*Note: this blog post was first drafted on February 15 2018 in response to questions and observations of how the term "provocations" was being used in local online discussions.
It is finally being shared in October 2019.
The initial post from February 2018...
In thinking about provocations in mathematics specifically, we have drawn upon the thinking of others who have been also thinking about this.
This is how some of my initial thinking was influenced:
What is a provocation? Reggio Inspired Learning by Racheous
Invitations, Provocations and Reflective Practice by Diane Kashin
Setting Up a Reggio-Inspired Activity from An Everyday Story blog
What is a provocation? by Fairy Dust Teaching
When we first shared our BC Reggio-Inspired Mathematics professional collaborative inquiry project through a published booklet in 2015, we categorized the learning experiences broadly as direct, implied/modelled or open. This was based on our understanding at the time of both inquiry structures, our own understanding and experience of mathematics teaching and learning and what we were seeing shared online. Diane Kashin commented about our beginning stages of our project on her blog post about our work. As our inquiry project continued, we began to question the terms through reading, discussing and thinking together and we were influenced/inspired by the principles and practices of the centres in Reggio Emilia, of the life's work of Frances and David Hawkins and the Opal School in Portland. The Vancouver Reggio Association and the local expertise of Susan Fraser (author of Authentic Childhood) inspired, provoked and challenged our thinking as we were fortunate to receive a Learning Journey Grant for our project. We came to some new understandings and began to use these terms for types of inquiry-based experiences in mathematics - exploration, invitation, open tasks, provocation, investigation and project.
The following are some screenshots of slides shared during this period that reflect our beginning understanding and developing thinking:
One of the questions I often get is "why do you type out questions on cards?" and in reflection, I see that this is often the type of invitation/provocation/open task that is shared online which perpetuates this idea of a display-type provocation. (We must do better as a project in sharing different types of learning experiences!) But in response, for many of the educators in our project, it is another way to create authentic purposes for reading and provides a visual support and guidance for the children we learn with. In our BC context, where different adults may come in and out of our room during the day and who may not be familiar with RE principles and practices, it provides guidance to those adults in how to support students. An alternative way of presenting materials has been to discuss a big idea or concept together with the students and have students choose materials to investigate the idea. This framing has been inspired by our studio work which is inspired by the ateliers in Reggio Emilia and the work of Ann Pelo and her lovely book The Language of Art.
As educators in our project reflected on their shifts in practice, the most common reflection was they had shifted from creating "activities" or tasks that students completed and then moved on to something else. Their was an alive-ness and joy they felt in teaching in this way and noticed a focus and joyfulness in their students as well, with many comments about sustained inquiry and engagement with ideas.
After the Canadian Study Tour to Reggio Emilia in March 2018, I added these notes to the draft...
On one sunny afternoon, Diane Kashin and I sat on a bench outside the Loris Malaguzzi and discussed the issue of the use of the term provocations. It was something she had been thinking about and listening for in Reggio Emilia. I wondered aloud how it the idea of provocation had become so noun-like, and something static as opposed to my understanding of it being something very dynamic, responsive and living...something that lingers with you. Essential to this idea of provocation is to be provoked, which suggests the need for a human element in the provoking, whether it is an educator, another adult or a child.
As the RE educators shared and presented their work with us, I noted the use of the terms proposals (in the planning amongst educators) and the use of the term encounters. I made a connection to the playful inquiry language we have contextualized and made our own, inspired from the Opal School, thinking about playing with language, ideas and materials and how this playing could also be seen as encounters. The idea of an encounter suggests a reciprocal relationship.
A connection to the notion of encounters was made as our project has recently been influenced and informed by the book Encounters with Materials in Early Childhood Education by local educators and researchers, Drs. Laurie Kocher, Syliva Kind and Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw. This book inspired our collaborative inquiry focus last year which resulted in the publication of our new magazine, Thinking about Mathematics through Materials.
And in October 2019, to think with others who have been sharing their thinking and to make this genuine inquiry public, I have added the following...
The following blog posts have recently been posted that have nudged my thinking and helped me to position our project's work within a bigger picture:
A Provoking Post on Provocations by Diane Kashin
(in which Diane provokes us with the notion of what a provocation is, what is means to be Reggio-inspired and the role of the provocateur)
Provocations in Context by Suzanne Axelsson
(in which Suzanne provokes our thinking about why use the term provocations and is language that helps us move towards a more democratic approach, of entering into a dance with our students)
Inquiry Learning: Pitfalls and Perspectives #1 by Kath Murdoch
(in which Kath so eloquently reminds us to ask: "what do you mean by inquiry learning?" much in the same way we need to ask "what do you mean by provocation?")
Inquiry Learning: Pitfalls and Perspectives #2 by Kath Murdoch
(in which Kath unpacks problematic assumptions around engagement and provocations)
My favourite quote from this blog post: "Be comfortable with the tensions and the tangles in all the ‘research’ out there."
Setting the table: Not just filling the space by the Opal School
(thinking about the intentional curation and presentation of materials)
Our group is comprised of K-7 educators who have required mathematics learning standards and reporting policies but flexibility in how they design learning experiences for their students. Within our own project, there is a range of understanding in how we use the term "provocation" and other related terms. There is much intersection between the experiences with maybe slightly nuanced differences if we choose to tease them apart. I find that teachers who are coming to understand the principles and practices of Reggio-inspired/influenced teaching and learning are looking for definitions and distinctions and I often reply that we have to be comfortable with the grey in this work - that things are never very black and white.
Saying that, I do think there is a bit of progression in the types of inquiry-based learning experiences in mathematics. An open-ended task (how many ways can you make 10?) or problem is an important part of a mathematics framework for instruction and learning. Explorations or invitations to engage with materials and ideas (what can you find out about fractions through these materials?) is often a way to enter into another phase, or state of provocation with children, noticing how they interact and what wonders emerge. This is where the "ball toss" can come in and the educator can toss an idea, a different material or a question/prompt towards the students and see how they respond and extend and develop their thinking about a concept or idea (how has working with clay connected your thinking about 2D and 3D shapes? what other materials might you use to think with about the concept of shape?). A class or groups of students may also take up a longer term investigation over time or a project that brings together materials, application of mathematical competencies and content and trans-disciplinary learning. Many of these emergent projects within our network have involved environmental inquiry (how much human pollution is in our park and what can we do about it? what data can we collect and how can we represent and communicate this information?) or are connected to local community issues.
So no clear answers here. Just ongoing thinking, personal inquiry and research. I look forward to thinking more about this within our network and with others. And special thanks to those in the world out there that have nudged and provoked my thinking about this.
Lots to think about. Listen to others. Read. Stay open and curious. Play. Reflect and discuss. Be kind.
~Janice