GRAFEMOS
Learn about complex systems by engaging in the design and creation of non-computational language for modeling emergent phenomena
"Passionate teachers have the power to change the gears of education."
Modeling environment for children
Creating symbols to represent agents and interconnections
Human, animal and plant “agents,” emotions, seasons, time, duration, natural elements, and others…
Modeling activity inspired on the Mayan representational system of Mayan Fabric design.
Each fabric is unique in that it represents a different perspective (point-of-view) than others, tells a different story.
Emotional expression and their personal identities play a central role.
The perception of color as bright or dull can represent the designer’s personal feeling of happiness or sadness.
Background
The research on complex systems in K-12 education suggests that learners can build upon their agent-level intuitions to develop deep, multi-level understandings of emergent phenomena.
This can be greatly facilitated by helping learners to represent individual-level interactions and mid-level “events.”
The practice of “learning circles” can be introduced to achieve diverse goals, such as:
sharing stories to examine and exercise problem solving, provide even opportunities to everybody to talk and participate, and provide an opportunity to share multiple perspectives.
Understanding and representing interconnectedness
Children, will observe patterns of behaviors, discuss symbols interactions, make connections, discuss and reach conclusions; and most important, will have a space to recognize and learn about emergent phenomena through printed patterns of symbols.
Grafemos involves symbols and meanings manipulation; where participants select and transform the words of their stories to Grafemos; with this action, the symbols begin to belong to the participant, who can impregnate on them no just meanings, but a new pattern of behaviors, and emotions (Colors).
After selecting and allocating new meaning to their own set of symbols, participants will set interaction rules for each one. It will be one chart for each selected symbol.
Where meanings are used as the non-material focal object
Grafemos is an activity where meanings are used as the non-material focal object. Participants, will observe patterns of behaviors, discuss symbols interactions, make connections, discuss and reach conclusions; and most important, will have a space to recognize and learn about emergent phenomena through printed patterns of symbols.
