When the principal asked me to represent the school on the 2019 Community Education Initiative Leadership and Learning Academy program by Lamar University-HCC-Apple partnership. I arrived at the HCC for Summer Teacher Coding Academy. I started to hear new vocabulary, challenges, and ideas from Apple, HCC, and Lamar University staff. I thought why did I accept to be here? My background is in surgery, physiology, anatomy, and pharmacology. The first day, I was concerned by how most of the participants worked on iPads and designed things, created an ePortfolio, and talked about prototype apps. However, I am very competitive, dedicated, and never give up. I started to work extra hours at night to digest, understand concepts and prepare for the next days. On the second day, on each activity, I felt better and free to express my ideas and creativity in a collaborative environment. Where each participant and teams were open to support each other. When the Summer Teacher Coding Academy was done, we continued with the professional learning program. Where Dr. Harapnuik, Dr. Thibodeaux, and Ms. Comeaux nurtured, motivated, and encouraged me from different points to continue my growth mindset in digital learning and leading (DLL). They empowered me with the COVA approach to write my cosmo-vision of the digital education in my ePortfolio, and build an authentic project. The technology club for a title I school (Techies Club). 

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            My first reflection was the learning manifesto. I focused on three main things that I had reflected for many years: the role of education in our society; the teacher’s role; and the role of the internet. On paper, the objective of education is to help everyone increase their knowledge and develop their skills to help them prosper every day. However, in reality, the education system has been used for more than two centuries by governments to control our society. Such as influencing our levels of thinking, creativity, ability to innovate, our knowledge, social classes, ethnicity, history, etc. This directly correlates with the philosophy of whoever has the knowledge, has the power. It had created a huge imbalance in society under legal circumstances sponsored by the policies of our governments, which had not benefited the majority of people in our communities. We see this imbalance from racial segregation and gender discrimination in the United States, along with the rest of the world.

 

     The implementation of the internet as a global network has been historical for the impact on culture, education, communication, technology, and languages to many vulnerable communities around the world, especially in urban areas, who can access it. Hundreds of young people live with no hope for a better future than the one they are given. With internet access, they can learn new skills and hope for better opportunities. They strive to learn, no matter the limitations. The digitalization of education is an ongoing trend of the present and future in the US and the world that will help many people break the cycle of poverty. A clear example of this trend is MOOCs.

     As a teacher, the role is to create the conditions and promote a collaborative work environment to empower learners at different levels with constant experimentation, innovation, and creativity according to each learning style, anywhere, at any time. Nevertheless, methodologies, standards, and strategies will be confronted with frequent data analysis to refine the process for the rapid development and growth of learners on a digital path. On the other hand, teachers need to participate in significant professional developments to identify emerging trends in learning and translate them into material for learners. On this transition, we have to change the focus to prepare the students for their challenges in the digital world. Because teaching is not just delivering information to learners.  However, the core of teachers is narrowed in part by the pressure of the State to meet the requirements of the standardized tests. More frequently in economically disadvantaged communities with a high percentage of recent immigrants and minorities; where schools frequently rank D or F.  Students come to school with malnutrition, emotional issues, academic gaps, and language barriers. Where the main focus of the schools is to increase the ranking, not the creativity and innovation on the daily routines. 

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            Many figures like John Dewey, Jerome Bruner, Albert Bandura, and Jean Piaget, talked for many years about the urgency of education’s transformation. They contributed to the theory of education and supported the systemic discussion that education requires renewal, new ideas, and more innovation. However, the changes have been too slow and limited on all levels of the education system. It requires meaningful impact and scale to serve millions of students on underserved populations to improve the quality of learning outcomes, not just one learner at a time. The education has taken minimum advantages on the importance of creativity and innovation and struggle in the implementation on large-scale in classrooms to raise productivity, efficiency, and to improve learning quality. The most effective strategies or learning models for the desired transformation are those that can be demonstrated in the field with evidence and data that are applicable, efficient, effective, and can update the actual education system. Not just another rhetorical concept or model that happens frequently and fails in the field more than the traditional education. It is clear that the implementation of new concepts, strategies, or models is not a quick fix. This requires analyzing and refine each detail of the complex process and how to support students to learn, with three components in mind.

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1)   Understanding that learners are now blending on a digitally connected world anytime and everywhere.

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2)   Preparing learners for their life in a digital world.

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3)   Designing lessons and courses to change learners' life and make them better in society. 

