments. Students’ need to be engaged in authentic learning, they need to understand it is alright to make mistakes, this is how we learn. This is where “Not Yet” comes into play, we are not there yet, but the goal is to get there. Students should be allowed to learn, grow, make mistakes, make their own positive decisions, and also have fun. Learning should be a challenge, an experience that is effortless, natural, and enjoyable.
The education system is failing our students’, standardized testing and accountability is taking a true education and learning experience away from students’. Not to mention the teachers’, administrators and districts themselves. Douglas Thomas states that, “the system of standardized testing was a kind of normalization that was toxic to passion, creativity, and innovation.” (Thomas, 2012)
Thomas and Brown said that, “In the new culture of learning, people learn through their interaction and participation in fluid relationships that are the result of shared interest and opportunity” (2011). “When students’ collaborate and work as a team they become successful in future endeavors. Students will form alliances with each other, build trusting relationships, and the end result will be the establishment of the all-important “collective” (Thomas and Brown, 2011). Each individual student brings their personal experiences, knowledge and education to the group, which is a positive for learning. Inquiry Based Learning can also be very helpful in creating a holistic learning approach. Students can experiment and work on projects to enhance their learning experiences. ‘Through the process of inquiry, individuals construct much of their understanding of the natural and human-designed worlds. Inquiry implies a "need or want to know" premise. Inquiry is seeking the resolutions to questions and issues. For educators, inquiry implies emphasis on the development of inquiry skills and the nurturing of inquiring attitudes or habits of mind that will enable individuals to continue the quest for knowledge throughout life.” (http://www.thirteen.org)