[Reader-list] Jhoola Post No.4 - Participation with children

[Avinash Kumar]

Below is the synopsis of the participatory
workshops held with children, to discover
perceptions of the Jhoola, and explore new
starting points for design. The jhoola was
communicated to the children in an open ended
manner as a "Fun machine on Wheels"...the results
were splendid and lots of fun. 

The workshops were communicated as "kid-Vent"
workshops to the schools participating.
Particpatory Kits that involve parents were also
sent thru the kids home. More on that later.
Similar workshops are envisaged for the
Jhoolewalas and other designers also.

Kid-Vent Workshops

Kid-Vent Workshops focus on two governing ideas…

Children thrive in a fun, creative atmosphere
that gives them the opportunity to impact the
world around them. Our workshops try and provide
them exactly that within the constraints that the
school has for time & resources.

Children have valuable viewpoints about the world
around them that need to be considered when
things & systems are designed or envisioned. Our
workshops let children give form to their own
imagination, creativity and concerns. 

Given our background in Toy design and research
with children, we give children an open canvas on
which they can explore, discover, create and
appreciate some of the wonders of their world.
All this happens in a design environment, which
ensures freedom from the traditional forms of
competitiveness (“I know more & I am better”),
and focuses rather on individual (or group)
creativity and points of views (“This is how we
see things, and that’s why what we made is
special”). 

Typical workshops begin with introductions to
what we do and who we are. This is followed by a
short exchange of ideas on what design or
invention. Children's views are written on the
board to reflect on later in the process.
Children are then given tag-cards to clip on to
their shirts that identify them as ‘Inventors’ –
they write their names on them and we are ready
to begin inventing! 

The design brief is then communicated to the
children, for example: the task is to imagine and
design / invent a Fun Machine for children. Some
of the constraints are specified…like the fact
that it should be a new invention or it should be
big, or have wheels etc. Based on these
discussions, children ideate and represent their
ideas through sketches, drawings, explanations,
models, and names.

Through their process of ideation, we are in
constant dialogue with the children – sorting out
queries, giving direction, providing
encouragement and helping focus. It has to be
emphasized that we are really trying to act as
facilitators, and consciously steer clear from
some aspects of the traditional teacher-young
student interactions. We have overwhelming
evidence that this experience brings a lot of
cheers and meaning to a young student’s daily
school routine. 

Above all, the real reward of these workshops is
the strong sense of ownership and individuality
that they evoke within children, and the evident
subsequent thrills of that.

We also send material home with children for
their parents to help them also become active
participants in their children’s learning and
creativity. This material takes different forms
based on individual workshops.

Ideal age groups for such workshops is grade 3
and above, when children are a little more vocal
about their preferences and also have the
required communication skills like drawing etc. 

The methods of evaluating childrens work as seeds
for design is complex and not well-defined tools.
Mostlt the methods tend to inform us of what
children prefer...children may not be able to
tell us what they want, but they can always tell
us how they want it. 

The next step is to take these drawings and weed
thru them for design directions.

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