This document discusses the journey of exploring and making a place more wonderful through active participation and reciprocal exchange between learning and teaching. It highlights quotes about learning together through exploration and how documentation can lead the process. Students share their thoughts on what they see in the space and ideas for pretend play activities. The importance of open-ended questions, challenging assumptions, and following the emerging threads of learning are discussed.

1. journey to make a
place
more wonderful
Sharon Dvora
Design Ecology
Spring 2012

4. “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, reciprocalexchange,
teaching can strengthen learning how to learn.”
Loris Malaguzzi, 100 Languages of Children

6. 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?

7. participatory action. A ball toss.
the role of the teacher is in understanding
the children’s intentions.
they are the researchers exploring the outside space.

8. learning as
ball toss

9. “We can make a living city in our play space” Karan
“A journey is an adventure.”
Tyler
“It should be fun.”
“Ways to figure out the
world around you.”
“Some journeys are scary.”
“Patterns of what goes on” Jaylin

10. 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.

11. slow down the pace.
it’s a very conscious effort to ask open questions…
… and give everyone an opportunity to share.

12. Creativity is the daughter of the unexpected
Loris Malaguzzi

13. 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

14. Documentation leads the process.
See it as research.
let go of not knowing what is next.

15. revisit the intent.
act as the memory of what just occurred.
ask provoking questions as the ideas move forward.

16. “You can’t see a lot, “You couldn’t see through it,
unless you climbed up onto the deck rail because it was wood.”
& look over.” Anya
“All you can see through is the little cracks in the fence.”
“There’s a crack between the fence & the rail “If we had a window,
that you can go in.” we could see out of there.”
“That’s a good idea” Karan

17. “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

18. 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.

20. levelsof scale

21. contrast

22. strongcenters

23. positivespace

24. roughness

25. notseparateness

26. simplicity& inner calm
Emergence is the surprising capacity we discover
only when we join together.
Meg Wheatley, a simpler way