Thursday, December 22, 2011

Professional Inquiry: Learning Design

I heard Alan November speak at the 2011 Global Conference.  I was intrigued by his notion of learning design.  I realized that this is the area of teaching and learning I am most passionate about--the lesson/unit choreography.

I have always tackled teaching as a creative process with the goal of integrating goals/standards with  research and students' passions/interests to effect optimal outcome.  I am fascinated by this process and delighted to engage in this quest as an educator.

In 2012, I want to delve deeper into the "learning design" arena.  I will begin by reading as much as I can about learning design.  I will research the following questions:

What is learning design?
What are the optimal components of learning design?
How can classrooms and educators support effective learning design?

As I learn, I will revise outdated components and employ new strategies in the classroom program. I will also continue to develop my current template for effective lesson/unit planning.

Integrating science and art, I will keep the central focus on what's best for students as I embark on this journey.  I welcome your wisdom, links, titles, ideas and debate during this discovery.  At the heart of the endeavor is the goal of making schools an invigorating, responsive, motivating, positive and profitable experience for all students.