Creating my Innovation Plan

One of the early assignments in the DLL program at Lamar University was the creation of an innovation plan.  After doing some research, I decided that I wanted to establish an in-class blended learning environment in my traditional classroom.  While the high school where I teach offers some blended, or hybrid, learning opportunities within our course of studies, we have never had enough students register for the online language options for the courses to run.  Additionally, I believe that frequent face-to-face instruction is important in world language learning.  There are incidental speaking and listening situations and cultural learning opportunities that arise in the traditional classroom that are not recreated as effectively in a completely remote learning environment.  Through my research, I came to understand that a blended learning environment has potential benefits for world language learners.  It allows for personalized learning in a way that whole group instruction does not.  

When I first learned about differentiated instruction as an undergraduate student, I saw its value, but I had difficulty implementing it.  I could not imagine a way to differentiate instruction for each of the one hundred students I teach everyday, so I opted to provide a wide variety of activities for the entire class.  While I may have reached more learners, I was not individualizing learning for them.  Fast forward twenty years, and technology and accessibility have made differentiated, personalized learning a more attainable goal. By using new technology and incorporating elements of blended learning into our traditional bell schedule, I find that I can provide opportunities fort students to focus on the skills where they are the weakest, thus making learning more individualized.  This environment also gives students more responsibility for their own learning.

Implementing my Innovation Plan

I began to pilot my innovation plan at the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year with my French II Honors and French II College Preparatory students.  I wanted to see if the in-class blended learning environment could be as effective for my reluctant learners as it was for self-motivated, or perhaps I should say grade-motivated, students.  Although my French II Honors students were hesitant to try something new, they eventually came to see the value of having more freedom to develop their skills at their own pace.  As for the French II College Preparatory students, while they required more monitoring, most of them enjoyed and benefited from the in-class blended learning environment.  When students are not intrinsically motivated, I think that there is a temptation for teachers to try to control the learning environment for these students.  What I found, however, was that these students responded positively to taking responsibility for their learning.  At first, it was worrisome to relinquish that control, but many students rose to the occasion when they were relieved of the yoke of some traditional class structures.

Unfortunately, the pilot of my innovation plan was cut short by COVID-19, but we did complete several units of instruction before this occurred.  Through the process, I learned that many students are reluctant to try new ways of learning if the traditional way is working for their GPAs.  Because of this, I know that I need to be more clear with future students about how a new way of learning can benefit them, even if it feels uncomfortable at first.  Additionally, I know that I do not have all of the answers.  No one does.  It is important that I listen to my students.  They have some excellent ideas.  This summer I am working to incorporate their feedback into creating an even more significant learning environment for future students.  I look forward to establishing in-class blended learning in the other courses that I teach as well.

Learning from Experience

There are several changes that I will be making as I move forward with my innovation plan.  First, I want the blended learning environment to be a part of almost each class period.  During the pilot, I  provided traditional learning for about two weeks, and then students worked on their skill development activities for three or four consecutive days.  I plan to break vocabulary and grammar instruction into smaller lessons that will last about ten to fifteen minutes each day.  The remainder of each class meeting, students will have the opportunity to work independently, in small groups, or with me to meet their individual learning needs.  

I will also include more project-based learning that incorporates vocabulary, grammar topics, and culture, while allowing students to have more choice, ownership, and voice in their learning.  My goal is to eliminate traditional testing in the next few years in favor of performance-based assessments.  As I work toward that goal, I will continue to seek feedback from students and to reflect on how students are doing as quizzes and tests begin to disappear from their learning environment.  It will also be important to look at scores on the Advanced Placement French Language and Culture examination to be sure that in-class blended learning and project-based learning is effective.

Influencing Others

One of the most surprising realizations as I have implemented my innovation plan is how open many of my world language colleagues are to incorporating some of what I am doing into their courses.  I have been offering some professional development opportunities with one of my colleagues, and they have been well-received.  Perhaps we will offer sessions beyond our department at some point, but we are not there…yet.  For now, it is good to know that world language students beyond my classroom are benefiting from my innovation plan.  The journey continues.

As I approach the conclusion of my Digital Learning and Leading (DLL) experience at Lamar University, I find myself returning to the first item I ever posted on my ePortfolio, which is a quote attributed to Lau Tzu:  “The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.”  Little did I know then how true that statement would be for this learning adventure.

