On Friday 13th February, we celebrated the first anniversary of the opening of Room 13 at Greenfield Arts. Over the past year work in the space has gone from strength to strength as we explored SOLE and enquiry based learning.
We were honoured to be approached by Professor Sugata Mitra when he won his $1 million TED prize to develop a self-organised learning environment (SOLE) at Greenfield. Katy Milne, Director of Arts & Creativity said: “This is where the teacher takes a step back and sits outside the room while the young people explore a big question with each other using the internet, and the results are incredible.”
Since opening there have been more than 160 SOLE sessions in the space, led by more than 30 different staff members at Greenfield Community College. The room has had international visitors from 7 different countries, and been observed and admired by educational colleagues from more than 10 other schools and organisations across the UK.
Young people from age 5 to age 16 have explored more than 20 subject areas, answering big questions and continuing to learn. Our fantastic Engineheads have led 6 SOLE sessions for teachers and staff, and shared their findings and experiences at 3 conferences.
After this great first year, we are looking forward to expanding and building on the success of Room 13, exploring the SOLE research with Newcastle & Northumbria Universities, and continuing to share our findings in the global educational world.
Thank you to Professor Sugata Mitra for choosing to work with us and develop one of his 2013 TED Prize winning labs here at Greenfield. It is a privilege to be one of the seven labs across the world exploring SOLEs as part of this School in the Cloud TED Prize wish.
For more information about Room 13, and the SOLE research follow the School in the Cloud blog via our website www.greenfield-arts.co.uk
