In the Reggio Emilia Approach the environment is considered to be the “third teacher”. The teacher, students, and physical classroom create a partnership.
Children spend a significant portion of their time in the physical space of the classroom. Of the hours children are typically awake they spend the majority of them at school. As such, it is vital that the classroom is a space that is welcoming to students and meets their needs. In the Reggio approach no two spaces or classroom will be identical, have the same materials or even feel the same. The unifying characteristic is the amount of care and attention that adults have devoted to the space.
Teachers should craft purposeful environments that match their image of the child and support relationships. One of the aspects of the environment that I am particularly interested in is the idea of Transparency. In Reggio Emilia, the room is full of reflection and light. This is evident in aspects as literal as the use of mirrors, shadows, windows, lights, and reflective surfaces. The room is also transparent in a metaphorical sense in the access that children, families and teachers as partners have to documentation and the materials in the room.
“Transparency is seen in the openness of the educators of Reggio Emilia to learning from the ideas of others working in the field of early childhood education” (Fraser, 2012)
A common misconception about the Reggio Emilia Approach is that Reggio describes a “nature” kindergarten. While natural and authentic materials are absolutely a component of the theory, the entire approach cannot be reduced to just the physical space or appearance of the room. The physical space in Reggio inspired classrooms is interesting, but only one part of the whole approach.
In the Reggio approach the hundred languages of children are honoured through artistic expression and having a beautiful environment. The beauty in the room is meant to heighten children’s response to aesthetics and influence them in the creative process. The room often has specialized spaces within it that are specific to creating art. These mini studios or ateliers are accessible to children and everything in the room is meant for children to be able to touch.
The municipal preschools in Reggio Emilia will never be recreated exactly because they were borne out of unique social and political circumstances. The approach likely looks very different in Canada than it does in Italy.
One hypothesis I have about the Reggio Emilia approach is that the use of nature and natural materials may be overemphasized in Reggio approaches in the Pacific Northwest. This is not a bad thing, it just seems that educators in this part of the world are drawing a lot of value from that one aspect of the approach in this geographic area. Since the approach values beauty and aesthetics it is possible that in our cultural context we view natural materials as supremely beautiful over all other materials. This is a positive thing as reflecting the culture and environment of the school context can give children a sense of place and secure footing to explore.
In an intermediate classroom this approach might look like:
-Alternative seating arrangements including tables that accomodate groups, quiet spots, standing desks, and whole group meeting space
-Areas in the classroom dedicated to creation
-Colours that are soothing
-Space to move around