Category: Learning

What Can Educators Do to Enhance the Learning Environment

Dwayne Harapnuik Leave a comment

I always look forward to an opportunity to explore what we can do as educators to enhance the learning environment. The following are a list of videos, links to blogs/articles and related resources that were used in a workshop for the Emergency Nursing instructors are BCIT. It is always a privilege to spend time exploring learning and achievement with such a group of dedicated educators.

Not Suited for School But Suited For Learning

Generation Tomorrow – Eddie Obeng, Zeitgeist Europe 2013

Time Travellers in the 21st Century

John Seely Brown On Education

Seely Brown suggest that we focus on the following three key factors to bring our learning into the 21st Century:

Knowledge/information – Pull from the Internet.
Skills – Pickup with mentoring.
Disposition – Foster the idea that learning can be an adventure.

How to Change People Who Don’t Want to Change | The Behavioral Science Guys

The BS Guys recommend that:

When you are trying to influence people who need motivation don’t give them more information….Use questions to help them explore motivations they may already have.

The Head Won’t Go Where the Heart Hasn’t Been

If you really want to bring about change in people then you need to appeal their hearts and not to their heads. The sharing of more information or engaging in more rational discourse on its own doesn’t appear to help people to make significant change but an appeal to values, attitudes, and feelings first can motivate people toward making changes.

See more at:
https://www.harapnuik.org/?p=5461

Fixed Vs Growth Mindset = Print Vs Digital Information Age

If we really want to take advantage of all the opportunities that the digital information age offers, we need to move away from fixed mindset to growth mindset thinking.

See more at:
https://www.harapnuik.org/?p=3627

John Hattie: Visible Learning Pt1. Disasters and below average methods.

Hattie argues:

“short of physical and psychological abuse, almost anything you do in the classroom will positively impact student achievement…key is to figure out what promotes achievement…”

John Hattie, Visible Learning. Pt 2: effective methods.

Teaching effects that really make a difference – above .40
visible-learning-teaching-effects-above-4-web

Positive Feedback: The PIPS Model

PIPS Model to providing effective feedback
P – Praise something specific
I – Improve – suggest ways
P – Positive overall praise
S – Supply an uplifting comment

Shouldn’t it Be About the Learning?

Dwayne Harapnuik Leave a comment

If you have been around school of any level for the past 20 – 30 years or more you may have noticed that there are all kinds of learning. The following list is just a very short snapshot of the past 25 years and is by no means complete or is it chronological:

Flexible Learning
Digital Learning
Blended Learning
21st Century Learning
Mobile Learning
E-Learning
Virtual Learning
Online Learning
Distance Learning
Active Learning
Student-centred Learning
Problem-based Learning
Project-based Learning
Natural Learning
Mastery Learning
Social Learning
Discovery/Inquiry Learning
Experiential Learning
Case-based Learning
Scenario-based Learning
Situated Learning
Authentic Learning

Even when learning theorists place the different types of learning into one of the follow four major paradigms:

  • Behaviorism,
  • Cognitivism,
  • Humanism,
  • Constructivism;

we are still left with a fundamental problem.

We focus on the type of learning and not the learning itself. There is an assumption with most educators that we have the learning part figured out and if we, for example, get the mobile, or digital, or flexible and so on… part right then everything will work just right. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.

It’s about the learning first–the type, approach or “ism” comes second.

Fortunately, the human being is one of the most amazing learning entities on this planet and as John Hattie points out in his book, Visible Learning, and various presentations, short of physical and psychological abuse, almost anything you do in the classroom will positively impact student achievement…the key is to figure out what promotes achievement.

Yes. It’s about the learning.

Changing the world, one learner at a time

Dwayne Harapnuik Leave a comment

This past week in a curriculum development course I was facilitating I was reminded of a huge responsibility I have as a professor; and that we all have as members of humanity.

As is normally the case when I show my class a Youtube video on Carol Dwecks Mindset the ensuing discussion was lively, passionate and sobering. In Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Dweck makes the well researched argument that intelligence and talent are not fixed a birth and that by adopting a growth mindset, learners become more willing to take on challenges, try harder, embrace setbacks, learn from feedback/criticism, find inspiration in other’s success and ultimately reach higher levels of achievement. These are all the characteristics that we want in all learners especially as we move into the digital information age.

