Trusting Improvisation

What happens when you give learners free time and ask open ended questions? Creative gifts are revealed, democracy unfolds, and learners practice the process of improvisation. Improvisation isn’t just for jazz musicians, it is the act of making or doing something with whatever is available at the time, it is unrehearsed and unplanned. 

So, how do we improvise at Acton? Simply, we provide space and time, materials, and as much trust as we can muster. Trust is the trickiest ingredient but honestly holds all the magic! Will everyone feel included, will the learners know how to compromise when they disagree, will play turn in to chaos? The answer is we’re not quite sure, maybe, but we’ve decided to trust the learners. If we trust and wait just a bit longer than we typically think before we intervene often magic emerges.

Here’s an example of magical improvisation this week. We asked, “What if they ground was hot lava, do you think you could travel through the school without touching the ground?” No other question or instruction was given. The challenge was accepted and suddenly all materials were fair game. Pillows, cushions, chairs, and yes jenga blocks! Then after the first go, a leader emerged and declared “Hot lava meeting!”, all the learners flocked and shared ideas for material options. Suddenly the coats, shoes, books, backpacks, and sweaters were all added to create more pathways. Was it perfect, was there even a clear goal? No, but that wasn’t the point. Learners were excited, invested, and answered the call of leadership and teamwork. They improvised and all because we gave them space and time, materials, and trusted that they could do hard and creative things!