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        I read about the importance of Creating a Significant Learning Environment (CSLE) where learners have Choices, Ownership, and Voice through Authentic learning opportunities (COVA) and how the framework can contribute to change and transform the learning process and the environment. Where students are the center of the process and grow into their full potential to improve the world. As a Math 6th teacher, I analyzed how to incorporate successfully this framework on a title I school; where the main focus is the STAAR tests rather than CSLE - COVA. I presented an innovation proposal to the school administration to create an after-school enrichment program with the name “Techies Club.” Focusing on reaching, encouraging, and engaging learners in creativity and innovation through coding, robotics, and design application. Where our students have the same opportunities as non-titled I schools. I implemented the strategy of “Free Libre Open Sources” (FLOS), collaborative groups of students with different abilities and skills, who follow their agenda from a list of choices. With the FLOS engagement, collaboration, and participation of learners increase, because the strategy allows them to work on their growth mindset in a natural way. Each student decided if they rode or drove the bike. Most Middle school learners, especially 6th graders, are very dependent on teachers and wait for a teacher's instruction step by step. Many factors emerged on each member: interest, intrinsic motivation, perseverance, and instructions when learning technology. Some students that chose to ride the bike, needed a lot of support and left the club in the middle of the road. While the students that chose to drive the bike were persistent and took advantage of the technological opportunities offered in the club with authentic learning experiences.  It is obvious that regular school hours on title I schools are not enough to close the gaps of academic, technological, and social-emotional needs. Industries and businesses expect the new workforce, in order to remain sustainable in a competitive global world.

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            The challenges presented to expand or proliferate an effective technology club in our school that I found are:

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 1)   Students in 7th and 8th grade prefer sport activities because it does not require reading and writing after school.  

 

2)   Finding enthusiastic teachers to replicate the club model, prepare lessons or activities, and work after school hours. 

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3)   Incorporating coding and robotics concepts in problem-solving into math lessons.

 

4)   To give awards to Techies Club students on different levels of knowledge to motivate them to continue their growth mindset.

 

5)   The number of students is not robust on the club to proliferate the model.

 

6)   Teachers involved in standardized tests work double. However, their results do not reflect their effort, affecting their intrinsic motivation to continue working after school.

7)  The continuous pressure for the result of the standardized tests is the most relevant goal for the district that pushes school administration and teachers to focus on the test scores, instead of coding and robotics.

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8)   The fear to change or to fail of the district, schools, and teachers in the standardized curriculum and tests. They ignore the implementation of coding or robotics in daily lessons.  

                                           

            These reasons reduce the possibilities to implement innovative programs on a regular schedule on the title I schools. As well as effective after-school enrichment programs with authentic learning experiences.

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              In reality, the district, administrators, and teachers are not truly interested to change the model of education or they do not know how to implement the CSLE-COVA framework to have better results on the learners’ outcome on a year, according to the state requirements. Frequently, teachers blame the previous year’s educators and admirations for those learners struggling. While many administrations blame teachers for the low performance of schools. Fulfilling the famous phrase of Leo Tolstoy: “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”  School staff is immersed in delivering information to the learners and analyze lack measures of the standardized tests as the most relevant of the educational. Creating the same routine year by year with similar results every time.  How can teachers design lessons where they integrate: analysis - evaluate - create to solve real-life challenges in our education system? When they are prepared for training learners to take standardized tests with no connection with the learners' environment?  How to transform education when many educators and administrators do not want to do more than what the standard curriculum requires? How can teachers incorporate creative and innovative activities in lessons when schools evaluated them based on lessons and data that prepare students for a test?  We are the product of this type of education that contributes to evaporate our curiosity, our creativity, our level of analysis, and auto-reflection of the educational impact.  However, many administrators and teachers have the potential to change, design, and model effective and authentic learning lessons, courses, or activities that can motivate other educators to change.  These are the teachers that can make a difference on the implementation of an innovative project that can change some student’s life.

