Syllabus

Syllabus Design - Faculty Training Course:
Learning Environment and Context Workshop

Group Members	Roles	Commented On
Timothy Berkey	Introduction and reflection sections	Learning Styles/Emotions in learning
Kara Duquette	Rationale section	Emotions in Learning
Chris McCown	Create the tables	Relationships in learning
Leilani Pearce (lead)	Create the syllabus and edit the document	Learning Styles

Introduction

We have created a two-day training workshop for helping faculty and graduate students develop their skills and understanding of the impact of physical environments on learning. The physical learning environment involves more than just the chairs and tables, though those items do play a large role. By helping current and future teaching faculty understand the impact of layout, culture, and power on learners’ experiences, we plan to improve faculty evaluations of their teaching experiences as well as provide more robust learning experiences for learners.

            We have chosen to focus on current and future teaching faculty who are either employed or in a graduate program. This demographic is most likely to be empowered to implement our strategies for developing the physical environments in which they teach or will teach. Furthermore, the background of these individuals allows for our content to spatially take place after content foundation has already been taught or mastered. Our two-day workshop will provide content, activities, and reflective assessment of learning objectives.

Our two-day workshop has three objectives that serve the primary objective of increasing understanding of the impact of physical environments on learning. The first objective is to evaluate and analyze the role of the environment including the physical, cultural, power, and real-life contexts and the impact of these factors on the learner. Our second objective for our participants is that they learn to create and accommodate the learning environment and contexts for various learning goals and objectives specific to their course content. Our final objective for our participants is that they learn to utilize instructional methods and strategies to enhance and influence student cognition within the learning environment contexts of their courses.

                          

Rationale

         During this Learning Environment and Context workshop expect to study, research, and write about many aspects of learning environment and context. Students develop and design learning environments based on the theories and concepts of learning environments and contexts researched. Expect to use different learning environments and contexts to frame and plan course activities, goals, objectives, and learning outcomes. 

Below is a list of some learning environment and contextual ideas to be explored.

• Contextual Learning Environment
• Contextual Learning Environment: Culture
• Contextual Learning Environment: Cultural Environment and Privilege
• Contextual Learning Environment: Milieu
• Learning Environment Efficiency and Quality
• Learning Environment Evolution
• Learning Environment Systems
• Online Learning Environment
• Smart Learning Environment
• Physical Learning Environment
• Physical Learning Environment: Technology
• Power Learning Environment
• Power Learning Environment: Efficiency
• Power Learning Environment: Empowerment
• Power Learning Environment: Learning Inhibitions
• Responsive Design
• Situated Cognition
• Social Positionality
• Spatiality

We will have the following activities in this course:


Activity 1

          Physical Learning Environment: Small Group Work. This activity will reflect the main idea of using a physical learning environment, specifically, with small groups. Learners will explore different ways to direct learners to form small groups. Participants will also discuss when and why the use of small group work and discussion can help students to apply and/or practice skills that they have just learned.

          The aim of this activity is to give learners the opportunity to work within and think about setting up their own physical learning environment for small groups. Participants will focus on how and why to use small groups. They will also learn how to direct learners to form and structure small groups in a physical space in this activity.

          After discussion with the entire group regarding ways to create an engaging small group physical learning space, as well as, why and when to use small groups; participants will break into smaller groups to further discuss these ideas and report back to the larger group with a learning outcome or a skill that the group feels could be best explored through the instructional method of small group work. Then the group presenting their findings will direct other participants in the larger group to form a small group with in the physical space.

Activity 2

          Cultural Context: Pairs of Round Robin Interviews. This activity reflects the main idea of cultural context in learning environment.

         The aim of this activity is to make participants aware of cultural similarities, potential biases, and differences within the learning group. This activity is meant to create a greater level of understanding to the participants about each other’s culture, cultural influences and perspectives.

         The facilitator will lead the group in a discussion about culture and its meanings. Participants will then be asked to create and agree upon a list of five questions about culture. Participants will then be asked to interview each other in pairs in a round robin fashion. Each person in the pair will interview and answer at least two of the five group generated questions and then move to the next interview session. This will continue until everyone in the group has interviewed and answered each other’s questions. Interviews should be no longer than seven minutes. The facilitator will be keeping a time clock to make sure the interviews keep moving. The participants will then participate in another facilitator led group discussion about what they have learned about each other. They will also discuss the pros and cons of this exercise and different ideas for structuring it.

Activity 3

          Power Learning Environment: Role-playing Activity. This activity reflects the main idea of the power learning environment created by the social structure that is formed and informed by cultural identifications and perspectives brought by individual learners creating social structures, interactions and dynamics.

          The aim of this activity is to make participants aware of the individual learner, their cultural view, perspectives, and experiences and how they shape and define a power learning environment. Participants will explore how the power learning environment can affect the learning process.

          The facilitator has prepared information for the role-play activity generated by the cultural round robin activity from the previous day. Participants will be asked to reflect upon the information that they collected during the cultural round robin. The facilitator has created characters and background information that will be used to role-play a situation. Characters and background information will be on pieces of paper and put in a bowl for students to select. Situations will also be put on pieces of paper and put in another bowl for participants to select. Participant will be put in to small groups (3 to 5) for the role-playing activity. Each participant will select a character from the bowl. Each small group will select a situation. Each role-play group will complete the activity in front of the entire participant group. Each role-play will last approximately ten minutes. The facilitator will keep time for the role-play. After each role-play the entire group will discuss how the learning environment in terms of power context and learning may have been affected.

Activity 4

          Reflection: Writing - Reflection Paper and Large Group Concluding Discussion. This activity asks participants to think deeply about learning environment and context.

