Issue #3, July 2020

A focus on the environment

Jun 29, 2020

Whispers are heard from those who see the possibilities that emerge when learners are listened to and trusted.
Bevan explores theory that links the environment and ideas about care.
An essay on leisure sang a song that resonated with Bevan.
Our guest writers this month are Nadine Amorangi, Karen Freeman and Diane Pepperell from Adventure School, who outline their approach to constructing a learning environment.

Whispers from the frontier

Want to explore the centrality of observation as a teaching strategy? TKI is as good a place as any to start.
I love the phrase “possibility-rich environments” in this interview with Lella Gandini.
Interested in the idea of homeschooling, or even micro schooling? Are these just ideas relevant to the already privileged?
Think passions and and happiness have anything to do with school? Pasi Sahlberg does.

Theory on my mind

Does the environment matter? You wouldn’t think so when walking into most secondary school classrooms. I count myself in that category too - for most of my time teaching I paid the environment scant regard, thinking that as long as there were enough desks and seats the conditions were right for learning. Anything else would have been a distraction, I thought, and learning is too serious for that. Sure, every now and then I got a little bit funky with desk arrangement, but overall that was it.

But now that I think of it, by ignoring the environment I was also saying the only thing worth being motivated by is the work, generally that A4 sized piece of paper on the desk or something similar that I deemed was ‘next’ in the learning progression. That’s a pretty narrow frame.

Many of you will be familiar with the idea of the environment as the third teacher, an idea most commonly expressed in Reggio and ECE contexts. There is nothing ‘light’ about this idea. Museums, for one, rely on it, making use of deliberate artefacts and invitations to foster curiosity, learning and exploration. Take this example from Te Papa, one among many invitations in this part of the museum. It takes ages for me to move my kids beyond this area.

The point I’m driving at here is that if we see the environment as an active participant in the learning process, what becomes possible is a multitude of frames for motivation and engagement. There are, in essence, more things to focus on, to be captivated by. We are more likely to see a willingness to learn flourish. But we are also likely to feel we’ve lost a bit of control. The question then is, is the control worth losing? And what do we get in return?

In ‘Waking the ‘Third Teacher’: the Whys and Hows’, Katherine Delany references work done by Margaret Carr and Guy Claxton. There are four kinds of learning environments, they say:

Prohibitive or discouraging
- Tightly scheduled programme
- Rapid succession of routines
- Often the activities prohibit collaboration
- Persistence is impossible because of externally imposed time constraints
Permissive and affording
- Opportunities for a range of learning attributes, but not sufficient for all
Inviting or encouraging
- Asking questions is valued
- Working with others is attractive and appealing to students
Expansive, powerful or potentiating
- Frequent participation in shared activities, in which children / learners take responsibility for directing them as well as adults
- Orchestration of resources, activities, invitations and provocations
- Recognition of learning, utilising both formal and informal assessment practices, informs responsive teacher actions.

Note the environment most controlled by the teacher is described as prohibitive or discouraging of learning.

Delany adds to the description of the expansive environment by saying it is a place where “skill learning is actively supported”. For this to happen, it takes care on the part of the teacher to build the environment that makes it happen, and that is where this idea of the environment as the third teacher parts ways with much that is found in modern learning environments, which to my mind focus too much on bean bags and other elements of physical ‘comfort’.

This element of care is crucial, and shows us that the environment should be a space of relationships and interaction. As the primary creators of the environment, teachers may lose an element of control over the what, when, and how of what’s learned, but what I think is gained is a huge degree of influence. Are we not influenced by those who show they care for us? As Leila Gandini says,

“The environment is the most visible aspect of the work done in schools by all protagonists. It conveys the message that this is a place where adults have thought about the quality and instructive power of space. The layout … is welcoming and fosters encounters, communication and relationships.”

Encounters, communication, relationships. Participation, responsibility. Responsive support. Instructive power. When I think back to my earlier practice, these are all things that were missing when the focus of the learning was on me and the A4 sized piece of paper. It’s a lot to sacrifice.

Reading spotlight

Some philosophy this month, mainly because it’s winter and philosophy goes well with long nights and red wine. A giant of 20th Century philosophy, Bertrand Russell writes in his essay ‘In Praise of Idleness’ about the power of purposeful, aimless leisure. What follows are some select quotes that made me think in terms of what happens in education.

“… without a considerable amount of leisure a man is cut off from many of the best things.”

What are the best things we can think of in education? Attaining excellence in all things? Acing tests? Handing in assignments on time? Becoming a prefect?

