What is connections-based learning? #CBLchat

This is not a rhetorical question.

I would like to start this year off with asking you what you think connections-based learning is. I have spent many years talking about this approach to teaching. But teaching is not about one person spouting off ideas. It is about the transmission of those ideas and the meaning made within everyone else. For this post, I want to share some resources that can help you make meaning from the idea. My hope, though, is that you share your ideas on the approach as we learn and make meaning together.

Connections-based learning Wikipedia article

The CBL wikipedia article gives an outline of the approach as well as how it differs from other 21st century approaches to teaching.  It allows for others to share their thoughts, add their ideas, submit their examples. Like all Wikipedia pages, it is a work in progress that blossoms as others add to it.

Connected Terminology Post

Getting our terms straight is an important part of communication. I appreciate Kenneth Muhumuza reminding me of this post regarding just that:

#CBLchat: My team @serveUganda and I would like to introduce connections-based learning @teachCBL in Uganda and start training teachers to embrace it. This kind of learning has potential to solve many challenges especially in the developing world. Join the community!#TeachSDGs pic.twitter.com/fGydPZ0GqJ

— Kenneth Muhumuza (@KMuhumuza) January 6, 2018

How is CBL different from global ed? Isn't CBL just another version of Connected Education? How does it differ from Connected Learning? I believe I address all these questions in the "Connections-based Learning, Connected Learning, Connected Education, Global Ed. Any dif?"  post.

Connections-based Learning book

CBL on Amazon.com     CBL on Amazon.ca    CBL on Amazon.co.uk      CBL on Amazon.de
CBL on Amazon.in         CBL on Amazon.fr     CBL on Amazon.com.mx  CBL on Amazon.com.br

I am so thankful to have been able to paint a more complete picture of my thoughts on CBL with the Connections-based Learning book. I have tried to make this book accessible to as many as possible. Not only am I able to share examples of CBL in action with this book but in the Kindle version, there are links to Twitter hashtags (like #CBLchat and #CoConstructGoals) to allow the conversation to deepen. This is a great starting place for anyone wondering what connections-based learning is all about.

Connectionsbasedlearning.com

Connectionsbasedlearning.com is also another place to visit on your CBL journey. It outlines the three focuses of CBL: connect, collaborate, and cultivate. It shares ways to connect. It contains research and resources. It is a great spot to bookmark and refer back to.

And many more resources exist to add to your knowledge of connections based learning:

My Youtube Channel / Google plus Community / This blog

In the end, CBL is what you make of it and how it plays out in your classes. Join our Voxer chat community here: #CBLchat Voxer Community and share what you think connections-based learning is.  Or share your thoughts on Twitter using the #CBLchat hashtag. Find me on Instagram at TeachCBL. Comment below.  But please, share your thoughts!

Teamwork makes the dream work | #CBL Collaboration Lens

My son loves the dudes.  I've mentioned the love-hate relationship I have with the bottle flipping epidemic before.  I have Dude Perfect to thank for that.  But it's not just the flipping.  It's the trick shots, and the videos, and the making anything into a competition.  It's the cap flips and the 30 foot 3 pointers.  It's making me loony.  But I can't help myself.  I gotta keep taking those shots.

Dude perfect represents something to me, though: teamwork.

If it was just Tyler Toney, taking the shots, it wouldn't have caught on.  It's the synergy.  It's the team.  It's buddies working together to work against each other to make something happen.  I love the Dude Perfect team.  They are real with their strengths and weaknesses.  They capitalize on both.  And they make something special together: something motivating, something engaging, something inspiring.

Something to get me to make a 2-story no-look cap flip.

Think about the last time you worked on something as a team.  Did it go well?  Were you happy with the product, the process, the experience?  Did you feel as though you had come to an understanding with your teammates?  Or did you decide to never work with them again?

Working in groups happens day in and day out in school. From long term group projects to 30 second think-pair-shares, students are often working in groups.  But how often do we as educators give students tools to help them do groupwork effectively?  We can't simply throw students together and hope for the best.

Teamwork is a skill.  After a semester of developing teamwork skills, the teamwork I see at the end of the semester is different than the teamwork I see at the beginning.  Students seem happier with the team.  They seem more effective.  They seem to come up with better responses.

Strategize a Collaboration Plan

No one goes into a partnership without first discussing the terms.  How can we ask our students to do just that?  A collaboration plan is crucial as students embark on Connections-based Learning.  In the CBL Design process, students reflect on the collaboration at the beginning of the process.  This was crucial as we responded to the dire conditions in the bateyes we heard from Eladio, Dennis and the students from The Community For Learning school in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.  The students had empathized the needs, co-constructed learning goals with me, and developed a proposal to address light poverty.  The next step was to establish how the team would function.

