Piazza ORA – Re-Cognizing the Morning Gathering

Please Note: This is an invitation to pre-register for an online study group that will occur in the spring. Please see the details below for this information.

Pre-registration by February 14, 2020.

An invitation to Learn Together in Honour of the 100^th Anniversary of
Loris Malaguzzi’s Birth 

In honour of this significant anniversary, the Ontario Reggio Association is in dialogue with Reggio Children to organize several opportunities for a group of members to learn together in coming months in “ZOOM” gatherings with Tiziana Filippini.

Participants will research one aspect of theory-in-practice together, so conversation in our online gatherings can be focussed.  Tiziana’s suggestion of the assembly – the time in the day when the whole group gathers to revisit what is “in play” as the metaphorical ball goes back and forth among and between children and educators, engage in conversation and plan the day – resonated with us.  We recognize the potential for this focus to open consideration of how we support conversation with and among children, how we invite and provoke and sustain their engagement with ideas and materials, how we build a group every day, and how documentation reveals our thinking and being.  Although infant-toddler centres and preschools here often include “circle time”, the idea of a morning assembly (perhaps we might call it a daily reunion – coming together again as one) is less common.  We would like to invite educators to come together in a virtual piazza to interrogate the way we typically organize the day with and for children.  We know that documentation is central to this research into our thinking and practice, and sharing it so we can think together is essential.

Because of the time difference between here and Italy, these Zoom gatherings will have to be scheduled in the early afternoon our time.  We are still discussing logistical details with Tiziana and Reggio Children, but we anticipate a series of four gatherings lasting 1 ½ to 2 hours, perhaps once per month.  In addition, midway in-between each of these piazze, we will organize online gatherings where participants will engage in dialogue and share in small groups documentation of what they have been trying and learning, and also what they are noticing in the children.

Here is a sketch of what we envision:

•   4 Zoom Meetings with Tiziana Filippini – 2:00pm (EST) approx. 1.5 hr each.

•   4 Zoom Meetings participants and ORA board only – time: TBA – 1.5 hrs each

•   Must be a Member of ORA – registration capacity 100 members

•   Time span of project: approximately 5 months.

•   Cost: TBD, but approximately $100.00 per member.

•   Registrants should work directly with children or in collaboration with educators who are working directly with children – e.g., pedagogical leads or faculty members who are in a position to be able to create documentation

•   Be available for a follow up event concluding the sessions to share changes in thinking and practice with others

We are excited to have this opportunity to work in this collaborative way and hope that you will join us.  Please complete the information below by February 14 to indicate your interest in participating in our Piazza ORA series.