The third teacher: a mirror and a provocation

Today I have dipped into Chapter 7 of Finding out way:  Developing a shared pedagogy.  This chapter opens by describing how the environment shapes how children feel, engage and participate in the world, and as a result teachers need to see the environment as a "living presence that either reinforces or hinders every interaction, every relationship, every idea that emerges".  In schools, environments also communicate the pedagogical identity and values through the arrangement of space and materials provided.  The environment is the entire context in which children develop knowledge, understanding, skills and dispositions, so it is not just the physical setting but also the emotional, social, cultural and intellectual climate that shapes experiences.  Spaces refer more to physical areas such as studios, reading nooks, outdoor classrooms, meeting spaces and so on.  

We need to think about more than just what furniture and materials to provide, we also need to consider how to design spaces that encourage meaningful connections, curiosity and collaboration.  The spaces need to reflect the character of the community, and to affirm belonging and identity: "materials need to be chosen for their capacity to provoke curiosity, represent diverse identities, contribute to the creative experience in different ways and inspire meaningful exploration.  Design elements such as light, colour, mobility, access, visibility - are approached with purpose, reinforcing the values and pedagogical beliefs of the team ... these choices send powerful messages about who belongs, whose voices are valued, which ideas matter and what is possible within the space .... when embraced with care and curiosity the environment becomes an active co-teacher, capable of inspiring wonder, fostering collaboration, and nurturing the evolving identity of the learning community".

In most early years classrooms I've been in I've noticed different classroom zones, often with bought materials, toys and posters, and the day is also often carved into segments where children move around from one activity to another in rotational groups.  Fiona and Anne write that this "compartmentalisation of space and time can constrain children's innate inclination to move fluidly between ideas, materials, and modes of expression, reducing the programme to a series of activities to be experienced.  In these classrooms, the children are often doing the same thing, at the same time, with the same equipment, in experiences that are designed to be measured by the same assessment tasks.  In these settings, teachers are expected to deliver pre-planned lessons, often from commercial programmes, that limit their ability to respond to children's thinking and diminish opportunities for inquiry-driven experiences rooted in children's evolving ideas".  As they point out, classrooms may be filled with natural materials and flexible furniture, yet these choices may simply be decorative rather than transformative.

Designing and organising spaces

Fiona and Anne describe how spaces can be organised to support autonomy, interaction, curiosity and communication.  This involves a move away from "surface-level spatial organisation and visually pleasing arrangements towards a more purposeful inquiry into how space can amplify the purpose of education: to sustain children's natural curiosity, sense of belonging, and capacity for complex thinking".  And getting back to the title of this blog post, they also write that environments also shape educators, so that the environment is both a mirror and a provocation, reflecting pedagogical beliefs while at the same time inviting new ways of seeing and being, provoking educators to question established routines, reimagine the flow of the day, or to experiment with new groupings or materials.

All design decisions about how to arrange furniture, which materials to use and so on send messages about what is valued, who the space belongs to, and how learning happens. The design of a space should be continually reshaped by what educators value, notice and prioritise.  Educators need to be intentional about how materials are arranged, how documentation is displayed, and how furniture supports or constrains relationships and inquiry.  For example when a teacher's desk or chair is right at the front of the room, or a whiteboard directs all children's attention towards a single space, or if tables and chairs are clustered to face the front, or if a large carpet is a placed where children are expected to site facing the teacher, or where materials are away out of sight in cupboards, messages are sent about who has the power and how students are expected to be passive recipients of knowledge rather than active participants in co-constructing learning.  A team that values children's agency creates environments with multiple focus points, flexible seating arrangements and open-ended materials accessible throughout the space.

The role of the leader

Once again, the leader's role is to ensure the team has ample time and professional learning to ensure that spaces are intentionally designed to reflect their pedagogical values, reflecting an ongoing commitment to inclusivity, responsiveness and the cultivation of rich, inquiry-based learning.  Leaders can make time for this in team meetings, in day-to-day interactions and in their presence within the different spaces of the school.  They can also invite their team members to walk through classrooms and shared spaces together to observe and discuss how the environment is supporting or limiting relationships, exploration and participation.

Image credit:  https://pixabay.com/photos/girls-nature-happiness-kids-happy-6174061/