Part 2 of our 6-part series
<<Part 1: Beginnings
Though they were excited to participate, the event’s Fellows say they had virtually no idea what to expect from the Academy. Most say they came extremely hopeful for what collaborations might produce, but that they were initially skeptical.
“There’s a level ofcynicism that you enter with, listening to something like this—basicallysaying, ‘Okay, this sounds cool, but it also sounds a little showy,’” admitsFreebird McKinney, the 2018 North Carolina Teacher of the Year and one of theevent’s Fellows.
“I had no ideawhat it was going to be like, because I had never even heard about a groupcoming together like this,” explains Lisa Goodwin, the 2017 North CarolinaTeacher of the Year. “I was curious about exactly what the format was going tolook like and what they wanted from us.”
Breaking the Ice
Moseley Architects’formula includes an evening-before event that brings together and introducesall of the Academy’s Fellows, architects, co-sponsors and other participantsover dinner and drinks. In North Carolina, the evening began with introductoryremarks by Roberson, after which Glen Meeks of Meeks Consulting (whosespecialty includes tackling educational challenges with the latesttechnologies) delivered an overview of various educational paradigms, spanningfrom the 1940s onward.
The evening was“transformative,” several Fellows commented.
“We had somedrinks, then for a good hour and a half, we just shared who we are, what ourroles were, and what our hopes were for the event,” says McKinney.
Idea Mining
Following an ice-breaker the evening before, each Academy starts with what Moseley Architects refers to as “idea mining”—something that started with the company more than a decade ago, as a practice for kicking off collaborative design sessions.
“What we do is, we bring together a large group of people from different backgrounds, then we do what we call idea mining. They talk about opportunities and any concerns they might have, maybe about the process.”
<p class="testimonial-name">Billy Riggs, K-12 Managing Principal with Moseley Architects</p>
Step 1: Anything Goes
Idea mining beginswith around half a dozen open-ended questions, meant to solicit one- totwo-word responses representing concepts that Fellows see as the most importantelements for an ideal school. The only rule? There are no unintelligentanswers. Words and phrases are placed on index cards and pinned to a display infront of the group for further consideration.
Step 2: “Panning for Gold”
From there,participants are given stickers—colored dots that they’re asked tosystematically place onto the words they feel represent what’s most important.They’re also given a “Super Dot” that carries additional clout in the votingprocess.
Step 3: Philosophical Hashtag
Once Fellows haveworked as a group, casting their votes, the words they tag as most importantare assembled into a list, which is also used to create a vision “word cloud,”or info-graphic.
Step 4: Assemble a Theme
Once key ideas areestablished, one or more individuals are asked to take them and organize theminto a centralized theme for the event—a vision statement to be used as thephilosophical backbone of the Academy.
“It really waspowerful. And at one point I said something like, ‘More love per square foot,’”explains Lisa Goodwin, 2017 North Carolina Teacher of the Year.
In an instant, NorthCarolina teachers found their theme and hashtag:
We envision a school that is a multi-functional, collaborative community of engaged creators designed for the whole child.
#LovePerSquareFoot
It was the first time he’d ever heard the word “love” used as the philosophical driver for a design project, managing principal Bill Laughlin said. But Fellows had zeroed in on a basis for school design that centered on a “whole child” concept—one that includes a holistic approach to schooling that’s designed to fulfill the full physical and mental needs of children alongside education. To be at its best, education must integrate students, teachers and schools with their communities, making schools and school systems an integral and valuable part of students’ families and local societies.
Next, it was time to nail down the physical characteristics of their vision.
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