30.3.20 Provocation and invitation
The invitation to participate attached to the Wishing tree outside my house
provoke
[ pruh-vohk ]
verb (used with object), pro·voked, pro·vok·ing.
to anger, enrage, exasperate, or vex.
to stir up, arouse, or call forth (feelings, desires, or activity)
to incite or stimulate (a person, animal, etc.) to action.
to give rise to, induce, or bring about
Obsolete. to summon.
I’ve been facilitating participatory projects for a few years now, and a number of Early Years specialists have referred to them as ‘provocations’. I like that term to describe my work, and researching it further, it seems that it has many links.
Provocations in Early Years settings are defined as
‘deliberate and thoughtful decisions made by the teacher to extend the ideas of the children. Teachers provide materials, media, and general direction as needed, but the children take the ideas where they want. This allows children to develop skills of creativity, inventiveness and flexibility in thinking, planning and reflecting.’ (Durand, 2016)
When I set up one of my provocations, normally I provide materials, which means I have some control over the aesthetics. There is still a relinquishing of some control however, as participants can do what they like with those materials. For this wishing tree, although I’ve added my ribbons and have some control still over the labels that I’ve attached, I haven’t been able to provide the usual strips of cloth, labels and pens for passers-by to use because of the fear of contamination, so the aesthetic is even more outside my control!
I also normally include an ‘invitation to participate’, which I feel rather ambivalent about. Is it about control, again?? Initially, I wasn’t going to have a written invitation, just to see what would happen. Instead, I left a bucket of strips of cloth by the tree. However, a couple of hours later, I removed the bucket as I was anxious about people worrying about contamination. Instead, I attached the invitation in the image above.
I got the impression, in a recent tutorial with Robert, that a written invitation wasn’t necessary, and that it was maybe restrictive or too didactic. I was interested to read an article, again about EY provocations, discussing the difference between a provocation and an invitation Jupp says she uses the terms interchangeably, but goes on to say that maybe in fact there’s an overlap, and that an invitation is often a written instruction (2016).
I had to check the dictionary again, of course!
invitation
[ in-vi-tey-shuh n ]
noun
the act of inviting.
the written or spoken form with which a person is invited.
something offered as a suggestion
attraction or incentive; allurement.
a provocation
I was pleased to see that this definition of an invitation includes ‘a suggestion, attraction or incentive; allurement’ and even ‘a provocation’. It does seem to need to be written or spoken though. Maybe I’ll try no invitation another time, but in this instance I felt I wanted or needed one. I think it’s because I want people to know that I’m facilitating it, and it’s also a way of connecting with people who might be too anxious to actually add their own message, as has actually proved to be the case.
Durand, S (2016) Engage Your Early Learners using Provocations Available at: https://www.geteduca.com/blog/engage-early-learners-using-provocations/ (Accessed: 29 March 2020)
Jupp, L. (2016) What is the difference between a provocation and an invitation? Available at: https://reggioprofessionallearning.wordpress.com/2016/01/30/what-is-the-difference-between-a-provocation-and-an-invitation/ (Accessed: 29 March 2020)
[ pruh-vohk ]
verb (used with object), pro·voked, pro·vok·ing.
to anger, enrage, exasperate, or vex.
to stir up, arouse, or call forth (feelings, desires, or activity)
to incite or stimulate (a person, animal, etc.) to action.
to give rise to, induce, or bring about
Obsolete. to summon.
I’ve been facilitating participatory projects for a few years now, and a number of Early Years specialists have referred to them as ‘provocations’. I like that term to describe my work, and researching it further, it seems that it has many links.
Provocations in Early Years settings are defined as
‘deliberate and thoughtful decisions made by the teacher to extend the ideas of the children. Teachers provide materials, media, and general direction as needed, but the children take the ideas where they want. This allows children to develop skills of creativity, inventiveness and flexibility in thinking, planning and reflecting.’ (Durand, 2016)
When I set up one of my provocations, normally I provide materials, which means I have some control over the aesthetics. There is still a relinquishing of some control however, as participants can do what they like with those materials. For this wishing tree, although I’ve added my ribbons and have some control still over the labels that I’ve attached, I haven’t been able to provide the usual strips of cloth, labels and pens for passers-by to use because of the fear of contamination, so the aesthetic is even more outside my control!
I also normally include an ‘invitation to participate’, which I feel rather ambivalent about. Is it about control, again?? Initially, I wasn’t going to have a written invitation, just to see what would happen. Instead, I left a bucket of strips of cloth by the tree. However, a couple of hours later, I removed the bucket as I was anxious about people worrying about contamination. Instead, I attached the invitation in the image above.
I got the impression, in a recent tutorial with Robert, that a written invitation wasn’t necessary, and that it was maybe restrictive or too didactic. I was interested to read an article, again about EY provocations, discussing the difference between a provocation and an invitation Jupp says she uses the terms interchangeably, but goes on to say that maybe in fact there’s an overlap, and that an invitation is often a written instruction (2016).
I had to check the dictionary again, of course!
invitation
[ in-vi-tey-shuh n ]
noun
the act of inviting.
the written or spoken form with which a person is invited.
something offered as a suggestion
attraction or incentive; allurement.
a provocation
I was pleased to see that this definition of an invitation includes ‘a suggestion, attraction or incentive; allurement’ and even ‘a provocation’. It does seem to need to be written or spoken though. Maybe I’ll try no invitation another time, but in this instance I felt I wanted or needed one. I think it’s because I want people to know that I’m facilitating it, and it’s also a way of connecting with people who might be too anxious to actually add their own message, as has actually proved to be the case.
Durand, S (2016) Engage Your Early Learners using Provocations Available at: https://www.geteduca.com/blog/engage-early-learners-using-provocations/ (Accessed: 29 March 2020)
Jupp, L. (2016) What is the difference between a provocation and an invitation? Available at: https://reggioprofessionallearning.wordpress.com/2016/01/30/what-is-the-difference-between-a-provocation-and-an-invitation/ (Accessed: 29 March 2020)