OSLIST Digest - 3 Aug 2005 to 4 Aug 2005 - Special issue (#2005-210) What are the possibilities of using Open Space Technology in the elementary school classroom?

[Chris Kloth]

ashley cooper wrote:

> Hi Pat,
>
> I was a teacher at a school which claimed to use the Reggio approach. 
> A major problem that I found was that  it was difficult for many 
> teachers and administrators to adopt this approach at a core level. 
> They liked how it sounded on paper, but did not know (and were not 
> appropriately trained) how to follow the flow of attention, adding 
> upon what was emerging, inviting depth from that which was present.
>
> I now wonder if training in OS principles would help to facilitate the 
> degree of awareness that is also necessary in the Reggio approach.


While I believe the explicit incorporation of dialogue and OST 
principles helps, in our case in Columbus it does not mean that it is 
always easy.  We had the advantage of starting a new school with no 
building history, and that helped.  A conscious decision was made to 
provide a relatively minimalist framework to staff at the beginning so 
that people working directly with the kids in the new settings could 
co-create their own local version of Regio, which was a good idea but 
created other levels of complexity and chaos.  This is one reason I 
proposed OST early in my relationship with them.


On the other hand, the staff came to Regio from at least 4 different 
"teaching" cultures: Head Start, developmental disabilities, traditional 
public schools and social work.  In addition, in this partnership the 
staff people are actually employed (paid) by their "home" agencies and 
are technically accountable to different administrative entities 
(although there are on site people who are empowered to act on behalf of 
"corporate"...most of the time), multiple licensing and accreditation 
groups, public jurisdictions, training requirements, etc.  Each of the 
"home agencies has a right and responsibility to determine what they can 
be flexible about and what they cannot be flexible about.  Fortunately, 
each agency views the project as an experiment to learn from and worth 
finding ways to be flexible for.  Finally, all of this has been 
occurring in the context of federal budget cuts and changes in regulations.


A very strong, visionary leader/champion of the project (one of my 
sheroes), has done a number of things to help create and hold a 
container (crucible) for this alchemy.  She works directly with the 
other system executives to do boundary management.  She chairs the 
leadership group but does not "run" it.  She holds town meetings in the 
building.  She shares leadership by finding people who have strengths to 
enrich the system.  For example, one of the partnership leaders convenes 
regular local and statewide Regio practitioner groups.  Another with a 
university affiliation is actively involved in action research, learning 
and coaching in the building during the year and creates a summer 
institute for people who work with the kids.  Other people who have a 
piece of the action help maintain the container in their own ways.  My 
role is to be a third eye and sheep dog dancing around the perimeter, 
knowing they are generally on the right track and occasionally barking 
when they lose track of the pasture they are headed toward or fail to 
see a storm on the horizon.


Paradoxically, the level of complexity and chaos in the early days 
created conditions that helped create a culture that challenges teachers 
and administrators to adapt to Regio.  Inside the building they are 
committed to kids, to community and to partnership.  All the 
"leadership" messages in the building encourage people to find ways to 
work within the vision.   While they get flustered with what they see as 
gaps in their own expectations and performance with respect to the 
"ideal" image of Regio, all they have to do is look at their peers in 
other buildings to realize what a special place they are creating.


It is by no means a utopia and I probably oversell it at times.  Stuff 
happens.  But as each year passes their ability to be self organizing in 
how they adapt in classrooms, "neighborhoods", the building and beyond 
is deepening.  But principles of dialogue and OST definitely help and 
are congruent with Regio.  Every so often when I stop by and wander 
around the building I get to chuckle as I notice a group of people 
getting together in the hall or in a room and overhear someone saying, 
"Look!  Whoever is here is the right people." or "Come on now, whenever 
it starts IS the right time!" :-)


Chris Kloth

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