Worldbuilding and Modern Education
More Context for Douglass' 10 Tenets of Modern Education
In this post, I apply the concept of worldbuilding to the Douglass Tenets of Modern Education. Worlds are built in fictional and non-fictional stories, in real life and in our minds. The world we live in today once lived in someone's imagination.
If you create formal curricula, informal learning activities and/or systems to support learning, you are a worldbuilder. You are continuously constructing and deconstructing worlds.
1. The Learning Environment is Wherever People Live, Play, Research, Study, Work and Worship.
This tenet aligns with the idea that our "world" is our learning environment. Worldbuilding involves consciously identifying and leveraging the educational potential within diverse spaces. Whether we’re processing information from a collaborative research project, observing human interaction in a social setting or accessing knowledge on a digital platform used for spiritual reflection, we are actively engaging with and, in a sense, constructing these learning environments. Even if the learning environment is recreational (think table-top role-play games), they are rich learning grounds where learners/participants develop skills and knowledge that help build out that world.
2. Formal Education in Structured Environments is Only Part of the Education Needed to Develop 21st Century Skills.
This tenet reinforces the belief that to truly "build a world" of education, we must look beyond traditional schooling. The discussion about formal versus informal learning underscores that a complete educational world must integrate both. If we only build for formal settings, we'd be neglecting vast areas of skill development crucial for the 21st century. “Informal education happens our entire lives through imitation, advice, and the hard lessons of personal experience"1. This speaks to how the daily act of worldbuilding continually shapes us as we shape the world.
3. All Digital Platforms Are Learning Platforms.
Digital spaces are not just places for consuming content but are evolving worlds where learning, curating and integrating information are constantly taking place. We must intentionally use digital platforms as educational tools, understanding that every feature and every interaction contributes to the world being built online. By engaging with The Learning Landscape and other blogs, you are participating in and co-constructing a digital learning world.
4. All Communications Methods Are Teaching Methods.
We engage in worldbuilding by simply responding to a social media video, for example. The method of communication we use to respond to that video is a teaching tool in this world. Whether it's the structure of our language, the way we organize information or the flow of a simulated dialogue, each communication method shapes the learning experience; each shapes the order of this world.
5. The Teacher is the Learner. The Learner is the Teacher.
In a world where knowledge is continuously being constructed and deconstructed and the communication is peer-to-peer, the roles of "teacher" and "learner" are fluid. As we design and improve systems, we are learners and teachers, constantly adapting our world based on new insights and feedback from those interacting with us.
6. Relationship is the Foundation of Learning.
The world we help build for learning is social and thus, must prioritize human connection. If the educational world we contribute to is sterile or isolating, then consistent, true, deep learning will not occur or will occur under threat or duress. The design of learning spaces and curricula should aim to foster collaboration, empathy and community. The consideration in library design of open spaces where people can work together versus closed offices/rooms, for example, demonstrates conscious choices in worldbuilding. Those choices directly impact relationships and, consequently, directly impact learning outcomes.
7. People Need to Learn – to Know How to Judge Things as Well as Produce Things.
Inside a robust educational world, individuals are equipped to evaluate and judge critically, as well as create and produce. The act of deconstructing existing worlds, to understand how we arrived at our current state of educational disparities, for example, requires critical judgment. Worldbuilding isn't solely about constructing new ideas. It is also about discerning the quality and impact of existing and proposed worlds.
8. Learning Experiences Are Nervous System Experiences.
When we contribute to building an educational world, our creation impacts our individual and collective nervous systems. A world designed through chronic stress or overwhelming demands will inevitably limit the ways in which people can learn. Tenet 8 speaks to the need to design learning experiences that are engaging, accessible and supportive of learners' cognitive and emotional well-being.
9. Learners Are Neurodiverse.
Recognizing the inherent variability in human brains and bodies is crucial. A truly inclusive educational world is designed with neurodiversity in mind. This means constructing curricula, environments and communication methods that cater to a wide spectrum of cognitive abilities and learning preferences. Designers must consider both present and future nervous system needs.
10. Teaching and Learning Involve Power Dynamics.
The imaginative act of worldbuilding is tied to the very real, and often inequitable, structures of education. Take note of the huge disparities in educational outcomes across and within K-12 school districts, created by funding largely through local property taxes. Book bannings and the hyper-scrutiny of African American history curricula2 demonstrate how those in power actively deconstruct and reconstruct educational worlds to maintain control and promote particular ideologies.
Trevena, A. 2022. 30 Days of Worldbuilding: An Author’s Step-by-Step Guide to Building Fictional Worlds. Maythorne Press: UK.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/ap-african-american-studies-course-finalized-next-school-year/story?id=105418166#:~:text=MORE:%20Florida%20Gov.,new%20version%20of%20the%20course.