Spaces where learners flourish are spaces of discovery and possibility, spaces where imagination and creativity are nurtured, spaces where learners engage deeply and meaningfully with each other and the world.
I believe that most good teachers want to create such spaces for their learners. Too often, however, policies, structures, and unexamined assumptions push schools to “operate as if everything a child needs to know is on one piece of paper” and suggest that teachers need to “tear little scraps off that piece of paper and hand them across a desk to the child, who eventually has the sum total of the one piece of paper.”*
This is, of course, a caricature. However, it may come close to describing the approach of more classrooms, courses, and professional development workshops than we would like to admit. Is this the best way to support learning and development? Do learners flourish under such an approach? No and no. We need more innovative approaches that take advantage of the fact that we live in the "Wikipedia age."
I seek out stories of engaging learning spaces to open up my imagination. Consider what is happening in a Minnesota elementary school that is studying the ancient ecology of a prairie wetland - Learning Landscape: Kids Monitor Terrain with Tech http://www.edutopia.org/wetland-ecology-technology-video (6 min). I see discovery, possibility, and deep engagement. Do you?
* Pg 19 in The Third Teacher; 79 ways you can use design to transform teaching and learning
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