The document summarizes a teacher meeting at the Chiaravalle Montessori School to discuss plans for renovating and improving the school environment. Key points discussed include emerging design goals such as easing student transitions, supporting independence, welcoming families, and celebrating the school community. Teachers then participated in a design challenge activity where they used verbs to describe how the renovated space could better achieve these goals, such as through exploring, sharing work, learning, and celebrating together. The meeting aimed to get teacher input on envisioning the new school space and program.

1. Preparing the Environment. Growing your future.
Chiaravalle Montessori School
Teacher Meeting
11.15.12

2. OUR PROCESS
DISCOVER. ACTIVATE. DESIGN.
DISCOVER ACTIVATE STRATEGIZE LAUNCH
INQUIRE EMERGE DEVELOP PROTOTYPE REFINE

3. OUR CALENDAR
CHIARAVALLE MONTESSORI SCHOOL
Tuesday, October 2 Monday, October 8 Thursday, October 25 Thursday, November 29
Early & Lower Technical survey of building Student design Community Workshop
elementary shadow, Tuesday, October 9 workshop
hangout, interviews Town Hall, Board meeting
OCTOBER NOVEMBER DEC/JAN
Wednesday, October 3 Friday, October 12 Tuesday, November 15 December/January 2013
Upper elementary Process presentation Educator and Staff Scenarios & refinement
shadow, hangout, & parent coffee hour working meeting
interviews
Friday, October 12
Middle school shadow,
hangout, interviews

4. GOALS FOR TODAY
• Present what we’ve learned from Discovery so far
• See you apply emerging themes
• Hear your reactions (survey if leave early)
• Use your design challenge concepts to begin to
define the space program

5. Education is a natural process
carried out by the human individual,
and is acquired not by listening to
words, but by experiences in the
environment.
MARIA MONTESSORI

6. UNCOVERING PATTERNS & OPPORTUNITIES
OBSERVATION &
it was raining! SHADOWING

7. DISCOVERY THROUGH DISCUSSION
INTERVIEWS &
COFFEE HOURS

8. HONORING STUDENT VOICES
STUDENT DESIGN LAB

9. HONORING STUDENT VOICES
STUDENT DESIGN LAB

10. REFINING THEMES AND GATHERING INSIGHT
SURVEY

11. Empower Achieve Reimagine
MONTESSORI DESIGN PROGRAM
PRINCIPLES GOALS AREAS

12. MONTESSORI PRINCIPLES
Prepared Environment
Independent Children
Follow the Child
Process-based
Grace and Courtesy
Conceptual and Physical

13. EMERGING DESIGN GOALS
1. Ease transitions for students
2. Support independence in students
3. Welcome families
4. Celebrate the Chiaravalle community

14. Achieve
DESIGN Ease transitions
GOALS As students venture outside of their classrooms
Continue to ‘follow the child’ and “[Specials] is one of my hardest
create a prepared environment parts of the day. It doesn’t feel
throughout the school as well as in the Montessori at all. It’s very
directed and orderly and puts us
classroom
all in a different place, which of
course affects the children.”
Target experiences:
• Learning in transition spaces
• Waiting
• Supports to guide students
• Prepping the room
IMAGE
• Pick up/drop off

18. Achieve
DESIGN Support independence in students
GOALS As they take on self-directed learning
Provide tools for independent “Children are so persistent if we
exploration. Create flexibility for leave them alone – they’re little
different types of use. Honor learning scientists”
spaces as the students’ domain.
Target experiences:
• Outfit space to the scale of a child
• Design for independent navigation
of tools
• Consider boundaries between
IAGE
parent space and learning space

19. Sharing work.

22. Achieve
DESIGN Welcome and extend an invitation
GOALS to current and prospective families
How can the family-centered culture “As much as this is a learning
expand to support parents as they exploration for the child, it also is
learn about Montessori and consider for the parent”
the progression through Chiaravalle?
Target experiences:
• Capitalize on moments with families
during pick up/drop off
• Design places for parent gathering
• Create opportunities for parents to
engage in their child’s learning
outside the classroom

26. Achieve
DESIGN Celebrate Chiaravalle community
GOALS Across classrooms and age levels
Create a unified identity that “Give them opportunity to enter
champions compassionate peer into their own development, but
learning and the Montessori also the development of their
community”
philosophy.
Target experiences:
• Design for beneficial exchange
between age groups
• Honor each level and celebrate the
progression as a child gets older IMAGE
• Create tangible identity by
showcasing what defines
Chiaravalle Montessori School

30. PROGRAM AREAS
instead of using nouns to design…
Gym
Learning Resource Rooms
Performance Area
Kitchen and Café
Meeting Space
Outdoor Area
Entry

31. PROGRAM AREAS
…we use verbs
Movement and Play
One-on-one Instruction
Peer Exchange
Eating
Greeting
Celebrating
Hosting

32. your turn!

33. DESIGN CHALLENGE
ACTIVATE
Use verbs to describe an ideal Chiaravalle that
excellently lives up to your assigned design goal.
1. Read over your assigned design goal
2. Choose/generate verbs that support your goal
3. Arrange the verbs in a bubble diagram to imagine how the school
can better live up to your goal
4. Present!

34. Design Thinking

35. DESIGN CHALLENGE
ACTIVATE
Consider:
• How is the design goal applied?
• Who is participating? (students, teachers, staff, families)
• What happens where? Name clusters of verbs.
• What technology could be incorporated to help facilitate the goal?

36. Discussion.