Unfortunately this too often is not the mindset that we see in most of our learners. One seasoned and insightful instructor taking my course pointed out that too many of his learners believe they are entitled to an “A”, believe that challenges are only for those who lack ability, are not willing to learn from feedback and are threatened by the success of others. He rightfully pointed that many of these types of learners would be quite upset with having to deal with this idea of the growth mindset because they been feed a consistent diet of fixed mindset thinking. This type of thinking could shake their world.

He was right…this type of thinking has the potential to change the learner. Change often puts people on the defensive or even makes them angry. Even if we just reach one learner at a time in our classrooms, the ripple effect from this change will eventually change that learner’s world. It is possible to change the world one learner at a time.

So is this yet another responsibility placed upon college and university professors, teachers and instructors? When you consider that anywhere from 70 – 90% of learning is informal and happens outside of the classroom (see Jay Cross post Where did the the 80% come from) the responsibility to impact the learners around us is societal. We are all learners. Whether they are our children, family, friends, co-workers our staff or colleagues we all have learners in our sphere of influence.

Are you changing the world one learner at a time?

PIDP 3210 Curriculum Development Resources Supplement

Dwayne Harapnuik Leave a comment

The following are the links to articles, blog post, YouTube videos, TED Talks and books that were used or referenced in the PIDP 3210 Curriculum Development course that ran in College of New Caledonia in Prince George British Columbia (January-February 2015).

Not Suited For School But Suited for Learning

You will find this video, learning philosophy and links to many of my presentations, and my favorite blog posts on my blog About page.

The Head Won’t Go Where the Heart Hasn’t Been

Benjamin Bloom argued that we need to address all the domains and find a balance. We often over emphasize the cognitive domain, relegate the psychomotor to the trades or other overtly physical disciplines and limit the affective domain to ethical or values issues. This limitation will severely limit the change that is necessary for learning. The blog post The Head Won’t Go Where the Heart Hasn’t Been post includes a more detailed explanation of the importance of the affective domain and has links to the Behavioral Science (BS) Guys video How to Change People Who Don’t Want to Change and also a related TED Talk Why TED Talks don’t change people’s behaviors.

Fixed VS Growth Mindset
The Power of belief — mindset and success | Eduardo Briceno | TEDxManhattanBeach

You will find a very useful Fixed vs Growth Mindset graphic and a short comparison of how the Fixed Vs Growth Mindset is equivalent to the Print Vs Digital Information Age on the blog post Fixed Vs Growth Mindset = Print Vs Digital Information Age

Carol Dweck’s book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success is definitely worth the read.

Mistakes are for learning
It’s a Mistake Not to Use Mistakes as Part of the Learning Process blog post refers to Brian Goldman’s TED Talk:

Doctors make mistakes. Can we talk about that?

Intrinsic VS Extrinsic Motivation
RSA Animate – Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us

Daniel Pink’s book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
is worth the read.

Don’t Let Learning Styles Limit Your Learning
Learning Styles Don’t Exist

Content Saturation
In the article Rescuing Nursing Education from Content Saturation: The Case for a Concept-Based Curriculum Jean F. Giddens and Debra P. Brady argue that nursing education has been plagued with a saturation of content for many years. Fortunately, they offer recommendations on how to move away from content delivery and saturation and how to create a learning environment based on a conceptual approach to curriculum development. Even though this article is focused on nursing it is a good read for any instructor in any discipline.

People Don’t Buy What You Do They Buy Why You Do It
Start with why – how great leaders inspire action | Simon Sinek | TEDxPugetSound

Simon Sinek’s book Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
is worth the read.

Parenting and Child Development
There were several discussions over the final weekend regarding parenting and Gary Neufeild’s book Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers was referenced and is worth the read.

The BEST TED talks to take in:
Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?

Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the learning revolution!

The blog post Want to Change the World – Tell a Good Story offers links to the top TED Talks of all time.