Informal Learning Challenge: Be an Agent of Change

"learning by doing can provide a unique and personal set of insights into the ways and means for creating something in the world." (p. 94)

A New Culture of Learning: knowing, making, and playing 

Thomas & Brown

Instagram is quickly exhibiting its power as a source for identity construction and a repository for images that illustrate this formation. For the past month and a half, I have been exploring Instagram as a site of informal learning and how it functions as a resource for educational ideas about environmental stewardship. 

The challenge:

1) follow me on Instagram @stoplitterbugginme

2) explore and identify 3 Instagrammers whose main purpose supports a cause that is dear to your heart (mine is the environment), follow them and tag me in a comment on one of their posts. 

3) contribute to my project by uploading an image that makes a statement about an environmental issue you encounter this week (tag me in the comment). See my posts for ideas. And offer your own!!!

Informal Learning at SCI Port, Louisiana's Science Center

The first time we visited SCI Port, I was a little wary of how much my children, 1 and 3 would get out of it. Several people had advised against taking ones so young arguing that there really wasn’t much for them to see and do. Boy, was I glad I did not listen to the critics! While several areas of the museum were beyond my three year old and almost all were too much for my baby, the Children’s Gallery was a perfect place for both to explore, examine, and learn. A few of their favorite spots included: the playhouse, the critter corner (complete with geckos, Madagascar hissing cockroaches, turtles, guinea pigs, and a skink), a fully “furnished” child size fire truck and a water feature. The best part of this space: it was completely enclosed! (with its own set of bathrooms!!) With freedom to roam, my girls spent several hours hopping from activity to activity exploring, experimenting, and playing.

Ok, the stage is set for the informal learning experience that happened that day. In the corner of the Children’s Gallery there is an area called the “Smile Science Center.” This area is set up with various pieces of equipment, a dentist chair, dress-up items, instruments and a gigantic mouth for children to manipulate. The dentist’s chair was of particular interest to my child. Knowing that she would soon have her first dentist appointment, we used this opportunity to get an up close and personal look at what she would see and simulate what she might experience. She was able to handle oversized tools, pretend to be the hygienist, see and manipulate a large model of teeth, take a closer look at her own teeth in an enlarged mirror, pretend to be the patient and lay in the reclining chair, and see and feel the bright lights shining down into her mouth. This play opportunity allowed her to familiarize herself with an experience that is often traumatic for very young children. Being able to manipulate the equipment and move throughout the space at her own pace and according to her own interests eased her transition into the real experience. While we did have to distinguish between SCI Ports play space and the hygienist’s non-play space, she was able to integrate what she had learned in play into her real life experience. The hygienist was quite impressed by her ability to articulate much of what the exhibit displayed. 

By creating opportunities for children to play with real life experiences such as doctors, dentists, and other community helpers, the science center aids the continuation of learning far beyond the museum experience.

The first image is from the museum's site. It illustrates the Smile Science Center where children of all ages explore the world of dentistry. The second image is of my three year old's first visit to the dentist that happened after we were able to utilize SCI Port's newest addition to the Children's Gallery. 

Other sites (that are relatively close to us) that would offer similar informal learning experiences include: 

The Louisiana Children's Museum, New Orleans, LA:  http://lcm.org/

The Northeast Louisiana Children's Museum, Monroe, LA:  http://nelcm.org/

The Perot Museum of Nature and Science,  Dallas, TX:  http://www.perotmuseum.org/

kids think design

www.kidsthinkdesign.com is a collabrative project for kids 9+ who are interested in design. The site includes information on the world of design as well as focused links on fashion, graphic, interior, book, product, film and theater, architectural, animation, and environmental design. Under each design type, you can find tabs that expound upon the topic in a variety of ways.

World Design: This tab introduces kids to communities rich in design from all over the world. Depending upon the specific area of design, this can be a place, project, object, or group of people. 

Meet a Designer: Here you will find information about influential designers, past and current.

Think like a Designer: Here kids can learn the lingo of a particular area of design as well as important concepts and theory. There is also a space to test your knowledge.

