Creating Significant Learning Environment

                      There are many ways to enhance learning to stimulate passion, imagination, and through constraint (Thomas and Brown, 2011).  We can use the overload and everchanging number of digitals tools, hands-on activities, and peer to peer interactions (Thomas and Brown, 2011). In my classroom setting, I activate peer-to-peer interaction throughout several lessons that I give. Knowing your learners is the first step in activating a significant learning environment (Harapnuik, 2010). In my classroom, I have one nonverbal student who I have found a way to differentiate this peer-to-peer interaction idea by knowing my learner. She is always paired with the same student for all peer-to-peer interactions. I only have to female students in my classroom, and with my non-verbal student being one of them, I always pair them up because she blossoms and shows more with this interaction. During peer-to-peer activities, this student has a communication board that she uses to communicate. While she communicates through the communication board the other student has been taught to verbalize answers and ideas for her after she points to the board. Through the use of peer-to-peer interaction and a digital communication board on her ipad my EL and nonverbal student is successful in practicing her critical literacy skills in reading, writing, and speaking. This is just one example of my students increasing their lit. We also use digital tools such as read alouds, iPads, Chromebooks, and smartboards to create stories and anchor charts to enhance our critical literacy skills in my classroom learning environment. These advancements help our learners as they enter and exit our classroom doors. These use of this amazing tool of 21st century learning can advance student learning being fully implemented from the beginning of the year to the end of the year (Thomas and Brown, 2011). Let’s allow students to have constraints in the topics they love, to spark their imagination, and activate questioning and new knowledge (Thomas and Brown, 2011).
 
                   One major challenge that I may come across during my implementation of The New Culture of Learning is the emphases on standardized testing and how content should be delivered based on district protocols. We must transform to the 21st century style of learning and move pass the traditional classroom setting. One way to do this is mentioned by Harapnuik (n.d.) is called the COVA approach to learning. A type of learning that allows students to take control of their own learning through choice, ownership, voice, and authenticity (Harapnuik, n.d.).  Using this approach of learning allows for student-centered learning (Harapnuik, 2010). Given a student a list of questions that they choose how they would like to present their learning to you, the educator, instead of telling them what they need to do to show what you wanted them to comprehend (Harapnuik, n.d.). Given them to choose to do a presentation, project, paper, speech, and/or one act play. Allow them to come up with how they interpreted the new knowledge that they discovered through their own critical thinking, deeper learning, and problem-solving skills (Harapnuik, 2010; Thomas and Brown, 2011).  Using this type of assessment, allows students to be more motivated in their learning and creations, and allows them to use their talents to enhance their learning (Robinson, 2010).

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