Or is it other things? Being curious and adventurous? Connecting with ideas and people? Understanding the world and our lives in depth? Developing the confidence to contribute to our world in a positive way?

For me, it’s the latter, and it strikes me having written them that these are all things that can be pursued in leisure, and maybe school. They’re all a bit meandering though, and take up quite a lot of that most precious commodity in school: time. And these aren’t exclusive of ideas about excellence and achievement either. In my experience, they actually make those things more likely.

“It is an essential part of any such social system that education should be carried further than it usually is at present, and should aim, in part, at providing tastes which would enable a man to use leisure intelligently.”

It seems to me that intelligence is connected to knowing how here, being able to use what is known, not just know it.

“The pleasures of urban populations have become mainly passive: seeing cinemas, watching football matches, listening to the radio, and so on. This results from the fact that their active energies are fully taken up with work”

How many of our learners’ active energies, especially the ones in secondary school, are consumed by school work?

“There was formerly a capacity for light-heartedness and play which has been to some extent inhibited by the cult of efficiency. The modern man thinks that everything ought to be done for the sake of something else, and never for its own sake.”

Do we want the purpose of learning to be for achievement and acceleration? Does this not inhibit the exploratory attitude that leads to wonder and discovery? Do we really think learning is a series of straight lines between everything, that by emphasising efficient hard work and clear links between cause (efficient effort) and effect (accelerated achievement) our kids will grow and remain curious?

I am not writing off hard work, nor am I saying efficiency is a nonsense - both have their place. But I think Russell would say that we miss out on a huge element of what it means to be alive if we discount the value of leisure and slowness and play, of the pleasure of doing something ‘just because’ and being responsive to the things we may find off the beaten path.

Guest piece

This month, Diane, Nadine and Karen from Adventure School, a decile 10 suburban school in Whitby, Porirua. They have been using play in their junior syndicate for three years now, and with it has come a deepening awareness of the extent to which the environment shapes the play of the learners. They write of how they go about intentionally constructing rich play environments.

Get in touch with the Adventure team: dpepperell@adventure.school.nz

Adopting a Learning Through Play approach has required us to think about our environments at a much deeper level than ever before. It is the foundation we provide for self-directed learning across the curriculum; what we place in it opens up, or limits, the possibilities and connections our students make. To provide quality environments that truly are ‘the third teacher’, we aim to cater for identified interests, but also provide opportunities to discover new, previously unexplored ideas and concepts.

Over time, we are learning to closely observe interactions with, and within, the environments we have created and to honestly reflect on the richness of the play. We are learning to think creatively and add to, or change, our environments to extend thinking or encourage deeper engagement. It often requires thinking on our feet and a level of anticipation about where they are heading. Conversation with our colleagues is a critical part of this as we work together to grow our skills, responsiveness and creative thinking.

At times the process has felt overwhelming, and we have wanted to retreat to teacher directed ‘topic time’ but we could never go back. By providing a rich environment, and carefully thought out responses, we have observed learning at levels we have not seen before; learning across all areas of the curriculum including the key competencies. The students are constantly making sense of their world by conversing, negotiating and discussing ideas. At times children have demonstrated scientific or technological thinking at level 3. We have removed a ceiling and we are starting students on their school journey with the best opportunity to develop 21st century skills.

For manageability and coverage, we have learnt to focus on providing one ‘playground’ at a time. We may build a playground around opportunities to explore science concepts such as forces or living creatures, or focus on the arts with colour playgrounds or music making playgrounds. Of course the direction in which the children take each opportunity, may be totally different to what we envisaged, and further resourcing needs to reflect that.

Opportunities to engage with literacy are integrated into all playgrounds. They become filled with texts related to developing concepts, and children are regularly seen pouring over a book or closely watching a video to get more ideas.Their responses also often include written and visual texts such as signs, badges, lists, menus and instructions etc. Authentic literacy is a natural outcome of our environments.

The children recognise our partnership with them and know their ideas are valued. They feel safe and secure taking risks and naturally extend their learning. Feedback may not be given in the traditional way but through a range of responses, including provocations and new resources, that show our engagement with their ideas and trust in their ability to be self-directed.

They come to school excited and develop projects over several days, sometimes weeks. And as teachers we also come to school with a new found excitement, excitement based on what our children might discover today. We have a sense we are truly meeting our students needs in the holistic sense of the word.

What can a well selected book for shared reading and it’s orchestration with the learning environment inspire from Year 1s?