11 Jun 10 Capacities for imaginative learning
Posted at 11:00h
in Inquiry
Imaginative learning refers to how learners explore their environments in creative ways. I recently came across this list of core principles which I believe adopts a useful view on learning within the context of aesthetic education not to mention encourage understanding of human values.
I once had to represent what I understood were the attributes of the ‘ideal learner’ (on the general intro to PYP workshop) a task that prompted a discussion of the IB’s essential elements and the learner profile. It’s interesting to cross reference these competencies within the context of an inquiry based educational discourse.
- Noticing Deeply to identify and articulate layers of detail in a work of art or other object of study through continuous interaction with it over time.
- Embodying to experience a work of art or other object of study through your senses, as well as emotionally, and also to physically represent that experience.
- Questioning to ask questions throughout your explorations that further your own learning; to ask the question, “What if?”
- Making Connections to connect what you notice and the patterns you see to your prior knowledge and experiences, to others’ knowledge and experiences, and to text and multimedia resources.
- Identifying Patterns to find relationships among the details that you notice, group them, and recognize patterns.
- Exhibiting Empathy to respect the diverse perspectives of others in the community; to understand the experiences of others emotionally, as well as intellectually.
- Living with Ambiguity to understand that issues have more than one interpretation, that not all problems have immediate or clear-cut solutions, and to be patient while a resolution becomes clear.
- Creating Meaning to create your own interpretations based on the previous capacities, see these in the light of others in the community, create a synthesis, and express it in your own voice.
- Taking Action to try out new ideas, behaviors or situations in ways that are neither too easy nor too dangerous or difficult, based on the synthesis of what you have learned in your explorations.
- Reflecting/Assessing to look back on your learning, continually assess what you have learned, assess/identify what challenges remain, and assess/identify what further learning needs to happen. This occurs not only at the end of a learning experience, but is part of what happens throughout that experience. It is also not the end of your learning; it is part of beginning to learn something else.