journey to make a place more wonderful

Sharon DvoraDesign EcologySpring 2012

“Learning and teaching should not stand on opposite banks and just watch the water flow by

— instead, they should embark together on a journey down

the river.

Through an active, reciprocal exchange, teaching can strengthen learning how to learn.”

Loris Malaguzzi, 100 Languages of Children

What stories do these places tell?

How does this place mirror who we are?

Where do I feel most alive in this place?

Where are the ‘centers’ of this place?

the role of the teacher is in understanding the children’s intentions.

they are the researchers exploring the outside space.

participatory action. A ball toss.

learning as

ball toss

“We can make a living city in our play space” Karan

“A journey is an adventure.”

Tyler

“Patterns of what goes on” Jaylin

“It should be fun.”

“Ways to figure out the world around you.”

“Some journeys are scary.”

don’t worry about needing to know what to do next.

truly ask the students what they’re thinking.

once I let go, it will get easier.

slow down the pace.

… and give everyone an opportunity to share.

it’s a very conscious effort to ask open questions…

Creativity is the daughter of the unexpectedLoris Malaguzzi

A system needs access to itself. It needs to understand who it is, where it is,

what it believes, what it knows.Meg Wheatley, a simpler way

let go of not knowing what is next.

See it as research.

Documentation leads the process.

revisit the intent.

act as the memory of what just occurred.

ask provoking questions as the ideas move forward.

“That’s a good idea” Karan

“All you can see through is the little cracks in the fence.”

“You couldn’t see through it, because it was wood.”

“You can’t see a lot, unless you climbed up onto

the deck rail &

look over.” Anya

“There’s a crack between the fence & the rail that you can go in.”

“If we had a window, we could see out of there.”

“So we can pretend we’re chopping by air. Bad guys. So we don’t hurt anybody with air swords.” Kegan

“You can see through the metal and hang paintings on it.” Jaylin

you cannot do the teaching in your own head. it’s social constructivism.

you bounce it off of other teachers as well.

challenging one another.

following the threads of learning, which move

and shift.

levels of scale

contrast

strong centers

positive space

roughness

not separateness

simplicity & inner calm

Emergence is the surprising capacity we discover

only when we join together.

Meg Wheatley, a simpler way