Answering questions such as what strengths do we bring to the group, what non-negotiables do we have, and how do we see the work load divided must take place to guide the collaboration.  Using our OneNote Class Notebook collaboration space, students ironed out some group parameters by answering some guiding questions.

They then signed the plan, demonstrating that they were committed to these ideas.  Opportunities for guided collaboration must continue throughout the CBL.  Having digital and actual time and space for collaboration is crucial for developing teamwork.  Whether it's brainstorming questions for Skype chats:

or gathering a list of materials to create 3D printed lanterns

collaboration is entered into by the students, but monitored and guided by the teacher.  Finally, it should be reflected upon by each student, as they bookend their learning.

When teamwork skills are built, there is no telling what students can do.  I am amazed at what these students created to address light poverty in the Dominican Republic as they worked together.  And I love the sentiment above: 

"we can accomplish anything if we put our minds to it"

See previous CBL Design Posts:

- Empathize Local and Global Needs

- Co-construct Learning Goals

- Dare to Dream

Thanks for walking with us as we attempt to tackle light poverty.  Support us in further attempts by visiting our My Class Needs page.

Dare to Dream | #CBL Collaboration Lens

1.3 billion people don't have access to sustainable lighting.  The immediate danger isn't the carcinogenic nature of kerosene lamps: people are dying in fires due to flame based light use at night.  My Science 9 students got to hear firsthand of the conditions in areas dealing with light poverty.  In a Skype chat with Eladio, Dennis and their students from The Community For Learning School in the Dominican Republic, we heard about the conditions in the bateyes.  These workers in the sugar cane fields live with little to no electricity; accessing safe light at night is one of the many struggles with which they deal.

In Doing something beyond ourselves I share my dream of meaningful making with Connections-based Learning. Connections-based learning is an approach to teaching and learning that leverages the connected world.  After making a connection, the most natural response is to ask "how can we help?".  We design the learning experience by first seeking out needs.  I share how we sought the needs in the Dominican Republic bateyes in Empathizing the Local and Global Needs. The students and I then created learning goals together (See: Co-construct Learning Goals) as we sought to meet those needs.  The next step in CBL Design is to develop a response to achieve those goals.  At this stage, students dream what they propose to do and to make.

Dream a CBL Proposal

Time must be given for students to dream up a response to the need and to flesh out what their response could look like.  Through the inspiration of a real need, brainstorming sessions, and group discussions, students develop their plans.  We used OneNote Class Notebook to collaborate and share ideas.  We also Skyped with Ian Fogarty and his students and learned about Engineering Brightness, an association of teachers hoping to address light poverty by STEM based making.  I then ask students to make a polished document or blog post that outlines their proposal.  Finally, students share their proposals to the rest of the class to further refine, get help for ideas, or to combine ideas.  For me, proposal day is just as important as when students share their final products.

Engineering Brightness Student Proposals

"Create a more efficient source of light for countries that have light poverty using electromagnets" - Alhan's Proposal

"Make a solar powered light but also teach them how to make it so they can fix it if they brake it and also they can make even more if they need them so they are self sufficient" - Liam's Proposal

"one of our goals, would be for Kaleb to start creating a model of our light source in his Industry and Design 10 course, to give us an idea of what it would look like. We could get help from outside sources of the school, with the connections that we have made from the Skype calls, or even with a new source." - Olivia's Proposal

"Fundraise enough money to supply Alhan's group to make shakable lights and be able to teach our friends in the Dominican Republic to make lights as well" - Ashiana's Proposal

"We could do a bake sale and possibly pair up with another group and maybe work with Citadel Middle School and their leadership team to raise money at their school. - Clare's Proposal

"Raise awareness about the light poverty in the Dominican, and also raise $1000 dollars towards buying/making lights to send to the Dominican Republic" - Sabrina's Proposal

"Our plan is to make a power point on everything that has happened during this project and what other people are doing. To also try and spread awareness for light poverty." - Brynne's Proposal

"We were thinking about working with solar power, because it’s safer and easier to charge the light, we also thought that it’s really interesting and trying new stuff. We are now connecting with a company called Liter of Light to get some ideas" - Maria's Proposal

The above links are just a few of the proposals students shared out to the rest of the class.  Each student works out loud sharing their proposals to allow for meaningful commenting.  I encourage you to take a look at the proposals and make a meaningful comment.

It has been amazing to watch these students' dreams become a reality.  As they connect, design, build, and campaign, they must work as a team.  Part of the CBL design is to plan to work together.  I will share how we do that in a post: Teamwork makes the dream work.

Thanks for walking with us as we attempt to make a difference in light poverty.

See previous CBL Design Posts:
- Empathize Local and Global Needs
- Co-construct Learning Goals

Consider partnering with us as we fight light poverty in the Dominican Republic