The Exploratory Practice Centre

Maria Isabel A. Cunha

Maria Isabel A. Cunha’s (Bebel’s) impressions

The 5^th Event was prepared in about 4 months and all this preparation could be considered a huge PEPA, later to be materialized in workshops, round tables, and a poster session. I am calling this preparation a PEPA for many reasons.

First, the way the first group of participants worked, trying to involve as many people as possible. The EP multipliers checked old lists of events, sent emails and made phone calls to everyone who had shown a continuous interest in EP. At that point, we could consider that the event had an embryonic organizing committee (Inés, Bebel and the multipliers – Isolina, Waleswska, Solange, Júlia, Doreen) although it was never named as such (that title never having been used) mainly because we believed that other participants would wish to join the initial group and that their contribution would be extremely relevant for the construction of the whole event.

Second, the way the larger group was formed, through a general invitation for a first meeting of the year. This meeting happened and lots of people came. It was an excellent occasion for new and old members to meet, everyone discussed the basic plans and other meetings were scheduled. From then on, many people came to the next pre-event meetings (held on two different days every fortnight). Everybody showed a true interest in participating, made creative suggestions, and took responsibilities for developing important areas and contacts. Soon, there was a larger group of work: Morag (by email suggested a motto: “A conference OF teachers and learners, FOR teachers and learners”), Bia and Adriana (in charge of external contacts with the publishers and the final edition of the schedule handout), Cristina and Maria Eugênia (disseminating the EP ideas and working with their Cultura teachers), Sylvia and Edwiges (as SME contacts), Estela (in charge of the event), Ma. Lúcia (organizing a round-table), Marja, Josefina, Ma. de Lourdes, Isabel Cristina, Mônica, Andrea, Vera Lúcia, Leila, Juliette, Flavia, Gabriela and Fabiana, Bianca, Edmar .

Third, the way the whole project evolved around some basic ideas that were developed by the larger group. These basic ideas could be summarized in a typical event frame (a poster session and workshops) and the thought that “bringing teachers and learners together” would be “an exploratory practice dream coming true.” These were the basic ideas but the larger group needed to have a space to generate what it thought was best for an EP Event.

Fourth, the way the pre-event sessions developed and where different things happened. Three main topics were always discussed: (1) the organization of the event itself, (2) the participants’ theoretical understandings of EP, and (3) the development of the group’s activities as exploratory practice practitioners.

(1) At the beginning, the event had a typical kind of frame: a plenary speech, round tables, a poster session, and workshops. This was practical because it was something concrete to start from but we all wanted that frame to be revised, criticized and modified. There were three things we thought would make a difference: the central/leading position of the poster session (even before an official opening of the event, an experience that had been successful in the 2002 event), a larger physical space for this poster presentation (the gymnasium), and the work of teachers and learners done together.

(2) As the group was composed of old and new members of EP, the principles, texts and understandings of what EP is all about were constantly discussed.

(3) All the participants planned to conduct EP projects and the meetings were special moments for discussions on the PEPAs, the analysis of the findings, the preparation of posters, workshops or round tables. Everything that was going to be presented at the Event was constructed in that period of 4 months and with the possibility of having the participation of whoever was present at the meetings. 

I volunteered to prepare two different workshops: one on analyzing learners’ narratives, and another on analyzing teachers’ narratives. The first one was planned with my students from 7^th and 8^th grades at a private school of Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. They were students who were presenting different sorts of problems in learning English and were working extra time in a project called English Language Learning Clinic. We planned to do, with workshop participants, the activities that these students had considered most interesting and enjoyable. The teachers who attended the workshop were divided in groups and each student conducted the activities in his group. The second workshop did not count with the participation of the students and the participants were invited to write short stories about events that had occurred in the classroom and then, to try to analyze them.

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Last Updated March 26,2004

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