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UP TO A 5 STAR LEARNING ENVIRONMENT!- A SHORT REFLECTION ABOUT EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES FOR 2013 –

See slides: http://www.slideshare.net/filip.vervenne/tuneupyourlearningenvironment

Filip Vervenne, VIVES (KATHO), Belgium

ABSTRACT Trial and error, research and evolution took us to as to a solid level of education in general. Education has gone through huge changes since the sixties… Yet, there are still some interesting challenges. Check out with me 5 major suggestions to create a future proof instructional and curriculum design…

1. FORGET ABOUT LEARNING OUTCOMES

Honestly, I’m bored… to hear about learning outcomes. For too many years now, people have been focusing on this as if it is or can be the (only) drive for good education! From the Ministry of Education to universities, headmasters, teacher trainers, teachers... everybody worries about refining, updating, implementing learning outcomes. Is there any scientific proof of extra added value centring your whole educational project around learning outcomes?

Sorry, for me it’s enough,… forget about learning outcomes! Why? In my opinion, learning outcomes are pretentious, unrealistic, endless listed, useless and simply creepy for students. They do not match with diversity of the learners and complexity/reality of the context.

Our educational system is - or should be - ready for a decided shift towards a more humanistic, holistic and organic approach of learning environments. A first step in the good direction is leaving the learning outcomes for what they are. Don’t waste your time and just draw some general competences based on the well-known BLOOM-matrix: goals, aims for knowledge, skills, attitudes…linked to your discipline / course / training. Put your energy in what really matters, the next stars,…

2. “ENGAGE ME OR ENRAGE ME”

Try to engage the students in the whole cycle of the learning process. Nowadays it’s very common to engage the learner in the learning activities with assignments, group work, collaborative tools and tasks. Good! Of course!

However, three interesting challenges remain and they are situated, where you would less expect them: in the preparation and the tail of the learning event… (let’s call it an event: the course, training, methodology, interaction,…)

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First take your time to draw together at least some essential competences. Work together on an agreement about the competences you want to explore together. Avoid the word “learning”, I prefer to talk about observation, exploring, investigating,… It helps to get the right trigger and spirit for lifelong learning.

The second recommended mutual engagement can be the design of the learning event. Ever wondered why the teacher always prepares his class behind the screen and then rolls it out in the classroom? Peekaboo?! What if you take some time to explore possibilities and approaches together with the students? From voting on some different designs to creating from scratch the steps towards the perfect learning environment. The win-win is the mutual learning effect and the honest sharing of responsibilities.

The third challenge and, probably the most difficult one - because it is a delicate matter : engage the student in the design of the assessment. I’m not referring to the questions – although could be – but about when, where, how (…) the assessment will take place. Shape the assessment together and, the most tricky level, assess your assessment together!

3. THINK DEMING

We are overwhelmed by pedagogical and didactical models, theories, instructions. Especially for starters in the educational and training world, it’s rather confusing how to deal with this overload of pedagogical information. Luckily enough, there still exist simple tools to help us to raise effectiveness. Remember, KISS: Keep It Simple (and Stupid - but I don’t agree with this extra ‘S’).

The best theoretical models are modest and a very good example is the Deming circle.

Figure 1 Deming circle

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Plan-Do-Check-Adjust your instructional and curriculum design and engage the learner in each step you make. This model for reflection is well known in its applications of Quality Management but it is a perfect and in fact a wonderful basic tool for the instructional designer. Whenever and whatever you undertake: think PDCA! Think Deming and link, connect, realize each step of the PDCA with the learner. Check this simple framework on different levels: a single activity, a course, a series of events, a curriculum design,… In the literature the circle is Plan Do Check Act but I prefer Plan Do Check Adjust to avoid the confusion between Act en Do.

Using the Deming circle is very 21st century because it is concrete and yet holistic enough to be applied and transferred in very different (educational) contexts. It confirms that learning is a process and integrates different learning theories. It is a simple key to better quality. The philosophy of running over and over the PDCA together with the students, is very related to the challenges in stars 2, 4 and 5.

4. MAKE LEARNING EXCITING

Creativity is the drive and the spirit to establish an attractive and exciting learning environment. An attractive learning environment leads to the second star: engaging the student.

How to make learning exciting is, however, a very tricky question. Books and books have been written about the added value of using new media. Well, OK. Although,… don’t get lost in games, social media, learning management systems and other digital torture… More or less the same situation occurs with methodologies. Books and books about new methodologies. Well, OK. Very inspiring but once again, some trainers get dragged into a flashy whirlwind of methodologies…and so do…the learners!

Don’t get lost in the wood, never able to find the treasure… Making learning exciting is not about trying out as much as possible, using loads of tools and methodologies you don’t connect with… It is all about the right and well-balanced cocktail of approaches and methodologies! Not flashy but eclectic. This will make the learning effect stronger.

5. INTERCONNECT

Try to connect.. or even more: interconnect! Star 1 – 4 are about connecting too, but there is more… There are 2 dimensions and 3 different layers in this connection. That’s how it became… an interconnection.

A first dimension or connection is the connection with the learner. Try to connect with the learners’

1) Experience 2) Talents 3) Learning style

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Those three are interrelated and that’s not a coincidence.

Connecting with the experience is really taking into account the knowledge, skills,… the student masters. Connecting with the talents will bring out the best of the learner. What are his/her strengths, natural talents/gifts,… Taking into account how he/she learns best is connecting with the learning style. Creating a learning environment where you connect with those three layers is very motivating and will bring a perfect leverage for effective learning.

The second dimension is not less important… the connection with yourself. Connect with your own 1) Experience 2) Talents 3) Learning style. This is very similar to what is mentioned in the 4th star: it doesn’t make sense to use methodologies or media you don’t connect with.

Creating a rich learning experience is guaranteed when you make the event a celebration with your experiences, your talents, your learning style. The whole picture makes your own proper teaching style and it is important to figure out exactly what it is. This self-reflection will bring out the best in you. Very often teacher trainers will try to make you do things you can’t do. Or worse, things you really shouldn’t do. Once you know who you are, what you’re good at, what kind of teacher you are, how you learn/work better, you ‘ll find the right flow to make the first layer of the dimension stronger.

In search of the right learning leverage , we can summarize that the right way to a 5 star learning experience involves also connecting your strengths to those of the learners. This will generate the best basic conditions for learning: support, feedback and challenges. In a 5 star learning environment… we should aim for individual matches. That’s when learning becomes really exciting, for both, the teacher/trainer and the learner. And that’s exactly how it should be. In the end, both are learners!

Reflected?!

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filip.vervenne@katho.be http://www.linkedin.com/in/filipvervenne

0032474725009 @filipvervenne

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References

1. DEWULF, L. (2012). Ik kies voor mijn talent