CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
The philosophy of education and pedagogy of Boulder Journey School stems from the constructivist, social-constructivist, and systems thinking theories of John Dewey, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, Jerome Bruner, David Hawkins, Howard Gardner, Loris Malaguzzi, Carlina Rinaldi and Boulder Journey School's Theory of Supportive Social Learning.
We value our school as a community of learners who think reflectively and who collaborate in dialogue with one another as they…
- explore and discover
- organize and interpret information
- ask questions and build answers
- propose ideas and strategies
- make choices and negotiate decisions
- develop and test hypotheses
in order to…
- solve problems
- define meanings based on values
- build new understandings
- experience life
- generate hypotheses, test theories and ask more questions
- project further investigations
…ultimately co-constructing a knowledge base that continues to evolve and grow.
The co-construction of knowledge is afforded by an environment that is filled with myriad resources and supported by time. Provocations designed to enhance experiences offer endless possibilities for creativity, imagination, symbolization and representation in the classrooms, the studio, the theater and outdoor spaces.
Children and adults interact in relationships formed and maintained within the school. We think that the system of relationships is critical because it provides the basis for the development of a culture in the school that reflects the unique cultures of the individuals within the school.
During meetings together we revisit, interpret and make predictions about our learning, weaving daily moments into long-term investigations. Children, families and educators dialogue in small and large groups, leading to the development of a rich, diversified and contextual curriculum. We give visibility to our work and our relationships through the use of technology, leaving traces of our daily experiences through photographs, slides, videos, commentaries and examples of children's representations. We view communication and participation as an essential forum for the expression of our connections, the history of our work and the story of our lives together at the school.
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