Gone are the days when we only connote learning environment to the traditional four-walled classroom. Is has now become outdated to say that learning only takes place when you are only physically attending a class, on a desk, sitting on a chair, copying notes on a chalkboard, and hearing the teacher facilitating all the instruction. That era is over! We are continuously transitioning to a more modern, flexible and innovative way of teaching and learning. We are all competing to be the best progressive school in our respective districts. We have purchased the most expensive upgrades, equipment, and resources available. Our school leaders have relentlessly sent us teachers to numerous professional learning development sessions and the list goes on and on. But how come, we are still not seeing the best version of our schools? Why is it that overall student performance is still not improving? Why do most of our teachers and students still feel unhappy, unmotivated, and end up quitting? 

 

Yes, we have secured the newest technology available there is in the market, and even hired and trained the most highly-qualified teachers there are, yet we have not created the most effective significant learning environment to make a difference in our student’s learning. This must be the reason behind the lack of student progress, the exhaustion of most teachers, and the consistent decline of the quality of education. We are teaching and learning in an environment that really does not support our teaching philosophy as educators, and inadequately promotes student choice, ownership and voice with their learning. 

 

Change happens overtime, but someone needs to jumpstart it. I did just that with my Blended Learning Innovation Plan. Now on its pilot implementation in my Kindergarten classroom, I have been recording areas of success, but most especially areas to improve on. One of the first considerations we planned for was how to restructure the existing learning environment. This does not only include the physical setting but more so, how to modify or even change the learning and teaching approaches that will affect the overall learning culture that will take place. Teacher and student roles and interactions need to be reorganized to function within the blended learning principle. Activities are more student-centered, while teachers play a more active role as a facilitator/mentor. Mindsets had to recoded, behaviors had to be modified, and daily practice paved the way for routines to be established. All these essential changes led us to where we are now. At present, students are learning how to independently manage their “daily playlists” (assigned tasks). They are now able to transition from one activity to another with minimal teacher prompts. Teacher-student and peer-to-peer collaborations are happening more efficiently. Classroom management and student behavior have improved with lesser interruptions in instruction. I am able to provide more one-on-one or small group support and instruction to those who need it the most. The general atmosphere that is becoming evident is that students are once again demonstrating the excitement and love for learning, and that’s because they are thriving in a learning environment where they get to have the Choice, Ownership, Voice through Authentic (COVA) learning. It has been almost 15 weeks since we have started the program, student performance outcome is consistently improving, and it is looking more promising as students are progressing in all aspects, academically, socially, and emotionally. As opposed to the old-school way of learning that was restricted within just the 4 walls of the classroom, students now have more emerging skills, and confidently learning while having fun.   

 

With such insightful resources from this course, specifically Brown and Thomas’ “A New Culture of Learning (2011), I have more ideas to incorporate to our existing blended learning program. As the authors emphasized, “play is more than a tool to manage change, it allows us to make new things familiar, to perfect new skills, to experiment with moves and crucially to embrace change —a key disposition for succeeding in the 21st century.” (Brown & Thomas, 2011). I will plan for more play-like learning activities especially for my age group, since it comes natural for them to engage in play-oriented tasks. I will also consider the twofold essence of play, (1) the freedom to act in new ways which are different from "everyday life" and 2) a set of rules that constrain that freedom. As Brown and Thomas explained, games will always give the students the opportunity to explore and discover ideas, solutions to problems that are out of the ordinary. This promotes and cultivates their imagination and innovation. But along with that freedom comes the constraint of following rules. In the classroom, as they apply COVA, freedom and individuality, they are still bounded to comply with a set of rules to keep the order of the learning environment.

 

Change as we all know entails resistance and challenges. One of the persistent challenges we have encountered is how to breakaway with the rigid schedules, pacing and expectations mandated by our district. During the first few weeks, it was a struggle to implement blended learning and its flexibility and unconventional structure. We had to completely change the routine, transitions, and the whole environment of the class to accommodate this alternative setting of learning. The outcome then was chaos, students were at a lost, not being familiar with the schedule. But with constant and consistent guided practice, routines have been established. Visual schedules are always posted and available to students. As for complying with district-mandated lesson pacing and student expectations, I continue to present to our school administrators the progress students are making in spite of the shift in the learning environment. Most of the students are still meeting age and grade-level expectations. There are still some strict guidelines/mandates we cannot change now, including participating in several standardized tests, but hopefully in the future we can gear towards a more valid reliable assessment complementing the blended learning principles. 

 

Change becomes sustainable when more are involved. The support of my organization is vital for the success of the innovation plan. With the initiative of creating a more effective learning environment, I can model to my colleagues another approach to teaching and learning. Instead of just reading or attending PDs on ways to improve student learning, they get to see and witness the implementation of this approach. Just like a typical consumer, you patronize a product when you see results, and that is what I will show them. There will definitely be challenges, but nothing that cannot be resolved. CSLE and the rest of the pilot implementation of blended learning will hopefully ripple effects that others will adopt it and impact the rest of my organization positively. Similarly, my influencer strategy will be the framework to “sell” this out and encourage others of the benefits of the learning approach.  

 

Since I enrolled in the ADL program, I have been learning more about COVA, growth mindset, innovations, and other progressive approaches related to teaching and learning. In theory, I really like the concepts and believe in its relevance to the pressing issues in education.  I see that it is now changing my perspective towards how to teach and how to learn. It has become a habit-forming behavior to explore new and different approaches, challenging as it may seem, it can be a strong foundation for change. Change that is only possible if one just steps out of their comfort, and face her fear to fail, but fail forward. 

 

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References:

 

Thomas, D. [TEDx Talks]. (2012, September 12). A new culture of learning, Douglas Thomas at TEDxUFM  

     [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM80GXlyX0U&feature=youtu.be

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