Design a Project: Put new knowledge into practice in this section. There is also a section for students to submit their own projects to the site.


Learn More: This page links to more websites with interactive projects and information, as well as, books that will expound upon a particular subject of interest.

kidsthinkdesign is an example of a website that fosters creation and development within the first pedagogical site. The first pedagogical site is described as a place of self-initiated visual cultural production outside of a classroom where kids produce to please themselves (Wilson, 2005). Students access such a site in order to explore a particular area of design. While doing so, they are exposed to other areas of design, as well as, professionals and amateurs working in their same area of interest. As students navigate throughout the site, they have the opportunity to move from knowing to making to playing. They are given opportunities to experiment with and exercise their talents. In "Knowing, Making, and Playing," Thomas and Brown discuss a shift from knowing specific pieces of information (described as the "what") to knowing "where" to find this information.  This site offers the "where" in which to find such information. Once the information has been located, students can begin to "make and play." Since "learning by doing can provide a unique and personal set of insights into the ways and means for creating something" (Thomas & Brown, pg 94), students are encouraged to begin creating and offered a variety of projects in order to practice ideas and skills. The projects are not finished works, but rather  jumping off points for future creation.

The image below is of one of the projects on the site. While looking through the book design section, I was fascinated by a write-up on "pop-up" books. As lovers of children's books and owners of many beautiful pop-up books, my daughter and I dove head first into the project of making our own "pop-up" letters. She worked her magic with the markers "designing" the background of the letters, while I worked mine with the exacto knife. Here are the fruits of our labors. We also had a fun time (or at least I did) creating as many words as possible out of the letters you see below. Having never made a pop-up anything before, this project helped me to understand the mechanics of making a 2D object stand in 3D. Additionally, I learned about two important designers of these beautiful mechanical books: Lothar Meggendorfer and Marion Bataille. 

Here we are "playing" with design. 

With the freedom to explore, "they learn what they wish to learn at the time they wish to learn it" (Wilson, p 23). In doing so, students sift through the information on the site accepting and rejecting in order to meet their specific and current needs and interests. They demonstrate that "creative behavior is not making something out of nothing, but that it is based on extensions and combinations of conventional sources"(Wilson, p 23). Students are encouraged to learn from past and present designers, examine their work, learn from their technique, and move on from there. By understanding the history of design and what is happening in the design world today, students can see the relevancy of their own work. One critique of this site is that while students are encouraged to submit their work, there is no gallery showcasing such contributions. Feedback is limited; therefore, the opportunity for interaction, improvement, and growth specifically within this site is limited as well. This also prevents it from functioning as the third pedagogical site. 

For my niece, the desire to create is intrinsic. As a small child, she littered her journals, notebooks, and the house with drawings of clothing design. Of her own volition, she acquired a sewing machine, sought out lessons, and began to create the images of her imagination. She often looks for ways to challenge her skills or simply satiate her desire to create. Below you see one of her designs made from scraps found around the house. Simple as it may be, it exhibits her sense of motivation to create with or without a purpose and for her own personal pleasure. 

In closing, Wilson states he believes "that every art teacher should become a connoisseur and appreciator of the self-initiated visual culture created by his or her students and learn as much about kids' self-initiated visual cultural production are willing to reveal" (p. 33). The key is creating a space in which kids feel comfortable and "willing to reveal." The first step in achieving this is creating and encouraging the third pedagogical site: a neutral space where “teachers’ values, students’ values, texts, images, interpretations and conflicting interpretations” (p. 19) are all valid and “honored equivalently” (p. 19). The relationships forged between teacher, student, and object are “governed by democratic principles” (p. 19) and represent a confluence of ideas that both support and challenge one another.

Sources: 

Thomas, D. and Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a     

            world of constant change. Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown.

Wilson, B. G. (2005). More Lessons from the Superheroes of J. C. Holz: The Visual Culture of Childhood and the Third Pedagogical Site. Art Education, 58(6), 18-24, 33-34.