As I go back into the past of Spring 2023, when I decided to apply for the Applied Digital Learning Program I did not know what I was getting myself into. I had just finished my first year of teaching, and had administrators, colleagues, and family telling me that it was not a good idea for several different reasons. I knew that there was going to be work, writing, and worry through the process, but I made up my mind. I was ready to tackle the next barriers and challenges that would arise from the decision I had made.
A Game Of Choice, Ownership, Voice, and Authentic Learning (COVA)
1st Quarter: The Encouragement, Establishment, and Exercise of COVA
I was introduced to COVA on May 30, 2023 when we had our very first two meetings for 5303 and 5305 with Dr. Harapnick. In 5303 he explained that we will create an ePortfolio where we had the choice, voice, and ownership of this authentic project, and the whole entirety that went into it. Then in 5305, we would create our own authentic innovation project where we would have the choice of what we would want to do in our environments, voice on what we will be doing, and the power of ownership of the innovation plan and outline that play the key role of guiding me through the entire program.
The freedom and exploration that Dr. Harapnick provided me with excitement and joy, but also worry and relief across different areas. I had to adjust my thinking and see past my thinking that every assignment and activity has guidelines and expectations that must be followed. I am an advocate for individuals with disabilities, and having them in the forefront of my mind, excited me that I can do an innovation project for them. At the time of the initial introduction of COVA and creating my innovation project, I was ready to take ownership and voice to create a change for success and for individuals with disabilities. On the other hand, being told that I can make something any way I would like with no guidelines initiated questioning in my mind. How will I do this, will they like it, is it really a design I get to come up with, where do I put this in the design and will it be approved, will my environment stakeholders assist and agree with me to proceed in my project? With these questions in mind, I started planning my innovation project and ePortfolio.
I have always struggled with my voice because I have been told that I talk too much to a point where the administration asked me to create a document and limited the number of responses and questions I could ask in meetings. In addition, I have had people manipulate what I would say, by telling me that is not what you said. The result of this brought me to not speaking up in environments that I knew or had the feeling that I was the rookie or judged. As many of my peers and professors can agree with, I have never had a moment through our program using my voice. In class meetings, I was usually one of the first ones to speak after breakout sessions, and would usually find myself speaking at least one more time before going on to the next topic. It did not end there though the choice of being able to create a collaboration group was nerve wracking at first, but using my voice with these amazing individuals eventually came with ease. I used my voice to initiate many FaceTime calls, Google Meets, and Group Me discussions, and text with other classmates without worry or guilt. My group members and I were able to share experiences, expertise, talents, gifts, and feedforward. That is not it though, we also helped and guided each other through life obstacles, barriers, and special moments that we are felt a part of, and we now look at each other as family instead of classmates. I was able to think and share in a way that these are my ideas, and I am able to openly share them with others without judgment. The comfortability to do this came from the COVA-CSLE approach that was presented in the very first meeting, and followed through the entire program by professors, peers, and instructional assistants.
2nd Quarter: The Anticipation, Apprehension, and Application of Change
At the very beginning when I found out that I would lead a change in my organization, I am not going to be dishonest and say I was not nervous. The district I was in at the time was set on the ways of upper administration, and I was just a rookie teacher. I did not know how successful I would be in promoting change in the organization with the position I was in. I was in the feeling of apprehension between two bricks trying to squeeze and hope for the best as I went through the program. Within the last year, I have made many transitions, and hoping in the next transition will come with being more successful in the application of promoting change and success. I am starting at a new school and district in a whole new state, and I hope I will be able to put in the effort and ideas that I have gained and established through this program into this next adventure, because so far my feeling for promoting change is like a mountain range. Starting with the feeling of apprehension, going into excitement in the new district I started in January, to falling back into the feeling of apprehension due to work conditions, and now it can only go up from here! With this comes my innovation plan and the authenticity of the entire project. Creating my innovation plan, I was really excited to create something that would increase success for individuals with disabilities, but could see at the time that it was a plan that I may not be able to apply at the time of program, but sometime in the future of my career.
3rd Quarter: The Association COVA-CSLE With My Learning Philosophy
I have always been a learner, educator, and advocate for a diversity of learning styles, and finding which way I and others around me learn that lead to success. I believe that learning should be fun, engaging, motivating, and reachable for all learners. I believe that I am always learning by putting dot to dot together to gain new knowledge as I approach every new day. I am a constructivist, and have had confidence in the COVA approach of learning. My learning philosophy has not changed, and plays a big part within the COVA-CSLE approach. It allows students to have a voice on how they can show learning in a way of their choice and voice while taking ownership in their authentic learning through the learning style that they learn best in. It allows them to express their previous knowledge and apply and build on the new learning they are experiencing. We all learn differently, and I strongly believe that the COVA approach allows less apprehension and more encouragement in the learning process of all learners.
4th Quarter: The Application of the COVA Approach in a Significant Learning Environment
At this time, I am a paraprofessional in the school district that I work for in Northern Iowa. I allow my one-on-one student to have many opportunities of choice, ownership, and voice in his learning. He is given the choice to choose the manipulatives, objects, and other resources that he would like to use to show his different authentic learning throughout the day. He is then given a topic or objective that he can use the resources he chose to show me his knowledge and learning. Overall, his voice is used in a variety of ways including his favorite making videos and storytelling, as well as his not so favorites sometimes in the form of writing and drawings.
During the last three months, the way I have chosen to use the COVA approach to activate a significant learning environment for my one-on-one student to be more successful in his behavior, motivation, and engagement has opened the eyes and initiated the curiosity among my colleagues. Some positive curiosity questions, one example including your are doing wonderful things with him, what and how are you getting him into the learning? While others ask questions such as how is he learning, how do you know he is learning, why don’t you just let the classroom teacher teach him, and why can you just use the resources and instructions the classroom teacher had set out for the lesson? I plan to continue to answer all the curiosity questions that come my way, and teach my colleagues a new approach to learning that allows students to be in control of their own learning. My why is that I believe that we must inspire and prepare our diverse population for post graduation and life success. The first step is them figuring out how they learn and show their learning to others, and the COVA approach allows them to see this after the difficulty and struggle it may cause the first few times do to unfamiliarity just as they would in a new job or role.
References
Harapnuik, D. (2015, May 9). Creating significant learning environments (CSLE) [Video]. YouTube, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ-c7rz7eT4
Harapnuik, D. (2021, November 10). Four keys to understanding learning theories. It's About Learning. Retrieved November 6, 2023, from https://www.harapnuik.org/?p=6344
Harapnuik, D. (n.d.). COVA vs traditional. it's about learning. from https://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=7003
Robinson, K. (2010, May 24). Bring on the learning revolution! | Sir Ken Robinson. YouTube. https://youtu.be/r9LelXa3U_I
Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. Lexington, Ky, USA: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.