360 video interview inside a classroom what learning looks like and what a learning environment looks like.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwxyqvN-YlE&t=2s (please view in Chrome browser only.)

 

 

 

As I’ve grown as an educator in Klein ISD, my learning philosophy is about student-centered learning. Or the constructivist approach. This isn’t secretly a teaching philosophy. My philosophy is about the results we can achieve if we inspire and foster learning. I’ve learned from the well researched book How People Learn: “There is no universal best teaching practice.”(p. 19) That is what is so fun about education. It is a learning challenge. What I have found to be true is learning occurs when it is put into practice.

 

I have had the great fortune to visit every campus in our district and see learning in a whole new way. We have standouts and wallflowers in our education system. Our standouts deserve just as much of our teaching energy as our wallflowers. We need to create a learning environment that challenges and inspires even the biggest bump on the log. Despite what the Texas Education Agency and our lawmakers in Austin say about us, our amazing accomplishments are purposeful, and we recognize that setbacks are just the obstacles we need to change our significant learning environments. Our schools are more than a rating. Here’s a video about one of our elementary schools who changed their learning philosophy which changed their significant learning environment.

 

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avqh70u3K_0

 

In this video we chart a low performing school and how changing their learning philosophy caused it to blossom into earning its first distinction from the State of Texas. The school started with changing their PLC (Professional Learning Communities) model for teachers to become the best learning facilitators. They have taken on this growth mindset that every student is capable of growth. They consider what’s best for the kids before anything else. It is a purposeful design of student-centered learning. They did not just let the environment come together inadvertently and respond reactively. The results are clear that these educators were more than just a “sage on the stage,” and they gave their all to impart knowledge. These elementary kids are going to feed into our intermediate schools where even greater education will take place. They are going to be primed and ready for our CTE (career and technical education) programs that give all high school students hands-on experience for their future careers. Our high schools do not simulate the real world. They are the real world.

 

To really break down how this happened, I want to go through the different learning models and reflect on which ones probably applied. Regardless of my conclusion, I think that these theories are just that, theories. Behaviorists are interested in measurable changes in behavior. (UNESCO) Even though these students showed measurable changes in their behavior, we are not quite there yet with our answer. In cognitive psychology, the learner is passive. That theory is definitely out. Constructivism is the learner-centered approach. This is really close to the answer and one I hope to emulate. Let’s continue to other theories. The social learning theory is about positive role modeling. This is a great theory! In social constructivism we recognize the social aspects of learning, how our friend’s grades can impact our own. Experiential learning is about meaningful experiences. This happens regularly anyways when we simplify math problems using pizza slices, or personal experiences as prompts in our English essays. There are many more. As you can see, if we focus on the individual student’s learning needs we can achieve a lot of results!

 

In the book How People Learn (1999) they’ve found good evidence that teaching metacognitive skills with discipline-based learning helps students learn by themselves. I like metacognition, thinking about thinking. This type of skill really helps the constructivist learning theory by enabling our students to monitor their learning.

 

Also, I argue that intelligence is not a fixed entity. Teach kids “Not Yet.” In our learner-centered classrooms our teachers should present students with learning that maintains engagement but does not lead to discouragement. Guiding our students that emphasize effort, and by saying “Not Yet” instead of failing grades teaches students to run to the error, not away. (Dweck 2006)  I equate learning like lifting weights. Let’s see our max, let’s see our max reps, let's chart our progress and set goals for ourselves.

 

Starting from creating a solid learning theory, we can focus on real results that improve our schools. In order to get the jobs of tomorrow, we need to have the right learning today. Regardless of the jargon I use, learning is about modifying one’s knowledge. (UNESCO 2016) I do not want to throw out words like behaviorism and constructivism. This isn’t a “Walmart vs Target” debate. For a store, it is about the customer. For a school, it’s about the student. Each learner is in front of a teacher for a very short amount of time. How People Learn says students only spend 14 percent of their time in school. We need to maximise that time, and teach with purpose to get results.

