Professional Learning -
Blended Learning Environments
Blended Learning Environments
Considering my big picture growth and big picture goals for students, I have realized that my innovation plan, teaching 21st century skills in a blended learning environment through the lens of mathematics can only be enhanced further if I create and provide opportunities for my colleagues to join my endeavors. With a shift in my implementation to include continued research and professional learning development, there is room to add the necessity of developing effective professional learning. I need a team of people to try this with so we can all be invested in growing together through feedback/feedforward.
I started by proposing alternate professional learning by presenting effective professional learning for math teachers to my Dean of Instruction and Instructional Coach. Now, I am actively developing effective professional learning to implement starting in the fall of 2024. I began looking into Dr. L. Dee Fink's taxonomy of significant learning:
I started by proposing alternate professional learning by presenting effective professional learning for math teachers to my Dean of Instruction and Instructional Coach. Now, I am actively developing effective professional learning to implement starting in the fall of 2024. I began looking into Dr. L. Dee Fink's taxonomy of significant learning:
There are six major types of significant learning: foundational knowledge, application, integration, human dimension, caring, and learning how to learn (Dee Fink, 2003a; Dee Fink, 2003b). According to Dee Fink (2003a, 2003b), the key components of integrated course design include learning goals, teaching and learning activities, and feedback and assessment, while addressing situational factors that impact the connections. All three aspects are required for significant learning to be possible. Dee Fink (2013) also recognizes the implications of shifting to significant learning environments of the information digital age from our factory-model, industrial age education system, which resonates with my goals for students in the classroom.
In order to make considerations on what the key components look like, a overarching goal must be established. Jim Collins coined a concepts in his book Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies called a BHAG or Big Hairy Audacious Goal. These are written to "stimulate forward progress and create momentum" (Kenton, 2023). Consider the Apollo mission and President John F. Kennedy's speech We Choose to go to the Moon, how the broad, inspirational goal rallied a nation to achieve technological feats only imagine through science fiction. If you want to read more, there's a great post I read by Verne Harnish at the Growth Institute, BHAG - Why The Most Successful Companies Set Ambitious, Long-Term Goals & Why Yours Should Too, that covers the what, how, and why of BHAGs and exemplars from household company names.
These resources provided me a vision of my BHAG for creating significant learning environments to engage in effective professional learning.
Big Hairy Audacious Goal
In the next five years, teachers will cultivate and embrace a culture of continuous growth by actively participating in specific and intentionally designed professional learning communities. These communities address the how and why of implementing effective teaching pedagogies through creating significant learning environments by establishing on-going observational and collaborative feedback/feedforward cycles.
The following three components lead me towards the big picture alignment of outcomes, activities, and assessments for creating and establishing the structures necessary to achieve my big hairy audacious goal because they begin to address Dee Fink's key components and six major types of significant learning. Follow the links to see these in more detail.
- 3 Column Table - This component includes the BHAG and the learning goals, learning activities, and assessment activities for the six significant learning types.
- Learning Environment/Situational Factors Outline - This component provides reflection on the situational factors that impact the connections between the three key components.
- Questions for Formulating Significant Learning Goals - This component develops the reasoning and justification for the learning goals within the six major types of significant learning.
I have also used McTighe and Wiggins' Understanding by Design (2005) template to look at three stages of backwards design. Follow this link to see this other perspective in more detail.
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I have been able to develop a Professional Learning Plan - Blended Learning Environments that outlines Gulamhussein's five key principles of effective professional learning:
- Duration
- Support
- Engagement
- Modeling
- Specificity (Gulamhussein, 2013)
Then, these backwards design components guided me to create the Professional Learning Resources - Blended Learning Environments, which includes the initial professional learning presentation, the blended learning environment developed for teachers to experience the station rotations model, a sample calendar, and access to additional considerations on individualized, personalized future sessions. This will naturally foster collaboration and effective modeling through the observation cycle, and self-directly learning will occur as individual needs are identified to guide future formal professional learning.
Engaging teachers in significant learning environments reignites our passion to provide students the same invigorating learning opportunities. As I use these tools to develop professional learning and start to implement it in the fall of 2024, I will be creating the learning environment for myself as well to really move forward into my innovation plan of teaching 21st century skills in a blended learning environment through the lens of mathematics.
