What Makes us Want to Change? Understanding how and why we act the way we do is an intriguing yet complex conundrum. Why do some people avoid change so much more than others? What qualities do people possess that enables them to shift more easily? This question plays an important part in interpreting the motivation towards creating sustainable change. In his research on Sustainable Change, Anthony Greenfield describes how can we better comprehend the “grain of human nature” by identifying the 5 forces of change in people. They are: 1) Certainty 2) Purpose 3) Control 4) Connection and 5) Success.
There is a basic result created through a loop cycle. When change is introduced, people are concerned they will lose certainty, their lack of purpose will then become unclear, which makes them feel out of control, which then influences the way they connect to people (old attachments and ways of working together) which ultimately affects the success rate. Once the first step of gaining an appreciation of why people are avoiding change, the next step is to provide the necessary information, skills and support. Leaders should then take this two-step approach and apply it to each of the 5 forces to find where the issues lie within the whole system to then address it. As I was watching Greenfield’s video, I instantly made a connection to the similarity in Greenwood’s 5 forces to Tony Robbins 6 Core Needs. Robbins points out that we make daily choices based on our desire to fill our needs. According to Robbins, our 6 core human needs are 1) Certainty 2) Uncertainty 3) Significance (purpose), 4) Love and Connection, 5) Growth (which includes success), and 6) Contribution. It is interesting to consider that every choice and action we make is derived from our desire to fulfill our needs. Because we are all different, we choose to meet our needs in different ways. Based on this idea alone, it is easier to understand why sustainable change is often hard to make. Somehow, the presenter must make the new idea or initiative fit into fulfilling everyone’s needs before the expectation for making the choice to change can succeed. |
I must admit, I have always had an alternative approach to education. My first teaching job was at an independent school called Victoria School for Ideal Education and although not a blended learning school, it did provide flexible and individualized programs. Thinking back to my own public school experience is a painful exercise. Having an undiagnosed Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CARP) made it difficult for me to listen for a long period, to recall specific information, and remember and follow complex directions. I was distracted easily and could not work in a noisy setting. |
This is a familiar string of student issues most teachers are working with all the time. Today I would probably be identified with ADD, a common misdiagnosis with people functioning with CARP.
My experience of being a parent in both a blended learning and public school setting, plus teaching in both the public and independent system has provided me a unique perspective. The new curriculum is asking for great changes in the way we see and experience education, but does not provide the framework and support necessary to make those changes. My answer would be to design a blended learning environment to meet the needs of more students. According to Horn & Staker (2015), to be considered a blended learning program, the student must have some control over time, place, path and pace of their learning.
My ideal learning environment would be a mix of Enriched Virtual/Flex Model approach. I appreciate the way it supports students in terms of personalizing learning in a flexible learning setting. The students have an opportunity to control their learning path, are guided to set weekly goals through personal planning, are provided flexibility in pace of learning and work towards mastery over subjects. I would enable students to choose when and how to take assessment to further supporting self-directed learning. I like the idea of team teaching and collaborating with colleagues to create a student-centered approach. As I work with younger students, my role as an educator would shift between teacher and guide to help enable students to become more independent. My preference for a working schedule would be to create specific days of schooling. I would then be freed up for individual conferencing to focus on personalizing learning and small group intensive work. I look forward to one day working in such an environment.
On Vancouver Island, some of the K-7 distributed learning programs that include a blended learning component are North Island Distance Education, Island ConnectEd, and South Island District Education. Another newer program on the mainland I would like to look more deeply into is the Surrey Academy of Innovative Learning.
Horn, M. B., & Staker, H. (2015). Blended: Using disruptive innovation to improve schools. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass
My experience of being a parent in both a blended learning and public school setting, plus teaching in both the public and independent system has provided me a unique perspective. The new curriculum is asking for great changes in the way we see and experience education, but does not provide the framework and support necessary to make those changes. My answer would be to design a blended learning environment to meet the needs of more students. According to Horn & Staker (2015), to be considered a blended learning program, the student must have some control over time, place, path and pace of their learning.
