In January 2021, Amanda and Anna delivered a workshop for undergraduate students training to work with children as teachers, teaching assistants, play workers and educational psychologists. After taking part in a similar guided activity, calling our attention to how sitting feels, student participants were invited to share their experiences of sitting.

Participants reflections so far... 

‘Amanda’s experience of her time in school, was interesting for many of us and encouraged us to start looking at things from the child’s perspective. An awareness of our own bodies can help us connect with children’s experiences (Horner,2017). Hence, the session on affective methods helped us become more aware of our bodies- reflecting upon the times we were children at school, and how we would feel when asked to do different things. Reflecting upon my own experiences helped me become more attuned to the children's experiences.’ 

‘...Timmons (2016) states that it is ‘odd’ that there is no recognition that children have different body types- particularly developmentally as there is a difference in the development of the bones in every child. Timmons (2016) further argues that as practitioners it is important to reflect on this and think about the child’s body and put ourselves in their position.’ 

‘This made me reflect on the way the body is seen in education as very uniform; as thirty different students with varying bodies, heights and of different backgrounds are all expected to sit in the same way, and if they do not, the child is seen as not being complacent, even if it is uncomfortable. In turn, the feelings of children are often forgotten and so too is the fact that their feelings hold significance.’ 

 ‘The child's experiences are knitted into school, and the school site is a place where all normalising tendencies as well as the oddities of school live side by side (Van de Pol, 2010). By attuning to these different experiences, it taught me to trust what is felt and not just said, and the importance of reflecting upon my own experiences to help understand the child’s.' 

 See references here.

How we have used the Sensing Spaces activity so far…

In January 2021, Becky Shaw and Jo Ray delivered a workshop for undergraduate students training to work with children as teachers, teaching assistants, play workers and educational psychologists, 

 The workshop explored the potentials of thinking about all the senses when trying to understand the experiences of a site (in this case school) and the experiences of other people. 

They invited participants to remember an institutional space in their lives...something in the past or in their present, and to share an impression of that space that they could recall. 

These memories of spaces accumulated give an impression of the kinds of experiences that are perhaps not at the forefront of our considerations when we think of a child’s context in school, and the kinds of things that might influence their experiences. 

Reflections from Participants so far 

‘During the session, the activity of sharing school memories really allowed me to tap into my senses and recall lost emotions and feelings of my experiences at school. It triggered my senses and I felt as if I had been taken back in time. For example, I can still remember lazy school mornings, walking into a warm, yellow lit classroom hearing the chittering of chatter around the room; feeling mentally unprepared to start the school day. I also remember sitting on the hard, cold floor in the cafeteria for assembly, my aching legs crossed, and neck angled painfully to look at the tall teacher. All these triggered memories and allowed me to empathise with school children …’ 

‘In the beginning of the sessions, I struggled recognising the importance of how alternative features of school such as furniture, textures, smells, the building etc., affects a child’s school experience. However, as the sessions progressed, I found myself relating to the content as it triggered a lot of old school memories. These memories enabled me to realise that the school space and features make an impact on how a child experiences school. 

Overall, the odd project helped me to recognise how small changes can make a big impact on pupil’s school experience. These small changes may come in different forms and reveal itself in different ways.’ 

‘the activity of sharing school memories really allowed me to tap into my senses and recall lost emotions and feelings of my experiences at school’