Loose Parts PDF

Loose parts In his article in Landscape Architecture (October 1971) entitled “How not to cheat children: the Theory of Loose Parts”, Simon Nicholson states the following. “In any environment, both the degree of inventiveness and creativity and the possibility of discovery are directly proportional...

Loose parts In his article in Landscape Architecture (October 1971) entitled “How not to cheat children: the Theory of Loose Parts”, Simon Nicholson states the following. “In any environment, both the degree of inventiveness and creativity and the possibility of discovery are directly proportional to the number and kind of variables in it”. To clarify, Nicholson uses the beach as an example of a successful play environment. ! Because of… · Its degree of disorder · The availability of mobile components or loose parts · a large variation of both living and non‐living objects · Slush: children spend nearly all their time at the junction between water and sand · The endless and changing noise of the surf · A large open area of illumination · The presence of blue light (which is said to have a calming effect). This is a brilliant description of the ideal play space. Large, variable, changing, natural, malleable, expansive and close to primeval echoes. It is also worth mentioning that so powerful is the beach as a play inducing medium that it frequently stimulates playful behaviour in otherwise reticent adults. The thrust of Nicholson’s piece is that the quality playground (like the quality learning environment) is where children become the embryonic “artist, scientist, filmmaker, mechanic, planner and architect”. Not constantly supervised by their adult counterparts but exploring first principles, developing perceptions and processes and making mistakes, simply because doing it is fascinating. What might these loose parts be? (Taken from Hughes, B. (1996) “Play Environments A Question of Quality”. Play Education).  The Five Considerations for Incorporating Loose Parts in Practice 1. Loose parts are a BIG IDEA with significant pedagogical history The professional learning projects in the infant toddler and preschools of Reggio Emilia entitled: The Expressive Languages of Children, the Artistic Language of Alberto Burri and dialogue with places, illustrate, with extensive documentation, in text and in the Wonder of Learning exhibit, the central role of materials within a pedagogical approach. In the documentation of the Wonder of Learning exhibit, highlighting children’s creations of compositions with materials, a teacher eloquently describes the power of a simple material: “A paper napkin is an anonymous object camouflaged by daily use and presence. A customary material which when explored reveals many properties. It is white, lightweight, soft and delicate and just slightly rough to the touch. In layers it obscures light but when unfolded it is almost transparent. Hands, perceptions, mind and material come together to know each other. Children’s gestures build the first shapes. Research is being done on a ‘grammar’ for the material, alphabets and compositions that will carry traces of the children’s thinking and the identity of the material used. Compositions are placed next to each other and made to merge. They become extended and re-combined into one large final composition searching for balance between different gestures, different way of thinking.” (Reggio Children, 2011, The Wonder of Learning, p. 74) Cathy Weisman Topal and Lella Gandini (1999) wrote Beautiful Stuff: Children Learning with Found Materials, chronicling the experience of teachers, inspired by the educators of Reggio Emilia, as they explore the potential of materials in learning environments for young children. In the introduction to the book, the wonder of materials is described. “To the young child the world is full of materials to touch, discover, and explore. To find, collect, sort and use materials is to embark on a special kind of adventure. For adults, gathering materials means rediscovering the richness and beauty in natural, unexpected, and recyclable objects that are all around us, but not often noticed. One way to rediscover our own creative impulses is to see possibilities in material. Children possess a natural openness to the potential of materials. When adults become aware of this process, they find ways to watch and listen to children. Children and adults become collaborators as they discover, collect, sort, arrange, experiment, create, construct, and think with materials. The goal is to allow children to become fluent with materials – as if materials were a language.” Materials are later described as a way of thinking...bringing materials into the classroom and discovering their potential for learning involves many of the same process skills used in math and science and interpreting  literature. It’s a way of thinking about things. It helps both teachers and children become more aware of how they think. The experience also refines our aesthetic sensibilities, and gives both adults and children a framework for learning life skills. (p. 98) 2. Loose Parts are a theory, not just a collection of objects Once a colleague asked me about loose parts as she felt she was still struggling to understand them. I replied, “Stop thinking of loose parts as a group of objects and start thinking of loose parts as a philosophy.” She experienced a paradigm shift in her thinking and was able to reflect on the importance of loose parts in a whole new way. 3. Loose parts are intelligent materials Loose parts should offer children many opportunities, provocations and invitations to use, transport combine and transform them. Some considerations that teachers need to make when creating a materials rich environment are as follows: Will the material be used in many ways, or does it dictate a particular use? Will the material be used by many children? Does it end itself to a variety of explorations? What affordances does it offer? How might the material be best introduced to the children? (In the Spirit of the Studio, p. 115)  " A house made from loose parts left for beach walkers in Grand Bend to enjoy. 4. Loose parts are a fundamental material to learning environments Learning environments for children (and I think we would argue for all people) should be adaptable and varied and should offer a wide variety of interesting materials that can be explored and manipulated by learners and their teachers. “The materials we choose to bring into our classrooms reveal the choices we have made about knowledge and what we think is important to know. How children are invited to use the materials indicates the role they shall have in their learning. Materials are the text of early childhood classrooms. Unlike books filled with facts and printed with words, materials are more like outlines. They offer openings and pathways by and through which  children may enter the world of knowledge. Materials become the tools with which children give form to and express their understanding of the world and the meanings they have constructed.” (Cuffaro, 1995, Experimenting with the World, p. 33) "...a winter garden in and infant toddler centre in Reggio Emilia housing many loose part rock compositions. 5. Adults as well as children should "mess about" A teacher, who experiments, explores and investigates the materials she plans to introduce to children or those she knows they will discover in their day-to-day encounters is the teacher who continues her own learning through ongoing interactions with the physical and social world. In his book, The Roots of Literacy (2000), David Hawkins writes: "But teachers will not know how to support such aspects of learning unless they themselves have been encouraged to explore and appreciate the manifold ways these simple materials of childhood play are related, as subject matter, to the style and character and history of the great world around us" (p. 52). The Hawkins Centers of Learning offers many resources, including suggestions on how to sustain wonder, curiosity and engagement. (http://hawkinscenters.org/exhibitmu/ messing-about/) Hawkins refers to this process as “messing about”. The Boulder Journey School has dedicated part of their school to a David Hawkins room for messing about and they describe the rationale for this space as follows: “The philosophy underlying this space is that adults are better able to understand and support children’s learning when they dedicate ample time to ‘messing about’ with the materials that children utilize to co-construct and represent their hypotheses and theories. This ‘messing about’ with materials proves to be more fruitful when assumptions, challenges, thoughts and ideas are shared with others.” http://www.boulderjourneyschool.com/Pages/Visitors/ Community_Spaces.htm