Portfolio > Performance and Pedagogy

How to Build a Boat When No One Knows How to Build a Boat
How to Build a Boat When No One Knows How to Build a Boat
2016
2019

At the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, VA participants were invited to engage in an experimental learning process wherein no participant had specific knowledge on the subject. Participants assisted in creating a model boat that would be launched on the Potomac River. Materials were be provided.

The purpose of this workshop was to examine the relationship between learner and teacher. I wanted to examine the situation of learning when the teacher is seen less as an authority regarding the subject, and more as an ally who is also learning the subject along with the student. The approach was an attempt at a more symmetrical method for learning. This process can place both learner and teacher into a single category called co-learner. The hope is that co-learners will gain agency over the learning process itself and through this agency co-learners will be more engaged with the subject.