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The problem is we have too much knowledge. My learning philosophy will influence my innovation plan by being a foundation. I argue we need to challenge people so they can learn. We can challenge people by teaching them good studying techniques. While reading the guide What Works, What Doesn’t, I was so moved by their research but also by their use of visuals! That’s exactly how I learn and how I probably ended up in video production. Looking at these learning strategies will help me. Strategies like self-testing, distributed practices, elaborative interrogation, self-explanation, and interleaved practice were eye-opening for me. The quote that stood out the best is our “students aren’t being taught the best strategies perhaps because teachers themselves are not schooled in them!” (2013)

 

My innovation plan is about blended learning. In order to have a successful learning philosophy, we need to understand learning. Like in the book How People Learn (1999) we see that some students have trouble with understanding our Earth is round. They mistakenly think that air pressure holds us to the ground. When adding fractions, they have trouble giving up the notion that one-eighth is greater than one-fourth because 8 is more than 4. The correct answer is one-fourth is larger. This book argues that if children were blank slates, telling them facts would be easier. Since they already have ideas about how things work around them, those ideas of existing understanding must be directly addressed.

 

I used to work at Target and they had a blended learning program. It. Was. Awful. But one lesson really has stayed with me since then. It was about workplace safety. We would watch videos and take quizzes about people slipping on puddles or boxes falling on heads. We associates would laugh and laugh. Then something surprising happened. A woman told a very passionate story about workplace safety. She was reaching too high, fell off her ladder, and lost her ring finger. She was especially upset because she had been married for 20 years, and she loved her ring finger and her wedding jewelry. This is the power of blended learning. This is the power of a good learning philosophy. Make the material relevant to the individual person, challenge them, hold them accountable, and you will see great results.

 

Lastly, I want to talk about the burning of the Library of Alexandria and how it relates to learning. Before its destruction it was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. This as a metaphor about teaching and learning. If we don’t put into practice the knowledge we’ve been learning, then what’s the point? It is estimated they lost over 40,000 scrolls. This highlighted for me the limited power of Google. We have too much knowledge. If we took Google away, where would our learning be? If we took away our students phones and laptops, where would their learning be? I bet if we lost Google we could reflect on the lessons learned from losing the Library of Alexandria. We would be ok. It makes me think that no one can do the learning for us. Having unlimited knowledge doesn’t make us smarter, we still have to work.

 

My learning philosophy of getting results through inspired learning is adaptable to today’s changing environment. Just like I change my phone and computer every couple of years, I need to have the flexibility to adapt.

 

References

Donovan, S. Bransford, J. Pellegrino, J. (1999) How people learn: bridging research and practice. Retrieved from https://www.nap.edu/read/9457/chapter/1

 

This paper was very helpful because it was full of information but that information was broken down into chunks. That is how I feel I learn the best. It highlights the constructivist thinking the clearest through research-based messages that are relevant to classroom practice.  

 

Dunlosky, J. Rawson, K. Marsh, E. Nathan, M. Willingham, D. (2013). What works, what doesn’t. Retrieved, from http://cpr.molsci.ucla.edu/cpr/data/library/400241/resources/res011/file/What%20Works%20in%20Learning%20Study.pdf

 

This visual guide helped me to visualize learning since it uses such wonderful graphics. Colors, shapes, and images all move me to act. Having a learning philosophy needs strategies to be effective. Having this action item will help me plan classes in the future.  

 

Dweck, C. (2006) Mindset: the new psychology of success. Randomhouse

 

This book has been on my to do list for a while. I’ve always been the kid to try something new. My dad didn’t finish college and my mom got her MBA in finance. She said she didn't enjoy math but enjoyed the challenge. Both of my parents have a growth mindset because they’re always itching to do something new, learn something new, and visit someplace new. This book has helped me in my current college classes through growing and not relying on my preconceived knowledge.

 

Klein ISD (2016) Klein ISD: more than a rating - Epps Island. [Youtube] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avqh70u3K_0

 

This resource produced by our communications team was helpful for some of the work I have done behind the scenes. I have made training videos and explanation videos for Epps Island in the past. This is a public accessible video that shows what happens behind the doors and what actions they took to change their school.

 

UNESCO. (2016). Most influential theories of learning. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/quality-framework/technical-notes/influential-theories-of-learning/

 

Having a quick cheat sheet of the most popular theories gave me a great foundation for my learning philosophy. I get so focused on the production part of my job in education for Klein ISD I forget about the process part. Learning is a process where we modify knowledge.

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