Put The Gears Together To Make a Beautiful Design
One of my favorite games to play with at Grandma's house- Spirograph. It always amazed me how adding one more "gear or cog" changed the design and the design became more intricate and more beautiful. As I thought about the way this course kept adding one more gear- the plan changed. More detailed and more beautiful and more complete..
Creating a significant learning Environment for learners reminds me of the process of plotting a beautiful design using Spirograph. The gears are all different shapes and sizes and using just one is ok, but when you add in other gears and inputs the outcomes become a thing of beauty.
We have used several gears in this course to create a "beautiful" significant learning environment to enhance our innovation plan. When an instructor decides to put the time into creating an involved and significant learning environment, it goes without saying that the instructor is listening to their inner growth mindset voice.
Carol Dweck's 4 steps to changing your mindset.
Listen to hear your fixed mindset "voice"!
This course seemed to amplify the volume of the fixed mindset voice in my ears for a few weeks, I questioned my why, I questioned my ability, I questioned so much.
Then I pulled out MIndset - read a few chapters and reminded myself that I already know how to do things mediocre - add a few new gears and make this experience beautiful.
One statement is true from my first course and my about me page on this ePortfolio- Lamar DLL program - you had me at Growth Mindset!
Recognize that you have a choice!
In Spirograph you have choices of gears and pen colors and even paper types. Changing just one can change the entire picture. Your mindset does the same as the gears, the pens and the paper choices. I have written several lesson plans but, I have never started with a BHAG and a 3 column tables, declaring the lesson outcomes, assessments, and activities or stepped in even deeper like in the UbD process and evaluated every question I want to ask and look for answers questions that I know will cause difficulty in students learning.
Talk back to it with a growth mindset voice!
I started the Khan Academy growth mindset lessons with my 6th grade students a few months ago and I think the thing that stuck with me the most in the beginning video entitled You Can Learn Anything. The line in the video said "even Einstein had to learn to count". I like this checkpoint for me and my littles. Everyone has to learn from the beginning. Start growing that brain.
This is also a great place to introduce - YET!. "No you can't do this, it is hard, -- You haven't learned how YET!" Yet is a great word to remind yourself that maybe I should be kind to myself. I can learn I just haven't yet. This is also a good place to put a check into cheating. Encourage the students, they will learn it in their own time. Cheating for a grade is cheating themselves of a promising adventure. With my learning style, I have to know where will I use the information again and if the connections develop students will learn to learn.
This is also the place to have conversations with yourself about the assessments and evaluate if they are asking the students to fail or to fail forward. Is the summative score the end ? Grade in the gradebook or am I willing to let that students explore with COVA and give me an authentic piece that shows the student did learn the material just not what circle to color in? Modeling this growth mindset will let the student know it is OK to listen to their own growth mindset.
Take a growth mindset action!
Which voice am I hearing? Modeling for my students that I hear both voices and it's OK to hear both, but recognize when the fixed mindset is only going to make you fail. What do I need "to turn that frown upside down?" You need GRIT! Modeling grit shows your student that is Ok to fail forward. Try again. Passion and perseverance are the way to get to long term goals. Watching and nurturing grit in students is really what we need to pay attention in schools. This is a way to motivate students and staff to become independent lifelong learners. The dates of the battles from history class have left my mind, but the lesson of why those battles were fought and the outcome is the lessons that need to make connections with.
"Human potential is no where as limited as the standards we put in place."(Rose, 2016). Rigor is creating an environment in which each student is expected to learn at a high level, and each is supported so he or she can learn at a high level. Modeling grit, rigor and recognize their growth mindset voice is the have to add a new gear in the beautiful picture of our lives and that of our students.
How does a focus on learning and creating significant learning environments impact or influence your innovation plan?
My innovation plan is to get the tech tools, gadgets, student engagement and independent learning tied up in in a giant bow for project based learning. Using the BHAG, 3 column table and UbD type of planning is a great way to make a statement of what learning is expected as the outcome of the lesson.
Creating a CSLE is a prefect marriage for my innovation plan that asks the students to take their learning into their own hands and have an independent voice. Students and teachers can uses the BHAG and the questions to be answered from the UbD design to asses expectations.
What do I want the student to learn?
Did the student show that they have learned what was expected?
When these questions can be looked at and answered by both teacher and students then no matter how the student represents their learning - the learning is happening!
Have I changed? Am I living the literation? Was I limited? YES, YES and YES! I think that each book I read, each video, each discussion post and comment on puts on more tool in my tool belt. I do recognize both mindsets. And I TRY to "turn my frown upside down". I know how much this DLL program has helped me and I am a work in progress and for this reason I have made great changes in my words with my students. Change your words - change your attitude!
Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Random House.
Fink, L. D., PhD. (n.d.). A self-directed guide to designing courses for significant learning. Retrieved from https://luonline.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-3042999-dt-content-rid-30108308_1/courses/13583.201810/Self-Directed%20Guide%20to%20Course%20Design%20-%20Fink%20Summary.pdf
Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. Lexington, KY: CreateSpace.
Rose, T. (2016). The end of average: How we succeed in a world that values sameness. New York: HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins.
You can learn anything. (n.d.). Retrieved March 30, 2018, from https://www.khanacademy.org/resources/parents-mentors-1/helping-your-child/v/you-can-learn-anything
Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Image Gears https://i1.wp.com/newcanaanlibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/steam.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1
Image Spriograph1
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Image Spirograph 2 https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91aq7UoxM-L._SX355_.jpg
Image Spirograph design
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