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Philosophy of Adaptation
Sara Lucas
University of Alaska Southeast
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I am a science teacher, and I teach evolution and change every year to my biology

students. I believe the classroom is not exempt from the same evolution and change that I teach

my students about, because we learn that humans have evolved and are still evolving. We learn

that evolution really just means change. If we are changing, then it only follows that education

should change with us. If all of this is true, change is inevitable and we must be ready to explore

alternative ways to doing things. "Traditional approaches to learning are no longer capable of

coping with a constantly changing world. They have yet to find a balance between the structure

that educational institutions provide and the freedom afforded by the new medias almost

unlimited resources, without losing a sense of purpose and direction" (Thomas & Brown, 2011).

Learning is less about rote memorization and more about making meaning out of what we are

learning in relation to the world. In this day and age I do not think we can live in a world that just

asks "what," or in other words students are just learning facts. Everyone needs to make

connections and understand how things are related. We need to fit our knowledge into our own

niche of the world. That is where we can accomplish so much. We attach meaning, and this

meaning is transferable to life outside of the classroom walls. (McCarthy, 2015). Put another

way, "In the new information economy, expertise is less about having a stockpile of information

or facts at ones disposal and increasingly about knowing how to find and evaluate information

on a given topic" (Thomas & Brown, 2011). Technology is a huge component that cannot be

ignored. Information is at our fingertips, and with the ease of access, students no longer need to

have things memorized, but rather they need to know how to find the answers they are looking

for. We need to be teachers who show our students how to use technology to take their learning

to the next level.

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I take most of my teaching practices from the connectivism, constructivism, and

constructionism learning theories. Students need to make sense of meaning on their own and we

have to let them. According to Fullan (2001), if we only invest in those who are like us "they

become more like-minded and more unlike the rest of the organization while missing valuable

new clues about the future. Even though Fullan is talking about companies I believe the same is

true of students. We have to let students think for themselves and to find their own voice, rather

than the voice we want them to have. We, as teachers, are leaders in the classroom. Leaders need

to show by example what we expect of those around us. "Leaders matter less for the ideas that

they possess and more for their ability to connect ideas (sometimes controversial) and people

across their organizations. By attending to our human need to create, connect, and play, leaders

assure that great ideas can evolve from young seedlings into robust, self-supporting ecosystems"

(Saibel, 2016). It takes so much more skill as a teacher to facilitate student learning and to help

them find their voice than it does to lecture. Too many take the easy road, but that will not help

our society advance to the next level. Project based learning and design thinking are 2 types of

classroom instruction that will help teachers move away from being the sage on the stage and

will help teachers to enter partnerships with students as they learn.

We are an evolving society and the push in education is for project based learning or

design thinking in classrooms because they support a way that our students are able to learn.

These types of learning activities really fit with the pedagogies above. As far a PBL goes,

Wolpert-Gawron (2015) talks about an integrated PBL unit she has taught where "there are many

components to the unit: brainstorming, research, development, design, cost analysis,

collaboration, and pitching. They are using art, writing, math, science, and probably countless
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other elements that focus on real-world content and communication." These types of units

combine so much and really get students to see how all subjects are connected. We are accessing

the "where" and "how" instead of only accessing the "what". Students also are learning by doing

and "learning by doing can provide a unique and personal set of insights into the ways and means

for creating something in the world" (Thomas & Brown, 2011). Students learn that education is

related to the world and that all disciplines combine. The real world is not separate. I believe this

is a crucial understanding because many times in science class I get a student who will say this is

science, not math. Students believe each content area is separate and this creates a divide when

students enter a world outside of school. We need to prepare students with tasks that make them

consider a life outside of school walls. Design-thinking has a similar setup to PBL but the topic

seems to be more transferable because it relates to an open-ended problem that students try to

solve.

Some schools have even fully embraced the PBL or design thinking model throughout

their school structure. For example, High Tech High, a charter school in the U.S., works from the

ground up. In other words they work with teachers, parents, and students to create change rather

than starting with administration. "There are no bells, class periods, or single subjects. Subjects

are integrated. Teachers are hired on one-year contracts, with the payoff of being able to teach

whatever they want to teach. And over and over again, we see and hear that one of the great

things about this place is how teachers teach to their passions and, with their students, are the

designers." Their test scores are 10% above the state average and they have a 98% college

entrance rate (Phillips, 2015). I believe schools need to listen to students, and find ways to focus
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on them. Too many adults are making decisions, but we would not have schools without

students.

I believe that without change we would not learn from our mistakes. When we are little

we learn that touching something hot hurts, so usually we do not repeat this action. This is an

adaptation that helps us to survive. In teaching we are learning how to better help our students.

We, as teachers, know that not all students are the same. In the past all students were taught the

same with the idea that knowledge would transfer from the teacher to the students. We have

learned that this is not the case. Student learn by making their own meaning, and teachers need to

be facilitators to help students progress in their learning. Change is inevitable and we must

constantly try to better our teaching to reach new generations of students.

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References

Fullan, M. (2001). Chapter Four. Relationships, Relationships, Relationships. In Leading in a

culture of change. (pp. 51-76) Retrieved from

http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED467449.pdf

McCarthy, J. (2015, September 09). Student-Centered Learning: It Starts With the Teacher.

Retrieved February 25, 2017, from

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/student-centered-learning-starts-with-teacher-john-mccart

hy

Phillips, M. (2015, December 17). The Problems and Promise of Educational Change. Retrieved

February 08, 2017, from

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/problems-promise-educational-change-mark-phillips

Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for

a World of Constant Change [Kindle].

Saibel, E. (2016, January 29). Cultivating a New Leadership Archetype. Retrieved March 10,

2017, from

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/cultivating-a-new-leadership-archetype-eric-saibel

Wolpert-Gawron, H. (2015, March 03). Collaboration: Key to Innovation. Retrieved February

25, 2017, from

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/collaboration-key-innovation-heather-wolpert-gawron