ARCTICA Lens is the pedagogical perspective that informs our School Architect approach. Through Mind, Heart, Relation, Rhythm and Space, we examine children’s everyday experiences and co-design conditions that enable their expression, choice and participation in learning.
PEDAGOGICAL INSPIRATION
Which sources inspire us?
Our School Architect approach starts with the circumstances of the people we work with. ARCTICA Lens guides what we look at in pedagogical work concerning children’s experiences; the scope of consultancy depends on each group’s goals.
ARCTICA LENS
What do these perspectives help us see?
MIND
Meaning, thinking and agency
We begin with children’s questions and curiosity, making room for inquiry, different forms of expression and making sense of their experiences.
What questions do we ask?
Can the child ask questions? Are there opportunities to develop ideas, make choices, initiate an activity and express their own thinking?
What do we observe?
Children’s questions
Examples of play
Opportunities for choice
Learning documentation
Which sources inspire us?
Finland: Making room for inquiry through play and everyday experiences.
IB/PYP: Deepening meaning through questions, concepts and reflection.
Reggio Emilia: Making children’s thinking visible through different forms of expression and pedagogical documentation.
How do we develop this together?
We turn a child’s curiosity about ants into a learning experience in which they can share questions and investigate with friends. Observation, drawing and different forms of expression make room for deeper thinking.
HEART
Emotional climate and regulation
We attend to children feeling safe and valued and being able to recognise and express their feelings, designing relationships and experiences that nurture wellbeing.
What questions do we ask?
Which moments are challenging for children and adults? What support is available for calming down, asking for help and rejoining?
What do we observe?
Challenging moments in daily life
Adults’ responses
Spaces for breaks or withdrawal
Which sources inspire us?
Finland: Treating secure relationships and wellbeing as foundations for learning.
IB/PYP: Valuing learner agency, choice and reflection on experience.
Reggio Emilia: Listening to children’s feelings and expressions and making room for different ways to express themselves.
How do we develop this together?
We listen to a child sharing their feelings at the start of the day and make room for expression through conversation, play or drawing. These encounters, where feelings are accepted, become daily experiences that nurture security and mutual understanding.
RELATION
Language, interaction and belonging
We focus on children’s connections with peers, adults and their surroundings, creating conditions that strengthen belonging, mutual understanding and learning together.
What questions do we ask?
Does adults’ language open up or limit participation? Which children’s voices are heard? Are different forms of communication considered?
What do we observe?
Examples of adult–child conversations recorded without added interpretation
Turn-taking
Gestures and silence
Children’s and families’ perspectives
Which sources inspire us?
Finland: Attending to participation, equality and learning together in a community.
IB/PYP: Making room for different perspectives, cooperation and shared responsibility.
Reggio Emilia: Bringing children, educators and families together in dialogue and shared inquiry.
How do we develop this together?
In a garden project designed together, we make room for children to listen to different ideas, make shared decisions and share responsibility. We create a learning environment where every child’s contribution is valued.
RHYTHM
Time, transitions and routines
We attend to children’s different paces and needs, designing a flexible and predictable daily flow that balances play, movement, focus and rest.
What questions do we ask?
Where do waiting and rushing increase? Are transitions understandable? Do children have options for engaging with the pace?
What do we observe?
Daily flow
A map of transitions
Waiting times
Staffing and time constraints
Which sources inspire us?
Finland: Giving balanced space to play, outdoor experiences, movement and rest in daily life.
IB/PYP: Creating opportunities for choice and reflection that support balanced living and self-management.
Reggio Emilia: Using time flexibly so investigations can deepen and respecting children’s rhythms.
How do we develop this together?
We make balanced room for focus, free play, movement and rest throughout the day. With educators, we organise the daily flow flexibly, considering the play children want to continue and their different needs.
SPACE
Environment, materials and access
We design environments where children can explore, make choices and leave their mark. Space, materials and connections with nature are active parts of learning.
What questions do we ask?
Can children access materials? Does the space allow exploration, collaboration, calming down and different needs?
What do we observe?
Use of space
Access to materials
Noise and crowding
Accessibility and outdoor opportunities
Which sources inspire us?
Finland: Bringing nature into daily learning through safe, accessible indoor and outdoor environments.
IB/PYP: Creating flexible learning spaces that enable children’s choices and inquiries.
Reggio Emilia: Seeing the environment as the third teacher and making learning visible through aesthetics, materials and children’s traces.
How do we develop this together?
We shape an atelier that carries traces of children’s projects through their ideas and educators’ contributions. Natural and open-ended materials create opportunities for children to choose, explore and produce new work.
We use observations to understand children’s experiences and the conditions affecting them, rather than to label children or make clinical diagnoses.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT
Which opportunities for development matter to us?
Through the five lenses, we consider language and communication; thinking and inquiry; social-emotional development and self-regulation; choice and responsibility; creativity and expression; and physical exploration and everyday life skills together.
We do not treat these as separate checklists. One play experience, inquiry or daily routine can offer opportunities for development across several of these areas at once.
APPLICATION CYCLE
From observation to development, together
Understand–Develop–Review–Certify describes the overall consultancy process. The five-stage application cycle below guides pedagogical work with ARCTICA Lens within that process.
01
READ
Observe the child’s interests, peer relationships, access to materials and the rhythm of play through the five lenses.
02
REVEAL
Bring together observation notes, the child’s expressions and family–educator perspectives to discuss barriers to participation.
03
RE-AUTHOR
Plan an interest-based small-group activity, accessible materials and a flexible starting point with educators and children.
04
REHEARSE
Try the new arrangement in daily life, using mentoring to develop the educator’s support for participation.
05
RE-MAP
Observe participation and wellbeing again; retain helpful changes and adjust the approach together.
Imagine a school where children frequently need adult direction during daily routines. How does the application cycle work?
As School Architects, we use all five lenses at every stage to co-design conditions that enable children’s independence and participation, following a flexible application cycle that allows observation and feedback to take us back to earlier stages when needed.
