As I read through the COVA eBook, I had a couple of revelations and some parts that really resonated with me. As seen in the image on the right, COVA represents choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning opportunities. When I first started the Applied Digital Learning program at Lamar, this phrase gave me a lot of anxiety. I had been so conditioned to the regurgitation model of education that the thought of being in complete control of my own journey through this program scared me a little...actually a lot! I remember first looking through the modules, looking for the rubric that tells me EXACTLY what I need to make an A. My search came up empty. I could find rubrics, but they weren't entirely specific. This is something that I found to be frustrating at first. As I worked through the first couple of courses, I began to embrace a growth mindset and the COVA way. Once I began to do that, I began to see the freedom I had when it came to my own learning. And not only that I was so PROUD of what I was doing! Because it was totally mine, I created it, which caused me to want to share it with the world. This is what COVA does for a student. On its face, it does not seem easy and can be scary, but once you begin to dive deeper, you realize how it truly does offer a place for true learning to take place.
In Chapter 6 of the COVA eBook, I loved Dr. Thibodeaux's (2018) account of helping her mother with her garden and how that created adverse feelings toward the task, unbeknownst to her that it was a way for her mother to fulfill a meaningful project that she loved. Since Thibodeaux did not understand the meaning of it to her mother, she saw it as just a task to keep her busy and she did not have a chance to develop the same feelings for gardening and created a negative perspective (p. 46). This is such a great metaphor for what happens in the classroom. When students are not given a clear picture of why they are doing something, it just becomes a meaningless task that their teacher is making them do and can create a negative perspective of learning. Reading through this chapter, it finally all clicked. It made me realize how thankful I am that this program is designed the way that it is. The instructors in this program have modeled COVA+CSLE to the students through the very nature of the course. We as students have a clear picture of the reason for everything that we do. Because of this, I know that what I am doing has meaning and isn't just a box I have to check off to get through the program. This is creating authentic learning opportunities. Dr. Haraphnuik (2018) stated that "learning is the responsibility of the learner and that teachers are not able to make a student learn" (p. 43). This statement is very true and reflects the adage of you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink. This is true in the classroom, I as a teacher cannot force my students to learn, but I can create a significant learning environment, that can foster an atmosphere that is charged for learning to take place. Then I can shift into the role of a facilitator that helps the learning navigate through the learning process.
This eBook is a great resource to explain and connect to the COVA + CSLE models. If you are interested in reading more, you can find the eBook here.
Reference:
Harapnuik, H., Thibodeaux, T., Cummings, C. (2018). COVA: Choice, Ownership and Voice through Authentic Learning. Retrieved from http://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=7291
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