Our world today is nothing like it was fifty, twenty, or ten years ago; so why then do educators continue to teach in the past instead of the present? The mechanist approach in which learning is replicable in any environment, where students are taught the same steps to accomplish tasks like little robots needs to become past practice in our classrooms (Thomas & Brown, 2011, p.35). This type of learning stifles imagination, creativity, the ability for our students to learn from each other in organic ways and all too often omits the harnessed power of learning that technology brings to our students.
I’ve spent some time this week watching Douglas Thomas’ Ted Talk, reading a book that he co-authored, and reviewing a couple of other sources regarding how important it is for educators to Create Significant Learning Environments (CSLE) for their students (Harapnuik, 2015).
In his Ted Talk, Douglas points out that “Learning is an easy thing that we do the day we are born to the day we die. It is effortless and natural everywhere but school.” This statement really resonates with me. I hate school. I’m an educator and I strive to do well in a classroom environment as a student, but I hate doing it. Why? Because I’m not interested in what I’m doing and due to this fact, I don’t hold on to what I’ve learned and it becomes a series of steps I have to take in order to obtain a document I want. It’s miserable and meaningless with the exception of the document/title I’ve earned for advancement.
Education doesn’t have to be like this. Education can’t be like this anymore. Our students are learning every day on their own through technology and the days of the sage on the stage are long over and this said sage must transition to a facilitator of learning in which mentorship and support are provided. It’s not about teaching content anymore; this pedagogy is antiquated. Teachers need to realize that they are one of many cogs in a wheel of learning for students. As Thomas explains:
Classrooms are changing in such a way that we can’t keep up with due to
a culture of context than content. Our students look at news in many
different contexts and then they make a conclusion about what
somethings mean. They can reshape context easily and know that others
can. Our teachers think they are content, but our students see us as just
another context (2012).
Our students are learning more than ever now that they have technology at their fingertips at the ready to take them anywhere their interests and imaginations dictate. As well, these days we rely on and value “peer-to-peer interaction and the fluid nature and impermanence of collectives” (Thomas & Brown, 2011, p. 72). Technology allows us to join and leave collectives, “people, skills, and talents that produces and result greater than the sum of its parts” (Thomas & Brown, 2011, p.52), as needed for whatever interests us in a space and time. I didn’t know the term collective until reading this book; however, I find this to be true for my own style of learning. Ever since I’ve had internet access, I’ve always sought out others and groups that currently have the same interests that I do so that I can be part of a learning exchange with them.
Because of technology and the fact that educators really aren’t the key to unlocking information anymore, it’s easier than ever for teachers to give students the opportunity to make choices regarding what, where, when and how they’re learning. There is no need for educators to fixate and control every aspect of how students go about this process now as today’s learners are tacit. In today’s digital world, people are learning through doing, watching, and experiencing. People are prone to setting books and manuals aside and are more apt to immerse themselves in the activity and learn along the way as they make tacit connections (Thomas & Brown, 2011, p.76).
When I reflect on my years as a high school educator in the classroom thus far, I can see that I have been reluctant to give control of students’ learning over to themselves; this is exactly what I need to do though in order to offer the students in my classroom an organic and authentic learning environment to thrive in. If more teachers in my district taught in this manner, there would be less reported disruptions and behavioral issues because students wouldn’t be bored out of their minds feeling like they were wasting their time in the classroom. The majority of students understand that they have access to information; it’s the mentorship, peers, and boundaries set by teachers though that will “serve as catalysts for innovation"(Thomas & Brown, 2011, p.35).
By creating significant learning environments (CSLE), we can give our students the opportunity to learn in ways that weren’t available to the majority of educators. Generations of students can enjoy and be genuinely interested and excited by what they’re learning. In this environment, students can learn through meaningful inquiry that correlates with passions and areas of strong interest. Educators need to tap into and take advantage of what Thomas and Brown call indwelling; “the familiarity with ideas, practices, and processes that are so ingrained they become second nature” (Thomas & Brown, 2011, p.84). If we want to engage the passion in a learner, one’s indwelling should be considered as it’s “the greatest source of inspiration” and “the largest reservoir...of tacit knowledge". (Thomas & Brown, 2011, p.85)
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