Philosophy

Ecosystems of Learning

I see learning as a complex ecosystem between people, environments, and inquiry that shape our individual and collective understanding of the world. The people we learn from include: students, teachers, administrators, staff, and families and our surrounding communities that ripple out to include the world. Our environments: classrooms + schools, homes, buildings, and the great outdoors, contain and expand our knowledge. How we inquire into these realms and form relationships in them, creates our reality and dictates our actions within it. It is vital that as educators we present opportunities for sustainable, creative, and positive growth to continue a healthy cycle of learning.

Inquiry

Curiosity is an inherent trait that we need in order to survive. Children explore and play in their worlds with all of their senses making learning infinite. As we become accustomed to social norms and systems, information becomes contained and divided. To invite true inquiry into a space, boundaries between knowledge must be explored. In so doing a honeycomb of connections and understanding forms and informs all learning.

Universal Design for Learning

(click title to view the UDL website)

Ecosystems thrive in diversity and the guidelines set out by the National Center on the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) reflect this concept. UDL is based on the principle that learning should be inclusive of everyone's diversity. Just as a wheel chair ramp makes a building accessible to all, learning should be designed to invite each unique learner equally. This means creating multiple pathways towards what is presented and how ideas are expressed to understand why we engage in the process.

FLOW (Engagement + Motivation)

Have you ever been so deeply involved in something that everything around you fades out of existence? Perhaps you were snowboarding, drawing, making music, or discovering something new?

Hungarian psychologist, Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi (chick-SENT-me-high) calls this state FLOW. It occurs when a powerful level of engagement is reached and motivation is sustained. It is an optimal state for learning and thriving. FLOW is an important experience for educators to infuse into the knowledge and activity in the classroom. It is imperative to develop strong relationships, view students as holistic beings, and take a sincere interest in their passions. Through trusting relationships, teachers can locate potential sources of FLOW for their students and guide their evolution. FLOW depends on several other factors as well:

1) Goals and expectations are clear

2) The level of challenge meets the level of skill

3) Feedback is consistent

Outside of FLOW students can experience a range of emotions that may impair their learning, as shown on the "FLOW" chart. By adapting FLOW as a model in the classroom, students are able to map out where they are and lessons can be adapted to their needs--whether that means increasing the challenge or building skills.

If you're interested in learning more about FLOW view Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi's TEDtalk here.

FLOW Chart

Assessment

Assessment is an incredible process that is important to increasing and sustaining progress. It can sometimes be confused with grading, a component of assessment, but this is too limiting to account for the entirety of the process.

It is a learned skill involving a cycle of observation, reflection, adaptation (planning), and action. Continuing in the vein of universal design for learning, it is important to establish multiple pathways for assessment. As shown through FLOW, we know that continuous feedback nurtures engagement and creativity.

The cycle of assessment can be built into all levels of activity, whether it is in a daily assignment or a year-long evaluation. There are multiple view points for assessment:

educators reviewing individuals or groups, self and peer evaluations for students and teachers, students assessing teachers, and communication amongst families and administrators, to name a few.

It is important that assessment be a community practice, involving varying people and groups appropriate to each scenario. Assessment is a positive and meaningful investigation that benefits everyone.

Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mihaly_Csikszentmihalyi

Space + Time

Our environments, and the time we take to learn in them, are meeting places, where we seek out knowledge and share with each other. They are physical, intellectual, and emotional spaces that can be choreographed to stimulate the senses, invite inquiry, and spark discussion or simmering contemplation.

It is important that the physical components of a space be arranged and organized to include diverse needs and allow easy access to materials and resources. These can be arranged inside and outside the classroom to develop new contexts for knowledge. Routines developed around bustling collaborative centers are just as significant as quiet times of activity and reflection. Each person will have their own schedules and each group will bring a unique dynamic and flow.

An abundance of relatable, intellectual stimuli is fundamental to creating a thriving learning environment. Though abilities and outlooks may vary, all children deserve access to the profound, beautiful, and intricate phenomenons of the world. Again, drawing from UDL, the way information is conveyed and expressed by teachers and students needs to be diverse and engaging.

Author Frederick Douglass said, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” And indeed, the emotional space of a classroom requires special considerations. Authentic relationships built on trust and compassion work to meet the needs of each learner and build the confidence necessary to succeed.

Being aware and sensitive to the physical, intellectual, and emotional space and timelines of your students and yourself is essential to creating a meaningful learning environment for everyone.

Retrieved from http://effective.leadershipdevelopment.edu.au/