My educational experience prior to beginning the DLL program was very much a grade-focused absorption and regurgitation of information presented by my “sage on the stage” teachers and professors.  Having grown up in an era before information became ubiquitous with the Internet, I learned in an environment where my classmates and I depended upon our instructors to disseminate their knowledge to us.  After some time, we would use our lecture notes to prepare and take a test to show that we had “mastered” the content.  This system worked for me as a learner, although I now wonder exactly how much more I could have learned in a different environment.

At the beginning my DLL journey, I was a reluctant learner when it came to choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning experiences (COVA).  I had enrolled in this program because I wanted to reach the Master’s Degree +60 column of our payscale before our contract expired, and I wanted to do it for reasonable tuition.  Consequently, I wanted to know what I had to do to earn an “A”, and I was frustrated that there was no preset formula for success.  I have never been afraid of hard work, but the idea of having to chart my own path was uncomfortable and intimidating.

When I submitted my very first assignment in the DLL program, I had no idea whether I had done good work, as the professor would define that term.  In the past I had always had a sense of whether I had submitted a quality product for the coursework I had to complete.  This time, however, I felt as though I were throwing a dart in the dark; I had no idea if I was on target.  My sense of success had always been based upon external validation or the degree to which my instructor thought I had done well.  With my first DLL assignment, I had no idea what the professor wanted, but I now see that was the point.

Although our DLL courses are not long in duration, I quickly found that I was no longer pleased with the quality of the work that I had done for my first project.  I asked for and was granted the opportunity to rework my Growth Mindset Plan, which I did. That is the moment that I began to realize that learning was not always about the grade.  To quote Dr. Dwayne Harapnuik, “It’s about the learning.”  Although my mindset was beginning to change, I was still not completely converted… yet.

When we were first given the assignment of developing an innovation plan, I confess to seeing it more as an assignment than a way to change my students’ learning experiences.  However, as I became more invested in the DLL program and a greater believer in the COVA approach, I began to see how my innovation plan of developing an in-class blended learning environment could become a reality in my classroom.  As a world language teacher, I am fortunate to have relative autonomy with the learning environment that I establish.  That has given me the opportunity to experiment with new teaching and learning strategies.  At the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year, I began to pilot the in-class blended learning environment in my French II Honors classes.  What had been an assignment became a reality.

An additional challenge presented to learners in the DLL program is creating significant learning environments (CSLE).  The world language content area lends itself to authentic experiences, making connections, and project-based learning.  As I implemented my innovation plan, I began to look at ways that I could move away from traditional testing.  While traditional tests and quizzes are certainly the easiest way of assessing student learning, they rarely, if ever, are a reflection of students’ ability to communicate effectively in an authentic context.  I began to provide assessment opportunities where students show their skills development in a manner that mirrors the ways that they may use their language skills in their careers or when traveling.  

As I introduced in-class blended learning and more authentic assessments in my courses, I received pushback from my students.  Like me, they understand the way “traditional” school works:  listen to the teacher’s lecture, take some notes, study, take the test, move on to the next thing.  I was asking them to do activities that required them to think and to take more responsibility for their own learning.  It took some time and negotiation, but most students eventually came to see the value of this new environment and to appreciate the opportunity to have choice, ownership, and voice in their own learning.

While EDLD 5320 brings me to the end of my Lamar experience, my journey to improve students’ learning experiences through the use of COVA+CSLE will continue through the rest of my career.  Although I was a reluctant learner at first, I am a COVA convert now.  Because I believe in what I have learned in the DLL program, I am eager to share what I know with others and become a digital leader.  Another French teacher at my school is also a Lamar DLL graduate, and for the last two years we have teamed up to provide professional development opportunities to our World Language Department colleagues as Tech Academy presenters. The topic of our recent session was project-based learning.  We began with an introduction of project-based learning, offered some examples, and discussed the ways in which technology tools may be useful. We also provided one-on-one assistance with technology tools that were new to some teachers. We did all of this using Google Meet to respect recent social distancing guidelines. By the end of the day, we asked teachers to submit the project they created for their students, thus bringing COVA into the experience. We have received positive feedback, and we are encouraged that so many teachers are willing to try new approaches to teaching and learning. I would never have had the knowledge or confidence to take on this leadership role without the DLL program.

Despite the many challenges that I encountered in my first few DLL courses, the only way for me to truly understand the value of the COVA-based learning approach was to be thrown into the deep end.  I would never have walked there on my own.  I would have run once I found myself in over my head.  However, because I had to sink or swim from the beginning, I found the strokes that work for me.

I am far beyond the first step of my journey in providing innovative learning experiences for my students, but my journey continues.  I look forward to seeing where I will go and who will accompany me.