The atelier: a place for meaningful learning

Many Reggio Emilia-inspired schools have an atelier, a place for children to explore, discover, and expand their knowledge. But what is an atelier, and how can you ensure optimal learning?

An atelier is a rich and well-appointed research environment for both teachers and students. It's often designed and intentionally set up by the atelierista, a thoughtful and skillful researcher. It is a space where children encounter interesting and attractive materials, allowing them to explore various materials and techniques with expressive possibilities. It also assists teachers in understanding how children learn. It is not just a place for activities but a space where teachers give meaning to those activities.

Creating an atelier in a school environment allows the educational process and various learning experiences for children to be seen as a holistic and complete approach. It enables children to consider academic and scientific topics from different perspectives, using various languages to foster a deeper understanding.

But how can we ensure we give meaning to the activities in an atelier?

Aesthetics

According to Vea Vechi, aesthetics is an attitude of empathy towards things around us. It can be defined as the opposite of indifference or conformism, or the opposite of the lack of participation and involvement. Aesthetics bring meaning to what we're learning; without aesthetics, an atelier simply becomes a place for activities. Using aesthetics and poetic language supports children in building deeper understandings.

An atelier is a space where children encounter interesting and attractive materials, allowing them to explore various materials and techniques with expressive possibilities.

Meaningful

It's evident that activities offered in an atelier need to hold meaning. To ensure activities hold meaning, teachers need to work as facilitators and researchers. This involves analyzing previous documentations, researching possibilities, and discussing next steps with other professionals to ensure meaningful activities are set up.

Using all of our senses

Have you ever encountered something new, like a flower you've never seen before? What did you do? Did you just look at it, or did you smell it, touch it, and listen to it? To develop a better understanding of a new topic, children use all their senses. How does something feel? Can something make a sound? Can we smell or even taste it? An atelier lets children explore new aspects using all their senses.

Expressive Languages (A child has 100 languages)

Children have 100 languages to express themselves. When using both academic/scientific disciplines and expressive languages, you create a richer approach to reality. Children are more capable of expressing their ideas and building a deeper understanding of the topics they learn. An atelier is equipped with multiple expressive materials such as clay, paper, wire, paint, and materials that make sound. Children can use all these materials to learn new techniques and build a deeper understanding.

An atelier serves as a dynamic and transformative space within the educational landscape. It fosters curiosity, creativity and a sense of meaning in learning for both students and educators. By embracing aesthetics, meaningful activities, sensory exploration and expressive language, we can unlock the full potential of an atelier as a vehicle for holistic and enriched understanding. It is a place where the boundaries of traditional education blur, and the joy of discovery becomes a guiding force, shaping the way we engage with the world and each other.