          This activity gives participants the opportunity to reflect upon what they have learned. Participants will write about key experiences and their personal responses. They will also write about their thoughts and connections that they have made.

          Reflection papers will be written during the workshop. Participants will be given 45 minutes to complete their papers. Participants will be given paper and writing implements to complete their papers. After papers are completed, the entire group will engage in a concluding discussion. Participants will be encouraged to share part of their reflections. The group will continue to talk about learning environments and context and further discuss their ideas about the concepts and information they have explored.

Syllabus

Schedule:

Two day workshop to be held at the Ball State University Student Center Ballroom from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on January 12th and 13th, 2018.

Friday, January 12th
8:00 - Introduction
8:30 - Lesson: Physical Learning Environment
9:45 - Activity 1
12:00 - Lunch break
1:00 - Lesson: Cultural Context
2:15 - Activity 2
4:30 - Wrap up

Saturday, January 13th
8:00 - Quick review of Friday's lessons
8:15 - Lesson: Power Learning Environment
9:45 - Activity 3
12:00 - Lunch break
1:00 - Activity 4: Reflection paper assignment 
2:00 - Activity 4: Group discussion
4:30 - Wrap up

Objectives:

In this course we will investigate in detail how the aspects of learning environment and context impacts learners within courses with the following goals:

Objective 1: To evaluate and analyze the role of the environment including the physical, cultural, power, real- life contexts and its impact on the learner. 

Objective 2: To learn to create and accommodate the learning environment and contexts  for various learning goals and outcomes. 

Objective 3: To learn or utilize instructional methods and strategies to enhance or influence student cognition within the learning environment contexts.

Reading/learning materials:
Textbook (optional): 
Rethinking Contexts for Learning and Teaching: Communities, Activities and Networks Edited by Richard Edwards, Gert Biesta, and Mary Thorpe 2009, Routledge

Assignments:
All assignments will be given and completed during the two day workshop. This includes:

• Short, informal small group presentations
• Short, informal interviews
• Role-play presentations
• Final reflection paper

Learning tools and methods/strategies:
As a seminar based workshop, we will be relying heavily on participation from the group, as the main learning tool will be discussion. We will be prepared to prompt stalled discussions with probes and questions meant to engage those in the workshop. 

Topics to be covered:
All topics in this workshop will focus on learning environment and context. Since it is a discussion based seminar workshop, additional topics outside the planned focus may be brought into the discussions. The main topics are:

• Physical Learning Environment
• Power Learning Environment
• Cultural Context

We will also discuss solutions, problematic tendencies, privilege, technology, and empowerment.

Grading Criteria and Standards:
This workshop is not merit based and will not end with a grade. However, in order for participants to receive the most out of the two day program, they should be prepared to engage in a similar manner to which students who are receiving a grade are expected to participate. 

Contents of the activities:
The activities planned during the two day workshop are based on knowledge acquired from the suggested textbook. Additional information that may be beneficial to learners attending the workshop can be found in the suggested textbook.

Attendance policies:

Attendance and participation will not be formally graded in this workshop, but both are expected. In order to be sure you get the benefits of the planned material within this workshop, you need to participate and arrive on time. This is a short two day workshop that only meets for two days, and it is a discussion based, graduate level seminar so we will cover a lot of ground in each lesson and activity – plan to be here and plan to participate to gain the most from this workshop. 

Workshop Adaptations or Accommodations:

If you need adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, if you have medical information to share with the facilitator, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please bring this to our attention as soon as possible. We are committed to helping you obtain the tools necessary for reaching your goals during our workshop.

Reflection

Our group did a great job of collaborating on this assignment. We utilize Slack, the online group messaging service for our communication. This week, as we worked on developing our syllabus, there was a lot of back and forth between members of the group to determine what sort of course would best fit with our topic, who we wanted to include in the participants, what sort of material would be realistic to cover, and other details of a project. 

Even though we had divided the work among us earlier in the semester, we came together to ensure that the syllabus we came up with was the best possible. A few of us had simultaneous substantial commitments, and the other members of the group were great at shouldering the weight until we were able to contribute completely. The wide range of experiences present in the different members of our group also provided us with great input to provide as we developed our syllabus.

Tables

Table 1. Summary of Syllabus Design

	Aims you wish to achieve in your design	Main theoretical ideas	Main activities in syllabus	Main methods/ tools/ strategies in syllabus
1	Accommodating the physical environment.	Adjusting the physical environment by modifying table and chair arrangements to promote small group learning and discussion.	Activity 1- Learners will explore ways to utilize small group arrangements within the physical environment.	Identify and analyze why and when to use small group arrangements as an instructional strategy tool to support learning through collaboration of practical assignments or discussions.
2	Accommodating the cultural context of the learning environment.	Cultural awareness and meaning of cultural identity perspectives among participants in the learning environment.	Activity 2- Learners will utilize round robin interviews with class participants to uncover cultural similarities, biases, and differences of the learning group.	Facilitator led group discussion and directions to conduct interviews. Identifying specific cultural related questions to generate discussion of cultural backgrounds and how cultural perspectives influence learning.
3	Accommodating the power context learning environment.	Interpersonal environment of the learning group. Individual culture perspective that involves beliefs, values, assumptions, customs, meanings, and experiences that affect the learning environment.	Activity 3- Learners will participate in a role playing activity involving different characters and situations; which will allow participants to become aware of cultural perspectives, social structures, interactions, and the power dynamic created in the learning environment.	Utilizing specific cultural perspectives of the round robin interviews from Activity 2, the instructor will create characters and situations/scenarios to address the power dynamics of the learning environment. Including gender, race and social/society based experiences.