How Can Educators Create Vibrant Learning Spaces?

Having an environment where the respect for diversity of the children and the adults is imperative for a vibrant learning space. When there is a respectful environment, then both the students and adults will feel safe and comfortable and will be able to teach and learn to the best of their ability. Diversity includes ethnicity, language, religion, socio-economic background and gender identify.   When there is respect for these areas we can think about equality, equity, diversity and inclusion (Watts, 2022).   When all these factors are taken into account then the learning environment will be safe for students. To ensure that there is respect for diversity, teachers should be setting clear expectations around behaviour and make it known and demonstrate that everyone is treated fairly and equitably (Watts, 2022).   Whenever there are interactions that use discriminatory behaviour and language, the teacher should address it and not disregard it as banter because it would...

  The use of field trips can contribute to a vibrant learning space.   Research has shown that “students who directly participate during a field experience generate a more positive attitude about the subject” (Behrendt & Franklin, 2014, p. 235).   Students who may not have previously been interested in an area may discover something that jump starts their curiosity. As a school counsellor, I am often asked to help supervise field trips at my school.   As a supervisor, I have seen time and time again the high levels of engagement and excitement when students are on a field trip.   For example, I went on a field trip to the Museum of Anthropology at UBC with a class of Social Studies students before.   The teacher remarked that many students who usually were not so engaged were asking questions and they were fascinated by the artifacts on display.   They were able to apply learning that they had had in the classroom to the environment, and this dee...

  Collective Responsibility To help create vibrant learning spaces there needs to be a feeling of collective responsibility on two levels. First, is for teachers to share the collective responsibility for the success of each student and in supporting the school.   Hirsh (2010, p. 1) states that “schoolwide and team-based professional learning embedded in the daily work of educators is essential when professionals commit to sharing responsibility for the success of all students”.   At my school this year, our school goal is “connection”.   In previous years, we have had various levels of buy-in regarding the school goal.   However, coming out of the pandemic, and facing significant learning and behaviour challenges last year, we have had much stronger commitment to the school goal that in previous years.   So the collective responsibility is much stronger, and I can see many staff members making a point to engage in activities and learning that moves o...

  When I think of a vibrant learning space, I see the classroom as a place for teamwork and collaboration.   It is so important for students to leave high school with the skills necessary to succeed in today’s world and being able to work well with others is one of the key skills.   I know from my conversations with friends that many of their workplaces rely heavily on collaboration and those without the skills to be able to work in groups fall behind in their advancement in the workplace.   Recently, I was a judge in my school’s business competition.   Students, in groups of 5, had to come up with a product to sell, manufacture the product, and come up with a marketing plan, and execute it to try to make a profit.   The teacher of this class did such an amazing job in scaffolding the students so they were able to execute this project.   The ideas they came up with together were so creative and even though they had many challenges in working together...

It is important for students to be able to see why they are learning about something and to be able to connect it to their lives.  I’m sure we have all had a student who have asked “Why do we have to learn about this?” I believe a vibrant learning environment means that students are able to see themselves why the class is learning about a specific topic and wouldn’t need to ask this question. There is a teacher in my school who is teaching a student who moved here from up North and it is the second time taking Social Studies 8 for him.   He came from a much more flexible learning environment, and struggled to adjust to the rigidity of learning in a large high school.   This teacher has made a point to include information about areas closer to where he is from without drawing attention to him.   She integrates this seamlessly into her lessons and as a result he is much more engaged in her class than he was in the same subject last school year.   Her efforts to ...

  Systemic structures are the way in which “school systems and structures operate ultimately influences their academic outcomes, culture of belongingness, collective commitment to dismantling racism and appreciation of diversity (Betts, 1992). It is up to those in leadership positions to create strong structures so vibrant learning spaces can be create. There are many ways in which systemic structures can be applied.   First, a strong relationship because the school and the PAC is important.   Parents have an important voice in the school, and having many parents involved in PAC, and them having their voices heard will help the school over the long run.   A PAC can influence how the school and community work together. Second, there needs to be a collaboration within the school.   This can be encouraged by having collaboration time set aside each month and encouraging teachers to collaborate.   In my school district, teachers can applied for Collaborativ...

Experiential learning is when students learn by doing. In 21st century learning, I believe this should be what educators focus on because this will give students the skills necessary to succeed as an adult. They are using hands-on experiences and a reflection of that experience to be able to connect what they learn in the classroom to the real world.   When I was growing up, a remember a lot of time spent learning by copying notes down from the board, memorizing terms and facts, and a lot of drilling in subjects such as math. While I do feel that some aspects of that type of education is still important, I see a huge shift in how teachers teach the curriculum. With the advance of technology, students are able to access information almost immediately with their devices, so the type of education I received does not make sense nowadays.   BC came out with new curriculum in the past few years and I can see that there has been a huge shift in what facts students need t...

One of the things that stand out to me when I think about vibrant learning spaces is that both teachers and students are engaged in the environment.   Teachers have such an influence on the tone of the classroom, so if the teacher isn't interested and putting forth engaged energy, it will be very difficult to have students feel engaged. In the ever more complicated role that teachers play, this means that self-care is very important for educators. When a teacher is burnt out and exhausted, it would be very difficult to create a vibrant learning space. However, self-care is difficult when there are ever increasing demands on teachers in both their professional and private lives. I have seen that over the years, there is less time for teachers to prepare and collaborate with their colleagues and more time where teachers are instructing and supervising. This leaves little time for spending time creating engaging and creative lessons. Thus, I think, as educators we need to ...

  A vibrant learning community is one where the importance of relationships is highlighted.   I believe that relationships have become the focus of teaching more and more since I have started teaching.  In my school, we have been working at identifying students who may not have a connection with any adults in the building and have tried to work on making sure we connect with those students. Students may be exposed to many significant stressors in their lives such as food and housing insecurity, the recent pandemic and teachers also face stressors in their lives.   However, if teachers and students are connected to each other then learning in a positive environment can still happen.   Trust (2021, p.2) states that “Strong relationships with teachers and school staff can dramatically enhance student’s level of motivation and therefore promote learning”. I have seen evidence of the importance of strong relationships in my job as a school counsellor.   When I...