Hello, My name is Corey Lott

We learn socially, and our lifetimes are filled with relationships. Learning through interaction with others harnasses social curiosity and engages our students in the processes of learning. Socially interactive learning connects our students to their learning path, peers, and community. This has become clear to me throughout spending decades as a student, parent, and educator. I am sharing a design approach that brings relationships and social interactions to the forefront of teaching and learning as a means to integrate social-emotional learning with academic growth.

What is Design for empowering learners?

This design approach is applicable in all content areas. Students develop the core competencies necessary to learn successfully as individuals, in partners, in small groups, as a community, and through participation in the planning that determines their learning path. This approach brings the work of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and the Collaboration for Social, Emotional, and Academic Learning (CASEL) into the classroom, empowering teachers and students through inclusive, engaging, and effective environments.

Enactment

  • Equitable Learning Communities

  • Varied Interactions

  • Effective Relationships

Design for empowering learners

Equitable Learning Communities

Being a part of a learning community empowers youth to become innovative, collaborative, and contributing 21st-century learners and citizens. A sense of belonging and purpose is fostered with an equitable mindset. Opportunities for choice and voice are embedded into all layers of learning. Social support helps cultivate the positive relationships necessary for highly functioning learning communities.

Varied Interactions

Throughout our lives, we learn through relationships with ourselves and others. Our social interactions with others are at the heart of our ability to learn and grow. Our lifetimes are filled with interactions with partners, in small groups, through direct instruction, as a part of a community, and through participation in the decision-making guiding the learning process. Designing educational experiences to incorporate all of these supports students in becoming adept in the complex relationships necessary to be thriving members of families, communities, and the workforce.

Effective relationships

To grow and excel in various human relationships, we need time to identify, practice, reflect, and set goals regarding best practices. Incorporating this level of self-reflection and communication between community members encourages healthy relationships and accelerates learning potential. Utilizing the five core competencies of the CASEL framework creates a foundation for individual and community reflections. Focused on intrapersonal and interpersonal competencies, the five include self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, responsible decision-making, and relationship skills.

We build knowledge together - Everyone has something to offer - Ideas are improvable - growth occurs through intentional practice.