People Potential: Workshops for Active Learning and Play
We all use tools to enhance our lives and make daily living tasks easier. These ‘tools’ range from knives for preparing food to soap for washing ourselves. Similarly ‘tools’ can enhance a child’s learning process. We could probably manage to cut bread with a penknife, but would cut a far neater slice with a bread knife. It is important that tools are designed for a specific purpose. Teaching tools should also be specially designed for their intended purpose. The inclusion of disabled children in mainstream schools or kindergartens gives a new impetus to designing materials to meet the needs of all learners and this often leads to better classroom management.
Teaching materials, games and toys designed at People Potential workshops reflect local interests and cultural values, and are therefore different from commercial products. Creative solutions are more easily found when looking at the problem through many different eyes. Designing in a group is highly recommended because new ideas are created, useful material produced and everyone has fun!
People Potential will be running short courses on the design of educational materials in Hampshire, UK, as follows:
Appropriate Paper-based Technology (APT) Weekend
8th – 10th October 1999
Price: £110
Designing for Active Learning through Play Week
18th – 22nd October 1999
Price: £300
Toy Making Weekend
5th – 7th November 1999
Price: £110
N.B. These short courses can be specially organised for people visiting the UK for other purposes. Please contact People Potential to arrange the time and requirements.
Longer courses can, and have been, run worldwide where funding is available.
For more details contact: Jean Westmacott . People Potential . Plum Cottage . Hattingley Road . Medstead . Near Alton . Hampshire . GU34 5NQ . Tel/Fax: +44 1420 563 741 . Email: PeopleP@aol.com