New geographies in our Classroom- studying with diversity

“The Crisis we face today is not educational, economic or political is one of imagination” (Otto Scharmer, MIT)

Creating more time in our classrooms

"Education should not feel like we are always running out of time"

The Exploration
“Study is what you do with other people. It’s talking and walking around with others people working dancing suffering …some irreducible convergence of all three, held under the name of speculative practice…to appreciate this kind of interaction as study is not only to take a different view of history but also to blur boundaries between what can otherwise feel hopelessly separate: personal agency and structural change.” (Fred Moten)

We explore through social lens our 21st century educational context- engaging pedagogies; coming together as “one of the best-known agents for change”, as well a source of peace curriculum (UNESCO) building skills as artful communicators.

Our Challenge

20th century curriculum left us with a mindset of liniar problem solving, in how we approach and interract with problems around us, as if problems are something out there we need to fix, without any sourt of inner process, a binary thinking as “good or bed”, “faileure, success”, “us and others”. We hijacked what “success” looks like, and with that we lost practices for “the image of the one learning”, and finally as a larger community, missing the rich realities among us” replacing the curisity of who you are with hostility (Garrett Bradley) and resistance to change. 

“To be equals, to be different” (Viktor Frankl)

The Invitation

In a world of wicked problems, problems that require WeQ collective intelligence together with other forms of intelligence, we educate with diversity as a way to create more time and actual “space” in which learning (relations) can happen.  That is the fundamental for educating innovators. To practice WeQ (collective intelligence in the classroom) vital for 21st century Education (Kirsti Lonka) is to engage students-supporting individuals instead of mass pedagogy, cultivating responsability (respons-ability). 

You can expect to strengthen your classroom  “student agency” teaching, pursue projects and activities that require integrative leadership skills and diversity holding capacity, toolkit to support professional  and personal development in your organisation, 21st century transversal competencies curriculum planning, coaching strategies transform conflict and tap in diversity potential and/or build research skills in preparation for “silent pedagogy”, active research in the classroom (studying how the learning actually happens), last not least  setting autonomous learning context.

This program has been inspired by the methdology of the MA program for educators course called “Learning Diversity and Urban Studies”, at Vanderbilt University and I thank professor Chris Da Silva and the amazing community of MA students; pictures from the MA program 2023.

Engaging pedagogies

  1. Engaged pedagogies like sustainable education is students and teachers feel as their time in the classroom matters, “a community of responsbile persons”, and that is what we call the competence “joy of learning”.

Module 1

Community Based Learning

Technical vs Adaptive problems responding with appropriate tools: an infinite mindset of learning in the classroom; the fluidity of roles who is the teacher who is the learner; shared responsibility and learning happens in relation); keeping the process of learning instead of results; mistakes as proof of innovation.

Skills practiced: Positive Development as engaging and building up on students and teachers agency (Vertical Development in the Classroom), building on strengths

Module 2

Inner Development Process


Inviting the human into the classroom  process;  5 Inner Competencies to  support democratic decision  making  with respect  to human and more than human rights as focus of 21st century skills;  support critical and scientific thinking in a world of “wicked” challanages. Teacher as modelling  self-regulation and SEL (social emotional learning). Professional and Personal Development bridged as development of “self” (Robert Keagan). 
Skills practiced: systemic thinking for critical and creative thinkers model for the class, self-leadership, supporting proprioceptive approaching an issue, time perception essential for self managemen

Module 3

Listening capacity and relaxed attention

Moving through  levels of listtening, awarness in the classroom -cultivating atttention as key to intrinsec motivation and “acceleration” or joy of learning. Time “management” tools to support insightful based learning backed by scientific “critical” thinking

Skills practiced: presencing, social presencing theater for future skills, the silent pedagogy allowing more facilitation in the classroom; working and teaching in paradoxical situations (our 21st century world) holding both patience and urgency as sources of creativity and resilience

Module 4

Experienced based learning for accelerating learning

Principles of praxis:  progressive “transgressive”  pedagogy; liberatory communication ergonomics; proprioseption; model for metaprocess- holding for students the image of the one learning or the value of the class activities, holding “not knowing” moving through emotions behind creativity- confusion, curiosity  and care.

Skills: cultivating relaxed attention, noticing the very small actions and following up the impact of the small actions, discipline tools for life long learners

Module 5

Distributed learning networks- transforming education 

Digital and human etworks that support meaningful learning relations, motivation, and engagement. 
Skills practiced: technologies that allow smart (sensing perceiving) human processes. 

Skills: digital transformation, AI and climate consciousness 


Team

Andreea Gatman 

ICF Certified Coach, Organised over 150 teachers programs in Finland  since 2016. Fulbright Humphrey Fellowship 2023-2024 at Vanderbilt University on a model of inner development skills, system  thinking facing climate change, trauma informed education and distributed learning networks. Partnership Affilitation with Wond’ry Innovation Center. Andreea, has a BA in Political Science, MA in Europea Studies at Graz University and MBA in Public Governance at Modul University, Vienna. Emerging Strategies for Future Thinking (MIT, U-lab).

Christina Da Silva- Distinguished Guest Professor (to be confirmed)

Professor da Silva’s research centers at the learning ecologies of linguistically/culturally diverse students; family and community resources in diverse urban in- and out-of-school contexts; and partnerships between family, community, school, and university that support the literacy learning of linguistically diverse learners and emphasize educational opportunity and equity. She has taught in public schools in Brazil and the United States and has worked with researchers in Chile, Brazil, and Mexico on implementing ecological models of community development.

Lauri Jäntti

Experimental urban space project called Galleria Kasvihuone, by doctoral researcher in urban geography Lauri Jäntti and urban artist Maarit Myllynen. Kasvihuone is not just a greenhouse; it serves as a venue for events and urban experiments. In Jäntti’s own words, the small structure serves as a collision point for people and ideas; a space for branching out. Kasvihuone is a place for art workshops, dance performances, and music. 

New geographies in our Classroom- studying with diversity

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