Facilitation Innovation

In my first career, I worked as a Recreation Therapist in an eating disorder treatment center and then in an addiction recovery program. I designed treatment plans for patients with the goal of helping them rediscover and connect with what brought them into a flow state (Csikszentmihalyi, 1991). When I heard Douglas Thomas (2012) discuss how the concept of play connects passion, imagination and constraint I was hooked! If we want our learners to be engaged in their learning it needs to light them up. Each individual is lit up by different specifics, but the commonality is that it will feel like Douglas’ definition of “play.” 

In my work facilitating professional learning with teachers adopting a foundational literacy program, I am learning how to broaden my understanding of how to create a significant learning environment by zooming out and looking at the whole picture. I tend to be detail-oriented and focus on specific pieces of the environment or just on the content and activities. I need to be more mindful and intentional with other environmental factors. The book, A New Culture of Learning (Thomas & Brown, 2011) gave me lots of wonderful ideas to incorporate into my innovation plan. If I can keep these concepts in mind as I design learning environments, there will be improved opportunities for true learning to take place.

References

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1991). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. Harper Collins Publishers.

Thomas, D. (2012). A New Culture of Learning. YouTube. Retrieved January 14, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM80GXlyX0U&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=TEDxTalks. 

Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of Constant Change. Createspace.