Situated Learning in Tenerife: Teaching with Communities of Practice

Description

Far too often, subjects are taught in relatively abstract ways, with the result of disconnecting students from what they study.

In today’s classrooms, teachers face the challenge of making learning feel real and relevant to their students, so that they can feel more engaged in the learning experience and see the connection between past events, local contexts, and their own lives.

This course intends to offer an alternative, responding to the need for situated and meaningful learning experiences by connecting “formal” knowledge to place, community, and culture.

Using Tenerife as a sort of “living classroom”, participants will have the chance to experiment with how learning can become situated in the most effective way possible.

Thanks to a series of guided field trips to historically and culturally significant sites, they will discover the history and identity of the Canary Islands.

Indigenous cultures, colonial encounters, migration, and contemporary identity formation are just some of the topics that will come alive in this course.

At the same time, participants will be introduced to Situated Learning theory, a pedagogical approach that considers knowledge as something that is truly built through active participation in real contexts.

Participants will begin in a community of practice through legitimate peripheral participation, taking on simple but meaningful roles.

With guidance and collaboration, they will be taught to achieve a gradual increase in mastery and autonomy, moving from newcomers to fully competent participants.

Throughout the course, participants will experience first-hand how this pedagogical theory can be applied across different school subjects (not only in history or social studies, but also in STEM, arts, philosophy and humanities, physical education, or any extracurricular activity – even, for instance, dancing or sewing!).

If applied correctly, workshops and field-based activities can also serve as a theoretical basis for group and project works that promote critical thinking, creativity, and cultural awareness.

By the end of the course, participants will leave ready to integrate Situated Learning approaches into their own daily teaching practice.

They will have visited emblematic locations and sites that illustrate the Canary Islands’ historical trajectory, and they will be able to return home having acquired concrete strategies and inspiration to make their subject teaching more engaging and to help their students connect more with what they learn to their identities, their communities, and the wider world.

Ultimately, they will have learned how to transform learning into an active, relevant, and engaging experience.

Concept by Maja Balcerzyk, Dominic Kauffman

Learning outcomes

The course will help participants to:

• Explain the core ideas of Situated Learning and Communities of Practice;
• Design lesson plans and materials to apply Situated Learning theory in their own contexts;
• Explore the history and culture of the Canary Islands in the context of global events;
• Help students connect local observations to broader historical, social, and global issues;
• Adapt this theoretical approach across subjects and age groups while keeping learning meaningful and relevant for students.

Tentative schedule

Day 1 – Introduction to the course and situated learning

• Introduction to the course and the Academy;
• Introduction to the host city and the week’s cultural activities;
• Icebreaker activities;
• Presentations of the participants’ schools and institutions;
• Creating Communities of Practice: activities to illustrate how Situated Learning theory could be translated into a school setting;
• First, dive into the culture, society, and history of the Canary Islands.

Day 2 – The ancient world of Guanches – native people of the Canary Islands

• Visit to a museum and exploration of the pre-conquest culture and history of Guanches;
• Legitimate Peripheral Participation as an introduction to a Community of Practice.

Day 3 – The clash of cultures – Spanish conquest of the Canary Islands

• Field trip to a historically significant site that epitomizes the dramatic events of the Spanish Conquista;
• Situated Learning for outdoor school activities.

Day 4 – Migration, trade, and war – the Canaries as a bridge spanning three continents

• Field trip to a coastal area to explore themes of migration, trade, and armed conflict between modern political powers played out on the shores of the Canary Islands;
• Diving deep into the Community of Practice – increasing participation and autonomy.

Day 5 – Situated learning in my context

• Workshop to create lesson plans and activities to foster Situated Learning in participants’ contexts;
• Peer feedback and quick revision;
• Course evaluation: round-up of acquired competencies, feedback, and discussion;
• Awarding of the course Certificate of Attendance.

Day 6 – Structured cultural activities

• Structured cultural activity(ies) according to the hosting location;
• Learning journal: individual written reflection on the course experience;
• Course reflection: self-reflection and review of course materials and resources.

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