Creating Significant Learning Environments
Ileana Reyna ~ Veronica Balli ~ Erika Peña
Creating a significant learning environment (CSLE) is what facilitators of learning (teachers) must do in order to create motivated, engaged, self-directed, lifelong learners. My collaboration team and I are working on implementing our blended learning innovation plan in August of 2022. Creating an SLE is essential so that our blended learning environments create successful learners. Below, you will find the coursework my colleagues and I collaborated on that is helping us move towards creating significant learning environments for our learners.
A New Culture of Learning
Our digital world is constantly creating and responding to change, so why isn't the educational environment? To enhance learning, it is essential that we create significant learning environments for our students. This kind of environment requires play, imagination, questioning, inquiry, and experimentation. Click below to find out how a new culture of learning is leading me to create a significant learning environment for myself and for my students.
My Learning Philosophy
I believe that a digital blended learning environment, implemented at its fullest potential, will enhance learning by closing achievement gaps, motivating and engaging students, creating thinkers, problem solvers, and self-directed, lifelong learners. Creating a significant learning environment for my students is what they need to be successful.
Click below to read my philosophy of learning.
Aligning Outcomes, Assessments, and Activities
One considerable factor when creating significant learning environments is the alignment of learning goals, activities, and assessments.
By using Fink’s (2003) guide, we developed a plan for a 4th grade blended learning Poetry Unit that offers choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning opportunities (COVA), while keeping in mind the learning environment and other situational factors.
Click below to see how we planned this poetry unit by using Fink's 3-Column Table.
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Understanding by Design (UbD)
According to Wiggins and McTighe (2005), the best designs derive backward from the learnings sought and only by having specified the desired results can we focus on the content, methods, and activities most likely to achieve those results.
After using Fink’s (2003) guide to develop a 3 Column Table plan for a 4th grade blended learning Poetry Unit, we were able to dive deeper into that lesson and create an Understanding by Design (UbD) template (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005) where we used backward design to not only align our goals, assessments, and activities, but to also ensure that our desired results were met. Click below to see how we planned the same poetry unit by using a UbD Template.
Growth Mindset Plan - Updated
The learning environment we create can serve as an obstacle or an asset to student development. As learning facilitators, we will have to model and embody a growth mindset to teach our students how to overcome frustration, disagreements, criticism, feedback, and failure and be able to help students overcome those feelings and situations through a lens of learning and through grit. Click below to see how my team and I are going to foster a growth mindset on our campus.
