“Workshop are an organization of entertainment or educational activities that uses concrete intelligence, assisted by manual motor skills, for the production of objects. A workshop tends to provide the necessary bases for the knowledge of a profession or for the gestural and intellectual training essential to later occupy a job. By extension, the term workshop also designates the place in which such activity takes place or the group that engages in it ” (Vigy, 1986, cited in López 1997, p.36)
Some of the characteristics or facets that constitute the workshops can be specified from the ideas presented by Borghi (2005).
Workshops can be used in many ways since, in some cases, you may choose to carry out a single workshop, thus giving the school a specific identity and, in other cases, you can opt for the versatility of workshops.
In addition, in terms of materials, they can be specific and specialized, therefore, aimed at the development of certain tasks or, on the contrary, non-specialized materials (ones, such as stones, ropes, etc.), so that it is very useful for many enriching activities. However, the absence of specific materials would not allow the specificity of the workshop to be established, but it would be necessary not to lose focus on the objectives of the dynamics.
On the other hand, the presence of several teachers can occur simultaneously in the same class, favoring the division of tasks and the use of specialized skills. This can be beneficial if it is used in an enriching way but is at risk of opting for excessive specialization, leaving aside other fields. In the workshops, without giving up the role of teacher guide, stimuli arise from the context and from other infants, so special importance is given to the learning context, leaving the teacher more on the sidelines.
The vision that is put on the workshops can be very contradictory, since they can be welcomed as separate and exceptional activities within the school routine or, on the contrary, integrated as part of the school’s day today and an opportunity for more experiences .
Regarding workshops we can find two different organizational modalities: outside the school and within it.
Within the school, workshops can be understood as a specific, alternative and complementary space to the class spaces (work corners), in which ad hoc activities are developed with a single objective. On the contrary and preferably, workshops can be conceived from the versatility, where the school cares about each one of the infants, valuing their individualities and diversity, offering them different multipurpose spaces for their development.
Regarding the fulfilment of workshops outside the school, we can find three privileged spaces for their attainment. The first of them, in the open air (in farms, orchards, the garden, etc.) where the natural activities of observation and experimentation will prevail. On the other hand, we find the environment close to the school surroundings, in which a visit to the garden, the park or the forest can offer us abundant activities. And finally, the city’s resources can offer us the opportunity to make cultural visits to museums, associations, libraries, etc.
References
Borghi, B. Q. (2005). Los talleres en educación infantil: espacios de crecimiento (Vol. 12). Graó.
López, S. T. (1997). Talleres y rincones en educación infantil: su vigencia psicopedagógica hoy. Comunicación presentada en el Congreso de Córdoba.
Authorship
Paula Cañarte Reoyo y Alia Ibáñez García, 2020.