Transforming My Hidden Corner: Creating a Significant Learning Environment in My Small Space

My classroom is a small cozy space hidden in the middle of the second floor of the school. It has no windows and can sometimes feel ignored. But make no mistake, significant things happen there every day. And after completing this course I feel equipped and empowered to take my learners to the next level.

We kicked off our journey to significant learning environments with taking a look at creating A New Culture of Learning. This book really challenged my thinking as I looked to apply it to my dyslexia learners who mainly learn through an explicit and systematic program. But I did find that there are ways to apply the concepts in this book to not only my innovation plan, but my classroom as well. I have seen it all throughout this semester as I've woven the concepts of gamification and the power of the collective into our review and practice times and excitedly shared with other colleagues and my dyslexia coordinator (Thomas & Brown, 2011).

As we moved through the course, I was once again challenged to think about my beliefs as not only a teacher, but as a learner and came to an interesting juxtaposition that my Learning Philosophy as a teacher rather differs from my own personal learning style. As a teacher I tend to lean more towards Behaviorism and Social Learning Theory, while as a learner I prefer more of a constructivist or exploritory style as Dr. Harapnuik (2021) describes. Perhaps this is because I have worked with young learners most of my career and then moved to a very explicit and systematic field, but I fall more to the creative side? I am not sure. I look forward to investigating this more and looking for ways to blend my own learning style into my teaching style.

We next investigated two different learning plans for constructing lesson plans for our students. Again, teaching an explicit, systematic, scripted program, this was a little bit of a challenge for me, but I enjoyed being able to find ways to enhance my program and find ways to add to it for my kids. First, in the Aligning Outcomes, Assessment and Activities, I really enjoyed investigating Fink's 3 Column table an the thoroughness that came with planning this way (Fink, 2003). I did not think that I would, but I actually preferred this method to the Understanding by Design Template (Wiggins, 2005). This may be due to the nature of my content, but I felt like Fink's Table gave me more opportunities to break down my content and really fill it with beneficial activities for my students. The UbD Template felt a little more restrictive to me, but I could see in other content areas where it would be more beneficial.

Finally, we wrapped up the course taking a second look at Carol Dweck's Growth Mindset (Dweck, 2016). I enjoyed overlaying this while thinking about creating a significant environment for my learners. A lot of times it feels like we are like "Take two Growth Mindsets and call me in the morning." When really we need to take a look at the whole learner? What are their challenges? Where is their ceiling? What accommodations need to be provided with their yet? By Rethinking the Growth Mindset, we can empower our learners to really overcome their challenges and shift from mastering school to really caring about what they are learning.

I look forward to continuing on my career with what I have learned about creating significant environments for my learners and making it a place where they are focused on learning and not just grades. Which perhaps is what I love so much about what I get to do as a dyslexia therapist. We are not a mastery program. We teach skills that spiral back and empower our students to do the very best they can and create new neuropathways to help their brains become reading brains.

References:

Dweck, C. S. (2016). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Ballantine Books.

Fink, L. D. (2003). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to designing college courses. Jossey-Bass.

Harapnuik, D. (2021, November). Learning philosophy. It's About Learning: Creating Significant Learning Environments.

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

Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (Expanded 2nd ed.). Pearson.