AWARD YEAR
2017
CATEGORY
Play & Learning
GOALS
Quality Education
KEYWORDS
preschool education, learning environments, Social design
COUNTRY
Chile
DESIGNED BY
Interdisciplinary research team from Pontificia Universidad católica de Chile:
Cynthia Adlerstein, Pre School Teacher.
Patricia Manns, Designer.
Alberto González, Designer.
The results of this research has been possible by the financing granted by the national tender Fondef Idea of Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (CONICYT) from the Chilean Ministry of Education, along with Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and Junta Nacional de Jardines Infantiles (JUNJI).
WEBSITE
https://www.mafa.cl/
MAFA: the physical learning environment modeling system
Creating a re-signification of public preschool environments to improve education quality
About 700.000 Chilean preschoolers inhabit learning environments that are not adequate for them, leading to pedagogical practices which limit their learning opportunities. In education, the physical learning environment is considered a facilitator of the continuous reorganization of the space according to the pedagogical program and the educational model. We anticipated the need to innovate in a field where the physical environments in public preschool have regulated furniture based on 40 year old design and doesn’t consider the learning environment as a key aspect of the learning process.
The MAFA System, developed between 2012 and 2016, features a synergic integration of three components: a)MAFA practice supports provoke and support educational practices, b) DiME or Scale Modeling Device, for children and educators to jointly decide the room modeling, c) MAFApp, an application for mobile devices that allows classroom teams to document their practices, share and exchange experiences.