My ideal learning environment would be a mix of Enriched Virtual/Flex Model approach. I appreciate the way it supports students in terms of personalizing learning in a flexible learning setting. The students have an opportunity to control their learning path, are guided to set weekly goals through personal planning, are provided flexibility in pace of learning and work towards mastery over subjects. I would enable students to choose when and how to take assessment to further supporting self-directed learning. I like the idea of team teaching and collaborating with colleagues to create a student-centered approach. As I work with younger students, my role as an educator would shift between teacher and guide to help enable students to become more independent. My preference for a working schedule would be to create specific days of schooling. I would then be freed up for individual conferencing to focus on personalizing learning and small group intensive work. I look forward to one day working in such an environment.
On Vancouver Island, some of the K-7 distributed learning programs that include a blended learning component are North Island Distance Education, Island ConnectEd, and South Island District Education. Another newer program on the mainland I would like to look more deeply into is the Surrey Academy of Innovative Learning.
Horn, M. B., & Staker, H. (2015). Blended: Using disruptive innovation to improve schools. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass
A Wonderful Week
This week we continued with large and small group inquiry sessions. The small groups worked well when inquiring on individual wonders. I found it kept the excitement and motivation higher for students with increasing the active participation. I also worked towards completing my UbD inquiry unit for the final summary.
My students participated in the two lessons to help scaffold their understanding of how to ask a good question. The first lesson using senses, the students were required to describe items in an attempt to deduce their identity. The act of guessing encouraged them to use more
descriptive and comparative wording in order to refine their ideas of what it could be. This was an interesting process. The students instantly wanted to guess what the item could be. I began as whole class modelling the process of how to ask questions to deduce, and how to make a question more impactful. For example, is it long became, is it as long as a crayon or a paper clip? I modelled my thinking out-loud, explaining how I was creating an image in my mind of what I was hearing with things I already knew. Once I heard the students forming better questions, I broke them into small groups to play the game. I was really impressed with how they caught on to figure out what was in the bag. It was also nice to see how much fun they had learning new skills.
The second inquiry lesson was with popcorn. We began with a MindUP session to help us feel more focused and mindful. In that state, I modelled how to mindfully experience popcorn using my 5 senses. What does it smell/look/taste/sound/feel like? What words can we use other than popcorn? The process of using a variety of adjectives to describe popcorn was a challenge at first. After modeling, I broke the students into pairs. They took turns eating a piece and describing it to their partner. I was really surprised by some of their answers.
Lastly, I have been spending time every day to slowly build my PLN adding new people to follow on Twitter and looking for interesting google communities to join.
Below is a slideshow that I created with PhotoPeach which I found on CogDogRoo. I found PhotoPeach simple, intuitive and fun to use. I have shown photos to provide a porthole into what inquiry looked like in our class this week.
My students participated in the two lessons to help scaffold their understanding of how to ask a good question. The first lesson using senses, the students were required to describe items in an attempt to deduce their identity. The act of guessing encouraged them to use more
descriptive and comparative wording in order to refine their ideas of what it could be. This was an interesting process. The students instantly wanted to guess what the item could be. I began as whole class modelling the process of how to ask questions to deduce, and how to make a question more impactful. For example, is it long became, is it as long as a crayon or a paper clip? I modelled my thinking out-loud, explaining how I was creating an image in my mind of what I was hearing with things I already knew. Once I heard the students forming better questions, I broke them into small groups to play the game. I was really impressed with how they caught on to figure out what was in the bag. It was also nice to see how much fun they had learning new skills.
The second inquiry lesson was with popcorn. We began with a MindUP session to help us feel more focused and mindful. In that state, I modelled how to mindfully experience popcorn using my 5 senses. What does it smell/look/taste/sound/feel like? What words can we use other than popcorn? The process of using a variety of adjectives to describe popcorn was a challenge at first. After modeling, I broke the students into pairs. They took turns eating a piece and describing it to their partner. I was really surprised by some of their answers.
Lastly, I have been spending time every day to slowly build my PLN adding new people to follow on Twitter and looking for interesting google communities to join.
Below is a slideshow that I created with PhotoPeach which I found on CogDogRoo. I found PhotoPeach simple, intuitive and fun to use. I have shown photos to provide a porthole into what inquiry looked like in our class this week.
Inquiry the K-1 Way on PhotoPeach
Author
K-7 Coordinator in SD68.
Completed the Leadership/Online Learning and Teaching Masters degree at VIU.
Blended and Inquiry based learning enthusiast.
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