Reflection on COVA and CSLE

Having worked in higher education for 20 years, COVA and CSLE are not new concepts, but they were new terms and acronyms for me. Reading back over our cohort’s early discussions, the direction of this program was nothing like many of us thought it was going to be before we took our first class. The Lamar University Digital Learning and Leadership graduate program greatly enhanced my views on how to use the learning models from my own classroom to the perspective of global change by using COVA and CSLE in the lessons.

Kicking off the program and EDLD 5302 with a lesson on the growth mindset was appropriate and a great ice breaker. Personally, the lesson coincided with my job in football, as we were going into training camp with a new head coach at a major college program. Our new coach just happened to be using the lessons of Dr. Dweck and the growth mindset with the football team while the EDLD class was learning the same concepts. It was interesting to watch a team incorporate the growth mindset principles into training. I was able to bring ideas to the table in both class and with the team, while also reflecting how I may do things differently in the future.

Also in 5302, we created our Learning Manifesto, and posted our reflections in our newly created ePortfolio. This was the first time I have ever operated a blog. Having also learned the ideas of COVA in the same unit, I better understood the direction of the DLL program. In this first class, assessment was mainly the ePortfolio, but there were also weekly entries required in the discussion boards, which I found difficult at times. Even though we were able to choose what questions we answered, the assignments felt narrow. So many of the cohort would answer the same questions in a similar matter, so it was more of a Q&A and agreeing points, rather than an actual discussion. I found the discussion boards to be a source of discontent throughout the program.

The major projects in the DLL program were excellent examples of lessons using COVA principles, allowing the students choice, ownership, voice, and an authentic experience. The Disruptive Innovation we created allowed us to develop a project that was meaningful to us, that may be applicable to our craft in the future. Another major project that was enjoyable for me was creating our own online class. The aspects of the DLL program that I appreciated the most in the classes to follow, were the transformational methods used to shift our perspective of creating change for the student, to developing a plan to enhance our schools or districts, to adjusting our views to potentially affect global change. Each lesson provided us new knowledge and shifted the way we looked at who and what was affected by our actions.

About 10 years ago, I used to give students the VARK test to see what type of learner they were: Visual, Auditory, Reading and writing, or Kinesthetic. Since then, many articles and studies have discredited learning styles, instead attributing multiple connections (mentally), synapses (physically), and now Creating Significant Learning Environments.

The ideas of COVA and the concepts of CSLE are great partners for student learning, almost co-symbiotic. I am a football coach by trade, currently an Offensive Coordinator. Giving the players we work with a choice and ownership of the system we run allows them to understand the system better, while giving them the confidence to perform based on their own decisions. Of course there are guidelines given by the coaches, but if the offense does not like a certain play, the likelihood of that play being successful decreases. Conversely, if the team were to be excited about a certain concept, the more likely we are to call the play with a greater chance for the players to execute well. I am also substitute teaching at the moment. I have been particularly drawn to the special education classes. Whether special or general education, or with the football team, I have had greater success providing students a better opportunity to learn when I have applied both COVA and CSLE principles. The concepts are in the forefront of every lesson or practice plan I develop, and I plan to continue to expand my knowledge and use of them for the rest of my life.

References

Harapnuik, D. (2018). It's About Learning. [website]. Retrieved from

http://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=7012

VARK Learn Limited. (2020). The Vark Questionnaire [website]. Retrieved from https://vark-learn.com/the-vark-questionnaire/