References
Bowen, R. S. (2010, June 10). Understanding by design. Vanderbilt University. https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/understanding-by-design/#overview
Center for Learning & Teaching. (2021). Dee Fink’s taxonomy of significant learning. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb-d6_32W-0
Collins, J. (2023). Jim Collins - concepts - BHAG. Www.jimcollins.com. https://www.jimcollins.com/concepts/bhag.html
Dee Fink, L. (2003a). A self-directed guide to designing courses for significant learning designing courses for significant learning. https://www.bu.edu/sph/files/2014/03/www.deefinkandassociates.com_GuidetoCourseDesignAug05.pdf
Dee Fink, L. (2003b). Creating significant learning experiences : an integrated approach to designing college courses. Jossey-Bass.
Dee Fink, L. (2013). Creating significant learning experiences the key to quality in educational programs. https://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/51/11181242/1118124251-7.pdf
Gulamhussein, A. (2013). Teaching the Teachers Effective Professional Development in an Era of High Stakes Accountability. Center for Public Education. Retrieved from http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/system/files/2013-176_ProfessionalDevelopment.pdf
Juwah, C., Macfarlane-Dick, D., Matthew, B., Nicol, D., Ross, D., & Smith, B. (2004). Enhancing student learning through effective formative feedback. The Higher Education Academy. https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets.creode.advancehe-document-manager/documents/hea/private/resources/id353_senlef_guide_1568036614.pdf
Kenton, W. (2023, August 14). Understanding big hairy audacious goals (BHAGs). Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/big-hairy-audacious-goal-bhag.asp
ISTE standards: For educators. (2023). ISTE. https://iste.org/standards/educators
McTighe, J., & Wiggins, G. (2005). Understanding by design (2nd ed.). Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
McTighe, J., & Wiggins, G. (2009). Essential questions to promote staff inquiry and reflection (examples). https://jaymctighe.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Essential-Questions-for-Educators.pdf
McTighe, J., & Wiggins, G. (2012). Understanding by design framework. https://files.ascd.org/staticfiles/ascd/pdf/siteASCD/publications/UbD_WhitePaper0312.pdf
Mills, R. (n.d.). Dee Fink’s taxonomy of significant learning. The Center for Learning & Teaching. https://clt.champlain.edu/kb/dee-finks-taxonomy-of-significant-learning/
Center for Learning & Teaching. (2021). Dee Fink’s taxonomy of significant learning. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb-d6_32W-0
Collins, J. (2023). Jim Collins - concepts - BHAG. Www.jimcollins.com. https://www.jimcollins.com/concepts/bhag.html
Dee Fink, L. (2003a). A self-directed guide to designing courses for significant learning designing courses for significant learning. https://www.bu.edu/sph/files/2014/03/www.deefinkandassociates.com_GuidetoCourseDesignAug05.pdf
Dee Fink, L. (2003b). Creating significant learning experiences : an integrated approach to designing college courses. Jossey-Bass.
Dee Fink, L. (2013). Creating significant learning experiences the key to quality in educational programs. https://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/51/11181242/1118124251-7.pdf
Gulamhussein, A. (2013). Teaching the Teachers Effective Professional Development in an Era of High Stakes Accountability. Center for Public Education. Retrieved from http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/system/files/2013-176_ProfessionalDevelopment.pdf
Juwah, C., Macfarlane-Dick, D., Matthew, B., Nicol, D., Ross, D., & Smith, B. (2004). Enhancing student learning through effective formative feedback. The Higher Education Academy. https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets.creode.advancehe-document-manager/documents/hea/private/resources/id353_senlef_guide_1568036614.pdf
Kenton, W. (2023, August 14). Understanding big hairy audacious goals (BHAGs). Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/big-hairy-audacious-goal-bhag.asp
ISTE standards: For educators. (2023). ISTE. https://iste.org/standards/educators
McTighe, J., & Wiggins, G. (2005). Understanding by design (2nd ed.). Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
McTighe, J., & Wiggins, G. (2009). Essential questions to promote staff inquiry and reflection (examples). https://jaymctighe.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Essential-Questions-for-Educators.pdf
McTighe, J., & Wiggins, G. (2012). Understanding by design framework. https://files.ascd.org/staticfiles/ascd/pdf/siteASCD/publications/UbD_WhitePaper0312.pdf
Mills, R. (n.d.). Dee Fink’s taxonomy of significant learning. The Center for Learning & Teaching. https://clt.champlain.edu/kb/dee-finks-taxonomy-of-significant-learning/