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            Good teachers are being built permanently as an interactive puzzle for many theories, frameworks, and experiences. They must act as a weaver to put the learning theories together on a daily routine. I deeply believe in the combination of constructivism, connectivism, and cognitivist load learning theories. These theories are correlated because human beings by nature are always in permanent learning, questioning, inventing, discovering, and challenging themselves. We as humans design and use new tools and technologies to figure out things and solve paradigms to create new opportunities. As a learning facilitator in a minority community school, I understand, feel, and visualize the importance of embedding these theories and frameworks like CSLE+COVA on a daily praxis to implement a new culture of a learning environment to catapult learners to their future. Our students are left behind in technology, math, reading comprehension, and writing compared to students from wealthy schools. The best way to help learners in disadvantaged communities to succeed is to give them a voice, ownership, and choices with rigor and relevance. So they cannot lose their curiosity and their capacity to questioning. Our role is to create an environment that engages and motivates students to be analytic, deep thinkers, problem solvers, and to develop technology skills that prepare them for the requirements of the world. Instead of just preparing them for the standardized test with no connection with the learners' environment. However, it is important to create a balance and adjust the interpretation of the actual education (standardize curriculum) and the projection of education that the digital world requires. It is important to understand that each student is unique and learns differently. Some need different percentages or degrees of applicability, according to the circumstances of each student to learn. For example, depending on the necessity of each student, some learning theories can increase or decrease in the praxis.  Constructivism and connectivism theories for Pre–AP students increase, with less percentage of the other theories. While with the low academic and math lab students the percentage of behaviorism and cognitivism learning theories increases.

 

            The CSLE–COVA framework, encourages us as teachers to adjust the style of teaching and to use our experience background correctly; our knowledge about the student’s cultural identity; our capacity to reflect on our daily performance; our desire to find authentic experiences for students; and the passion to coach learners. All these fuels and empowers a good teacher to guide her/his students to connect the dots instead, of collecting the dots. We cannot build the future of the new generation, supporting the same standards that were used in the industrial revolution. Where shaping young people to just regurgitate the right answer, follow rules, and obey. Our lessons or courses need to be the focus on authentic learning opportunities and experiences using real-world assessment with multiples dimensions and meaningful connections between concepts. Where the learners are the center of the learning process with choices, ownership, voice, and agency over their learning. Where students can construct new ideas or concepts based upon their past and current knowledge. The outcome must be the result of the quality of a mental process, not the product of the right answers. Students must be able to master the topic critically. Emphasizing the application and integration of knowledge more broadly, instead of focusing on covering material.

 

            In this journal of the DLL program; as a math learning facilitator in Middle School, I started the process of implementing a significant learning environment. It was powerful to demonstrate throughout data that giving the learners choices, ownership, and voice through authentic learning opportunities paid off. Not only on the standardized tests, but also on the learning environment to empower the students.  Most of my students loved and were engaged in creating a meaningful project; learning from each other; and collaborating to help their classmates with interactive presentations between them. I promoted daily authentic connections, not only with the academic topics. Also, with their culture, the big picture of society, and their life. We need to shift the focus to the individual learner’s journey; not the standards, the curriculum, and the technology.  Each group and individuals in my classes have unique characteristics that require special attention. Where the new culture of learning and the learner’s families play an important role in the transformation of education.  I believe that human beings are complemented by dependent and independent learning experiences in formal and informal settings with different percentages on each side depending on the circumstances. The process of learning needs to be active, dynamic, and flow naturally. Similarly as the process that a bird has from the nest until it is independent. Some take more or less time depending on the ability of each individual. This example needs to be applied by any teacher when aligning outcomes, activities, and real-world assessment in any lesson. If the learners are the learning center; the teachers will give them choices, be more flexible, and create a meaningful connection with the student’s identity. To create a strong teacher-student relationship.

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        Having Pre AP, Academic, lab students in math, and guiding the Techies Club in school; gave me a bigger picture to understand in the praxis, the differences between the two contexts of education. Allowing me to move back and forth from Competency-Based Education (CBE) in my math classes to Outcome-Based Education (OBE) in the Techies club and vice versa. Allowing me to implement some OBE elements in my regular classes. While the Techies club immersed in OBE. Where members came willingly to my classroom after school, to enjoy learning and continue their growth mindset. Connecting their outcomes products to their style of learning, in a collaborative and Free Libre Open Sources (FLOS) culture environment.  My daily observation in both contexts helped me to reflect, evaluate, change, and refine my teaching practice. Students from my regular classes created their own and unique math projects and presented the concepts to their classmates. While students from the Techies club: code with robots, prototype apps, compose music, craft digital art, and record creative video clips in a significant learning environment. The later ones, mapped their journey, were more confident, more independent, and more versatile in a regular classroom setting. From this experience wield the authenticity of my innovation plan for the Techies club. 

