Mapping the landscape of an ICE community of learnership

Abstract

ABSTRACT Drawing upon the foundational principles of Imagination Creativity Education (ICE), our article examines the relational dimension in the context of classroom environments, as observed within the Canadian schooling system. We explore the landscape of a community of learnership – the lived and living practices of both students and teacher in the communal space in between, a space characterized as the transactional curriculum. We argue that teachers play a vital role in cultivating intentional relationships with students, one whose pedagogical responsibility focuses on establishing relationships, belonging, and dialogue; viewing students holistically for who they are and who they have the potential of becoming. Teachers who design such communities of learnership subscribe to pedagogical praxis, attending to their students’ lived curricula in which deep, engaged, and innovative learning is enacted. In this article, we outline the principles of ICE, through which a community of learnership can be forged. Grounded in Freire’s (1997) concept of gnoseologica of education, we expand on dialogic relationships that value curiosity, imagination, creativity, and innovation. We draw on one author’s Grade 8 1 classroom inquiry to describe the lived experiences of an ICE community of learnership.