The facilities consist of educational approaches, where aesthetics and contemporary art are mixed with a foundation and pedagogical bases, managing to favor pre-symbolic and symbolic playing in a relational context (Abad y Ruiz de Velasco, 2014). Its main promoters were Abad and Ruiz de Velasco, who wanted to create spaces where children couldlearn in an active way, being the very own protagonists of the action and exploring their own interests and needs (Abad and Ruiz de Velasco, 2014; Moya, 2017).
They use the environment itself and its characteristics (the walls, the ceiling, the floor), alongside a series of materials that build an environment of beauty, which invites the spectator to take part in it (Rubio and Riaño, 2019). Therefore in the facilities, the educator is in charge of designing and organizing the playground and its intention, while the children have a leading and participatory role so that they are able to deconstruct, transform and rebuild the space, interacting with others (Abad y Ruiz de Velasco, 2014; Rubio y Riaño, 2019).
The spots and materials shape two essential aspects of the facilities.
On the one hand, the spaces have to be organized in an aesthetic way, so that they manage to please the children and invite them to interact, and to carry out actions, wander and explore a quality space, which allow the children to generate a “powerful mental image” (Abad y Ruiz de Velasco, 2014). In the facilities, objects are organized within the space by geometric forms or mandalas, so that children are guided from that initial order in which they feel safe, encouraging them to explore and interpret both, the space and the materials, in a physical and psychic sense (Abad and Ruiz de Velasco, 2014).
On the other hand, the materials used in the facilities have to be diverse, from daily use and accessible, allowing the children to carry out a cognitive process in which already known materials acquire a new association, a new use, a newinterpretation (Moya, 2017). In the facilities, triads of objects are used, which encourage students to perform divergent actions so that they are not limited to the established functions of those objects. We could say that these triads have a storyline or dialogue, which the children achieve through playing. These materials also allow students to create their own game based on their characteristics and their rhythms, promoting diversity at the same time (Moya, 2017). In addition, the materials have to be complementary to each other, emphasizing the differences between them so that they become evident (big and small, round and square, soft and rough…).
In the implementation of the facilities, there is always a common path to be followed.
It begins by selecting the idea to be represented and designing it. The educators analyze the context and its conditions, as well as the characteristics of the children so that the theme of the installation and the organization of materials and spaces is customized for them in an aesthetic way (Toca, 2019). The location is decided, marking off where the installation begins and where it ends; the types of materials and their quantity are selected, ensuring that they give the children diverse possibilities of action and interaction with their peers (Abad y Ruiz de Velasco, 2014).
Once this is done, the children are introduced to the installation, allowing them to observe and make any questions or comments that they may have about it. The educators will try to make them meditate through questions, and they will also take advantage of the opportunity and mention the rules or agreements of coexistence during the development of the installation (Toca, 2019). Before students can enter the facility, they are invited to represent what they see or what the installation suggests to them in a graphic or verbal way.
After this, they are allowed to experiment and interact freely with the materials and spaces designed for them. The children deconstruct and build the space, experiment, handle the objects, interact with their peers, etc.
Afterwards, the children must always perform a presentation, narrated in a graphic way (drawings) or orally, in which they show what they have learned or what they have experienced.Finally, the proposal is evaluated, as well as the possibilities of action, playing and relationship that the installation has generated (Abad y Ruiz de Velasco, 2014; Moya, 2017).
References
Rubio Gorrochategui, L., & Riaño Galán, M. E. (2019). Arte y Educación: Instalaciones en el aula de Infantil.
Moya Díez, M. (2017). La instalación artística en educación infantil.
Ruiz de Velasco, A., y Abad, J. (2014). Contextos de simbolización y juego. La propuesta de las instalaciones. Revista Aula de Infantil, 77, 11-28.
Toca Martínez, S. (2019). Jugar, experimentar y relacionarnos: las instalaciones artísticas en un aula de 4 años.
Authorship
Lidia Abascal Abascal y Andrea Álvarez Peña, 2020.