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​      My culture and my knowledge helped me to understand the challenges that our learners faced to succeed because they are similar to my background. This has helped me to be more effective in the implementation of a significant learning environment in this school. Plus, what I have learned in the DLL, catapulted my constructivism philosophy of digital education and my comprehension of concepts and applicability to be a more effective teacher. I think that I am in the middle of my learning journey and my learners are in different landmarks along the way. The fusion of my previous experience, my socio-cultural sensitivity with the CSLE-COVA has been very positive and successful in my growth mindset as a teacher. It has allowed me to understand the trend in teaching and get to know the students better, from a motivational and sociological perspective. I have been able to improve the process of creating an authentic learning environment. Where young people can build their grit through the growth mindset in a digital world. It is clearly understood that making mistakes and starting again is an opportunity to improve.

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            As a Math and Techies club facilitator, I have grown parallel to my scholars in digital knowledge and I have been able to model them through my experiences and my example as a person who has moved in the growth mindset. This has allowed the members of the club and classes to come with a good attitude to seek and learn for life and not to work for a grade. Emphasizing daily through positive reinforcement and verbal persuasion the importance of believing in yourself, to understand that the processes of learning required persistence and determination that is more relevant than praises to intelligence. This pandemic time has allowed me to reflect that the COVID19 crisis should be seen as a clear opportunity to reevaluate the role of traditional education in a digital world and evaluate the effectiveness of distance education in middles school students. Many academics or journalists that never taught in elementary, middle, and high school just generalize the researches done on a college level and thought that it could be applied for all levels, ages, and communities with the same model and results. Under these circumstances, it is imperative, for teachers and schools to do active research to find patterns and tendencies unique for each group, grade, or school that contribute to improving the learning environment and the efficiency and efficacy of the activities where students have authentic experiences.   

               

            In short, this amazing DLL journey throughout the new culture of learning, literature research, leading organizational change, action research, and design online course helped me to understand better the importance of the CSLE- COVA approach and incorporate it into the Techies Club activities. However, it is more challenging to implement in Math 6th academic and lab classes. While on Pre AP Math 6th courses it is possible to add choices, authentic learning experiences, and voice. Whereas, ownership was restricted based on the time and pressure for the STAAR test. Finally, this framework (CSLE - COVA) changed the way I thought about learning and strengthened my teaching style.

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References

Benner, M., Brown, C., & Jeffrey A., (2019, Aug 14) Elevating Student Voice in Education.  Retrieved from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education-k-12/reports/2019/08/14/473197/elevating-student-voice-education/

Harapnuik, D., (2015, May 9) Creating Significant Learning Environments (CSLE) Retrieved from http://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=7495

 Harapnuik, D., (2016, Jun 16) Mapping Your Learner’s Journey. Retrieved from http://www.harapnuik.org/?p=6420

Harapnuik, D., (2017, Oct 22) What to Expect from the Digital Learning and Leading Masters Program. Retrieved from  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqZU2jB3tZI

Harapnuik, D., (2017, Oct 31) CSLE + COVA Explained. Retrieved from  http://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=6988

Harapnuik, D & Thibodeaux, T., (2018, Jun 19) Outcome-based Education vs Competency-based Education. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctEqxCr7ZUg&t=8s

Harapnuik, D., (2018, Jul 4) Change in Focus Part A.  Retrieved from  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NrD8HMyu0M

Harapnuik, D., (2020, Jan 9) CSLE Module 3. Retrieved from https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/KtbxLthKNxspdXCnctfLfDcMVfLJczlMbq?compose=new

Harapnuik, D., (2021, Jan 8) How to Change the World One Learner at a Time. Retrieved from http://www.harapnuik.org/?p=8515

McClaskey, K., (2018, Nov 18) Ownership to Learning: What that Really Mean. Retrieved from https://kathleenmcclaskey.com/2018/11/18/ownership-to-learning-what-does-it-really-mean/

Mueller, J., (2018) Authentic Assessment Toolbox. Retrieved from

http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/whatisit.htm

Serdyukov, P., (2017, Abril 3) Innovation in education: what works, what doesn't, and what to do about it? Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning.  Retrieved from https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JRIT-10-2016-0007/full/html

Wolpert-Gawron, H., (2018, Nov 18) Why Choice Matters to Student Learning. Retrieved from https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/52424/why-choice-matters-to-student-learning

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