Introduction
Ms. Nour Hmedan, an English as a Foreign Language teacher from Syria, specifically from the city of Homs, holds a Master’s degree in ELT and works with female high school students. Her professional experience in language teaching led her to explore more engaging and meaningful ways to move beyond traditional instruction, and through her exposure to the FIRST-ADLX framework, she began to redesign her sessions into Active Deep Learner eXperiences.
In her classroom, Nour noticed that reading lessons—particularly those based on informational texts—were often limited to traditional comprehension approaches, where students focused on extracting answers rather than building meaningful connections. This created a gap in engagement, as learners interacted with the content at a surface level without developing a personal or emotional link to it.
The learning journey took place in a high school setting in Homs, involving 25 female students. The participants shared a common cultural background and had access to basic classroom resources such as paper, sticky notes, and writing tools. The session focused on a reading passage about the “7 Wonders of Syria,” aiming to transform it into a meaningful Learner eXperience that connects knowledge with identity and pride.
eXperience Design and Sequence of Activities
Ms. Nour chose the FIRST-ADLX framework because she wanted to move beyond traditional reading comprehension and create a deep, active, personal connection between students and their Syrian heritage. Her intention was not only for students to know about these wonders, but also to feel pride in them, understand their significance, and connect them to their own identity.
The learning outcomes of this journey were clearly defined:
- Attitude Outcomes:
- To appreciate the richness of Syria’s heritage
- Skills Outcomes:
- To extract key information
- To express ideas clearly
- To listen to others attentively
- Knowledge Outcomes:
- To describe key features of each wonder
- To find and organize information
- Performance Outcome: To express their ideas and present confidently
The session was designed as a 45-minute, in-person Learner eXperience structured into four main phases: Activate, Discover, Link, and Extend. The journey began with an Activate phase using a map activity with sticky notes, followed by the Discover phase where students worked in expert groups to create Wonder Cards and participated in a Gallery Walk using passports. This was followed by the Link phase, which included a class discussion and concept mapping, and concluded with the Extend phase, where students completed a Syrian Wonder Nomination mission through pair sharing and an exit ticket. The sequence moved from individual thinking to group collaboration, then to whole-class interaction, and finally back to individual reflection, while maintaining a balance between high-energy and reflective moments.
One Learning Activity Using RAR Model (Gallery Walk)
To implement the Readiness Increase Stage, Participants were invited to prepare for the Gallery Walk by understanding their roles as either guides or visitors, along with the structure of the activity and its timing, which was set at one minute per exhibit. A demonstration was provided on how to present a wonder and how to complete the passport, allowing participants to feel confident and ready to engage.
As the activity unfolded, participants actively engaged in presenting and exploring the different wonders (Activity Facilitation Stage). Some took on the role of guides, presenting their Wonder Cards, while others acted as visitors, moving between exhibits, listening, and documenting their observations in their passports. Throughout this process, guidance was present through continuous observation, encouragement, and clarification when needed, ensuring that all guides were speaking and all visitors were writing, while also reinforcing quality contributions through praise.
Following the activity facilitation, participants interacted in the Reviewing Actively Stage. They reflected on their experience through guided questions. They considered what they had learned by identifying the most interesting fact they discovered, then explored the meaning of the experience by recognizing common themes across the different wonders. Finally, they looked ahead by reflecting on one new thing they learned and how it contributed to their understanding, reinforcing both personal insight and future application.
FIRST Domains in Action
F – Focusing on the Learner Behaviors
The experience was designed to place learners at the center, where they were not passive listeners but active participants who read, discussed, created posters, presented, walked, wrote, and shared ideas. The journey began by connecting to their prior knowledge through the Activate phase, allowing each participant to contribute their own ideas about Syria, which created a sense of ownership and personalization.
I – Interacting within Positive Group Dynamics
A positive group dynamic was intentionally created by valuing all ideas during the Activate phase, where there were no wrong answers on sticky notes. Participants worked in expert groups with clear roles and shared responsibility for producing the Wonder Card, which fostered cooperation, mutual respect, and a supportive social environment.
R – Reviewing Activities within RAR
Reflection was embedded within the learning journey, particularly during and after the Gallery Walk. Participants were guided to think about what they experienced, identify patterns across different wonders, and articulate new learning. This structured reflection deepened their understanding and connected their experience to meaningful insights.
S – Sequencing within Learner eXperience
The learning journey followed a clear and intentional sequence across the four phases: Activate, Discover, Link, and Extend. Activities were carefully timed within the 45-minute session, with the high-energy Gallery Walk placed strategically in the middle and quieter reflective activities at the end. The progression moved from individual thinking to group collaboration, then to whole-class discussion, and finally to individual expression, ensuring a smooth and engaging flow.
T – Transforming Learning into Performance
Learning was transformed into performance through the creation of tangible outputs such as Wonder Cards, Discovery Passports, and nomination paragraphs. The nomination mission, in particular, connected classroom learning to real Syrian heritage, allowing participants to apply their knowledge in a meaningful and authentic way that extended beyond the classroom.
Conclusion
The impact of this learning journey was evident on multiple levels. For the participants, the classroom transformed into an active environment where they engaged deeply with the content, collaborating, discussing, and creating. One student expressed, “I never knew Ugarit was 6000 years old. I want to visit it one day,” reflecting both curiosity and emotional connection. Learners became active participants who took ownership of their learning, moving beyond absorbing information to creating, presenting, and applying it, as demonstrated through their Wonder Cards.
For Ms. Nour, this experience marked a shift in her facilitation approach. Seeing students engaged and producing high-quality work strengthened her confidence in learner-centered methods. She moved from focusing on covering content or designing learning to designing meaningful Learner eXperiences, recognizing that students were not only memorizing facts but also understanding themes and making connections.
At the broader level, the experience fostered a sense of pride in Syrian heritage among the students, extending the impact beyond the classroom. Ultimately, applying the FIRST-ADLX framework transformed a simple reading lesson into an Active Deep Learner eXperience, where students connected with their heritage, expressed their pride, and produced work that demonstrated real understanding.