COVA outlines the importance of choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning, and the COVA eBook by Dwayne Harapnuik, Tilisa Thibodeaux, and Cynthia Cummings emphasizes the importance on how to teach to the learner. After the introduction of COVA and what it stands for, the book unfolds in a way that really emphasizes how to build positive learning experiences and each example provided serves as a roadmap that leads to the bigger picture or the larger goal. What stuck out the most was Chapter 6 and the breakdown of the why behind learning.
When we don’t establish a why we rarely find purpose or value in the things we pursue. This is true across many domains in one’s life, but it is of even more importance in connection to the world of learning. The process of learning and creating environments where learning can occur starts with understanding the whys of both learner and facilitator. Think of it as laying the foundation that learning can and will be built upon.
Doing VS Learning to Learn
In this portion of the chapter Dr. Thibodeaux points to the parallels that can be made from childhood experiences, and compares those experiences to the ‘factory model’ of education. For children, parents generally tell them what to do, when to do it, but oftentimes the reasoning behind those commands are not spelled out. Thus is the case for traditional schooling. Traditional school becomes a place where students are giving instructions but not always giving the why behind that instruction. When we leave out that part of the learning process, and in order to connect to the essentials of learning, a learner must know why something is deemed as meaningful.
Keys to Developing Your Passion & Why:
• Start with your passion, “WHY” - investigate your cause
• Determine the process - HOW you will get there
• Determine the result - WHAT will be the outcome
The steps listed above are outlined in the COVA eBook and describe the why, how and what, of the process for developing one’s Why. This process is important for not only the learner, but the facilitator who is a part of creating space for authentic learning to occur.
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