These are learning and design principles that inform the work of Doors to Useful Learning:
Belonging, connection, dignity, and respect are essential elements in any learning process, for any age and on any issue. Doors to Useful Learning promotes a sense of belonging and respectful actions in the learning process by intentionally planning ways to attend to these core human rights and needs in workshop design and classroom partnerships. Learners of all ages need to feel safe, welcome, and valued in order to participate and engage further in the learning process.
New learning needs to be attached to previous learning in order for it to be the most useful. Doors to Useful Learning uses learning strategies to support new learning being connected to already present knowledge. Our services are individualized to the specific community context, and many active learning processes are used to increase the likelihood that everyone engages in active--not passive, learning.
Learning needs to be individualized and responsive to your unique context, capacities, needs, and interests. Doors to Useful Learning is not a “one size fits all” generic approach to teaching and learning. Our services emphasize useful, relevant learning in your particular situation--not someone else’s, so that the learning “sticks”, connects, and is used.
Learning potential is unlocked using multidimensional, active learning strategies. In order to help everyone learn well, Doors to Useful Learning embraces a range of teaching tools including hands on activities, using 3 dimensional artifacts, and music. Doors to Useful Learning inserts playful processes into serious learning topics. Play and serious “mixed together” works with adults as well as young people since children are not the only ones who learn through play and imagination! Powerpoint presentations, group discussion, individual reflection, reading and writing are also in the teaching tool kit. It’s important to use a range of hands on and interactive teaching strategies because not every strategy works for every person.
Evidence-based teaching and professional development “best practices” are critical methods and resources to draw upon in work with both children and adults. There are many possible approaches to creating change, and it is critical to use data in teaching and facilitating in order to make wise decisions for effective, lasting growth. Doors to Useful Learning includes data based decision making, differentiated instruction, combining both direct and embedded instruction, participatory learning experiences, and reflective practices in the teaching tool kit… methods that have a track record of supporting learning and improvements.
All communities have strengths, and there are always internal capacities to discover and build upon while addressing needs. Doors to Useful Learning begins with listening to you about your situation, operating with a “capacity paradigm”--not deficit model, for creating change and new learning. Learning is not just about opening up new doors to the external world, it is also about searching within for what is already present.
Caring and thinking go hand in hand; social-emotional learning (SEL) and civic literacy are critical. Doors to Useful Learning supports social-emotional learning side by side with academic or more typically defined areas of learning. There is a growing body of research that stresses the importance of social-emotional and relational skills as pivotal to other aspects of learning and success. When working with groups of adults, children, or mixed age groups, Doors to Useful Learning addresses social-emotional learning goals alongside other learning goals that are identified as important.
Expect to experience these guiding principles “in action” when working with Doors to Useful Learning!
