Using the above story as an example—Think about the best learning experience you’ve ever had. What happened during the experience to make it the best? As part of a research project we posed this question to hundreds of people including my students. [See Dunlap, J. C., & Lowenthal, P. R. (2013). What’s your best learning experience? Our story about using stories to solve instructional problems. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 25(2), 269-274.] The responses consistently described engaging learning experiences as learner-centered/inclusive, contextual, active, social, and supportive; their best learning experiences were comprised of happenings/occurrences that reflected both an episodic uniqueness and a structured order. These results describe what is at the heart of learning opportunities I create for students—my goal is to design instruction that is part of students’ best learning experiences, and inspires my students as much as they inspire me.
Helping students achieve their learning and professional goals is my passion. As an educator, I create inclusive learning opportunities that help students gain the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to be active and contributing members of their professional community of practice. I involve students in authentic, relevant, and engaging learning activities that lead to professional quality products, improved efficacy, and professional enculturation. Following the recommendations of the “best learning experiences” stories, I achieve high-quality instruction by creating Rich Environments for Active Learning (REAL), following the guidelines described in the REAL sociocultural framework for learning that I co-created with Dr. Scott Grabinger:
- Promoting study and investigation within authentic contexts. I lay the foundation for understanding by encouraging integration and critical thinking through relevant and meaningful learning activities and projects. In my courses, students conduct front-end analyses and formative evaluations; generate design documents; manage projects; work with clients and subject-matter experts; integrate digital and social media to support their learning objectives and outcomes; design, develop, and implement instructional activities and products (Web, multimedia, print, instructor-facilitated); take on leadership roles; work collaboratively and develop teamwork skills; deliver professional workshops and presentations; develop and facilitate online, virtual conferences and webinars; write, edit, and publish blog posts and other intellectual contributions to online professional networks and communities; build knowledge bases to support their own learning and professional development; and keep reflective journals/blogs of their learning and experiences to reinforce learning and inform future activities.
- Encouraging the growth of learner responsibility, initiative, decision-making, and intentional learning. I provide structure and supports to students at the beginning of a course that I remove over time as they become more intentional and confident. I share detailed course syllabi underscoring learning objectives and outcomes; activities and projects; evaluation methods, deadlines, and criteria for grades; and overall assumptions and expectations. I also give students all activity and project descriptions and evaluation criteria at the beginning of a course so they know what to expect and can determine whether or not the course will help them meet their learning needs and goals. Because my students are also working professionals, providing them with a clearly defined timeline of course goals and objectives allows them to plan their semester ahead of time.
- Cultivating dialogue and collaboration among students and teachers. I believe that exposure to multiple perspectives, systems, approaches, and solutions increases learners’ understanding of the challenge, and encourages them to explore and be creative, which opens them up to possibilities they would not have considered. It is important for my students to know – and be able to defend – why they design instruction, teach, or lead projects in certain ways. To do this, they must constructively assess others’ work and their own work, and develop the ability to share and express their views and ideas. I achieve these objectives through dialogue and collaboration.
- Utilizing dynamic, interdisciplinary, generative learning activities that promote higher-order thinking. I believe that learning is a dynamic process and, therefore, that students should be active participants and decision makers. My job is not to show them what I know, but to help them learn what they need and want to know through facilitation, coaching, and mentoring. Active roles allow students to have more control over the learning process, in a sense making it what they want rather than strictly what I might want. To be active participants in my courses, I encourage students to creatively and critically think about, reflect on, and react to the course material; drive what happens in the course to ensure their learning and professional development goals and objectives are met; and take responsibility for presenting material and for choosing what material will be covered. As often as possible I have students apply course content to products and projects that have a life beyond the course and serve them professionally. I want students to use what they create in my courses in their own workplaces or to support their career objectives.
- Assessing student progress within authentic contexts using realistic tasks and performance. I use authentic, relevant activities and projects to evaluate students’ ability to apply the knowledge and skills acquired in my courses. I set high standards for students and work hard to help students reach these standards. I involve students in the creation of assessment tools to be used in class (when appropriate), and peer reviews of their work. I also require students to share a personal assessment of their own learning process in a reflective journal, which includes a plan of action for future learning and performance. To support the high standards, I set for my students, I provide timely and detailed feedback on their work and maintain an open-door policy where all questions, issues, and comments are fair game. Students have consistently noted on course evaluations that even though the high standards I set make my courses more challenging than other courses, the experience is well worth the effort; students are more confident about their abilities to apply what they’ve learned to their work environments, and they have the knowledge, skills, and products to prove it.
Note: I’ve had many learning experiences that have informed my teaching philosophy. One of my favorites to share is when I was an MBA student in graduate school, I had a course with Professor Brown (see my digital story about this experience below).