Transformational Teaching & Learning

Over the course of the next couple of weeks, you are going to start hearing the phrases “transformational teaching” “and transformational learning” more frequently in professional development settings and discussions with administrators.

As with any shift in instruction or classroom practice, there is going to be a little confusion as to what these phrases actually mean and how one is supposed to transform their teaching.  Another element that seems to come along with any educational shift is the countless articles and opinions as to what the two phrases above actually mean.  I am no expert in the field of transformation teaching and learning, but I will share with you two ways you can start to transform your classroom into a more learner friendly environment. To start, having or lacking technology does not determine if you are a transformative teacher or if our students are transformative learners.  Yes, technology does open the door for a wider range of experiences, but it does not determine if the shift can or cannot be made.  The first thing you can do to help you transform your classroom is to make it the learning more problem-based.  In the age of information, our students have access to more information than any students have ever had.  Giving them simple rote problems is not going to spark their desire to learn.  Try to incorporate more real-life/world problems to solve.  When the work is relevant and meaningful, students will produce work on a higher level than they can yield on a worksheet. Secondly, we need to our students to become reflective practitioners.  Two essential skills of learners today are that they need to be proficient in their abilities to communicate and collaborate.  Giving students the opportunity to reflect about their learning allows them to make connections to prior knowledge and gives them the opportunity to share new learning with an audience.  As I said above, I am no expert in the field and there are already countless articles written about transformative teaching and learning and there are numerous ways to transform your classroom.  I would challenge everyone to break up their OODA and try these two techniques with your students.  Photo: cc licensed by ntr23