Creating Wonderspaces

Jordan inside the
"Daydream v2" exhibit.

On Sunday, my daughter and I attended the Wonderspaces exhibit in San Diego. It is described on their website as "a pop-up museum of extraordinary experiences." Each of these experiences was given their own space in which to reside so that each piece could speak its own voice, without the presence of the others.

"The Last Word" exhibit

As we explored the 16 unique experiences, Jordan and I experienced a range of emotional reactions to the art. In some, we were completely awestruck. In others, we were perplexed. At others, raw with emotions. And in some, we felt playful. "The Last Word," consisting of hundreds of pieces of rolled up paper, allowed participants to leave their "last word" to someone... a way to "recapture what was never uttered" (website). This opportunity to peer into the soul of others silenced my mind, and opened my heart to the emotional plight of others. Contrary to that silence, "On a Human Scale" invites the participant to play the piano surrounded by video screens of human faces. However, this is no ordinary piano. In lieu of strings creating sounds, each key is connected to a human voice... truly, no matter what you play, the result is beautiful.

Sir Ken Robinson stated that "If you want to shift culture, it's two things: its habit and its habitats - the habits of mind, and the physical environment in which people operate" (2010). Each of these exhibits was setting out to shift the culture, through both mind and environment. Which makes me ask the question, why aren't schools creating wonderspaces? Ron Ritchhart, in Creating Cultures of Thinking, explains:

So what do we value in our classrooms? Judging by the rows of desks I still see in many schools across the nation, we value individual, quiet, one-directional transfer of knowledge. If learning is a creative and imaginative process, like we say it is, then isn't it our moral imperative to bulldoze the industrial era culture and bring in wonderspaces? What would that look like for you? Your students? Dream big and share your ideas below.

Comments

SAMR Sort: Getting Teachers To See the Bigger Picture

A couple months back I attended an executive briefing about digital learning and our 1:1 initiative. During the briefing, we were led through a SAMR sorting activity. Eight different classroom projects were shared with us. We had to sort the projects in to the SAMR level we thought it best fit. We then had to defend our decisions. It was an enlightening experience. Back at the district, my ed tech team decided to recreate that opportunity for our students. Using ISTEs Student Profiles for learning as a guide, eight K-8 grade scenarios were created. On Tuesday, teachers attending the "New to Classroom iPads" professional development completed the sorting activity. It led to fabulous discussions about looking at learning from different perspectives. Teachers commented that most of the lower level activities could have easily been modified to advance in SAMR level. With so much focus on using technology meaningfully in the classroom, activities like this one

100 Starts with 1

A while back, I read an article in Good , "A magazine for the global citizen" about a #100StartsWith1 project. The idea is to promote positive change that betters society. It's an idea I circle back to today because I just spent three days at CUE Rock Star Admin being inspired by the passion, innovation, and creativity of school and district leaders in attendance. Sometimes it's the simplest ideas that make the biggest impact. For example, dancing and singing during morning drop off, as this vice principal in Arkansas does every day. Maybe my #100Startswith1 project will be a return to blogging. Don't get me wrong... I don't believe my blogging will better society. But perhaps the time for me to reflect, and the ability to hold conversations with others about the current state of education, will spark a change that will lead to a better society. It's worth a shot.

The Punctuation in Your Classroom

Photo Source: Flickr, Eric E Castro I learned the other day that ending a text message with a period can be interpreted as insincere. Such a simple, innocuous dot now carries more hidden messages than it was ever intended to convey. Likewise, the messages we think we're sending in our classrooms may not be the messages received by students. Consider these... Time WILL pass, will YOU? Does this imply a nurturing, supportive environment that believes ALL students deserve every opportunity to be successful? I'm not so sure. Students not paying attention in class? Lock up devices. Does this show trust? Relationship building? I wonder if the teacher's device is locked up during meetings as well. Or how about this sign I saw in a classroom: "Work hard in silence. Let success be your noise." A companion sign read, "The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing." Does this mean we don't value collaboration? Team work? I wonder how

Igniting Awe in Learning

Search This Blog