I agree with the premiss of Dr. Harapnuik’s CSLE Module 3 video, that the key to creating a significant learning environment is to teach students to connect the dots, not just collect the dots. Making connections is key to students developing a deeper understanding of what they are learning. By moving to outcome-based education, students learn to make connections as they go through the learning process. Students learn content with this approach, but in a way that makes sense to the them. This is connecting the dots. Outcome-based learning is much more meaningful than competency-based education where the teacher dictates what must be learned, when it will be learned, and how it will be demonstrated. Competency-based education is collecting the dots and does not require a student to internalize their learning.
One way to create a significant learning environment on our campus is to increase computational thinking on our campus. This year, students in the Computer Science Fundamentals had the opportunity to learn this way. Next year, the Digital Learning Team will expand this opportunity to to all of our eighth grade students Part of our innovation plan is to develop and implement cross-curricular units. These units will allow students and teachers to experience the benefits of computational thinking which, as stated in the innovation plan, “helps students to learn collaboration, communication, creativity, cooperation and critical thinking. Computational thinking is multi-step problem solving and can be applied to any discipline. It teaches students strategies of independent thinking and learning while simultaneously developing confidence.”
We will begin by implementing a cross-curricular unit between US History and College and Career Readiness (CCR) classes and students will work in groups of no more than 4 students. The bulk of time to do the work will be given in the CCR class as there is more flexibility built into this class. We will follow the COVA framework of Choice, Ownership and Voice through Authentic Learning as we design the unit. Groups will choose how they want to show competency and will use multi-step problem solving to work through the process. To assist groups in their learning, we will act as facilitators, mentors and coaches.
There are two significant challenges we will face as we implement outcome-based education in these units. The first challenge is time to plan the cross-curricular unit. CCR and US History teachers do not have a common planning period. In our innovation plan, we have asked the district to give us time and support to develop this unit. The second challenge is resistance from the students as we introduce them to a new type of learning. Outcome-based education through multi-step problem solving is different than the content-based eduction students have been used to. This will challenge students to be in charge of their own learning and middle school students resist this type of challenge. To help students overcome this resistance, we will develop a series of reflections to help them focus their thoughts.
By embracing these challenges and working together, we can make a positive impact on our campus. We can do this by implementing a cross-curricular unit as an authentic learning opportunity for our students. By carefully designing and implementing this unit, we can give our students a choice, ownership and voice. We can also give them the benefits of working with a group and learning multi-step problem solving.
Sandra Negro 