CULTURAL PROBE. Based on our research findings, we created a
cultural probe for each KGMS student that consisted of a team-building
puzzle, exploratory drawing and collage exercises, a scavenger hunt and
an ideation activity involving common recyclable objects. These probes,
which would provide glimpses into the everyday lives of our students,
were intended to serve “as beacons for [our] imagination.” [1,3]

After receiving the completed probes back, we discovered that while
our KGMS group was aware of the environment, their knowledge was
limited to abstract recycling practices typically associated with public
advocacy campaigns. Furthermore, they expressed little interest in the
subject of water, rendering our preliminary research moot. Rather than
relegate our students to the role of mere users, we abandoned our initial
concept in favour of creating a co-design space at this early front end of
the design development process where the KGMS students would work
with us in a more emancipatory role. [4,5]

CO-DESIGN SESSIONS. To encourage free-form dialogue that would
reveal potential design opportunities, we organized two co-design
sessions that alluded to sustainability as a by-product of each activity
rather than the focus.

The first session consisted of:
¢ astudent-led tour of KGMS;
* a figurine workshop where each student:
* created a superpower character using found objects and scrap
material; and
* — after classifying their character as a hero or villain, determined
what their character would do if it was on a planet with no trees,
plants or water; and
* around robin storyboarding exercise that was altered on site, based
on the student’s interests, into a friend-or-foe workshop where each
student created an accessory, companion or enemy for their original
character out of modeling clay.

The second session consisted of a material and form exercise that bore
similarities to our own design exploration with Sheerfill II-HT fabric.
Using only the scrap textiles we provided, the KGMS students were
asked to make something out of at least two pieces of fabric that were
connected together without the use of adhesives or fasteners.

FINDINGS

The topic of superheroes dominated our co-design sessions. Rather than
attribute this to a child’s preoccupation with fighting and adventure,
however, we considered the subject from our students’ perspectives.
Society, in general, regards literacy as a threshold indicator of success in
both education and one’s profession later in life. For a child with learn-
ing disabilities, difficulties with the normative education system and
failure to meet expectations frequently results in feelings of inadequacy.
Superpowers grant an individual the ability to affect change or exert
influence over an environment they might otherwise be powerless in.
Focusing on the notion of changing or influencing one’s environment,
we examined the different ways the word “environment” could be inter-
preted. We were particularly drawn to the notion of the environment as
a social realm, a physical space and an ecological system.

SOCIAL REALM. Personal computers and cell phones have become
such common staples in our lives that texting and other social media

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IT WAS IMPERATIVE THAT THESE
CHILDREN FELT LIKE THEY BELONGED
TO THE SCHOOL AND THAT THE
SCHOOL BELONGED TO THEM.

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exchanges via electronic mediums have dominated, and in some cases
replaced, face-to-face communication. These interactions are particu-
larly popular among younger generations for their convenience, instant
gratification, lack of emotional accountability and exhibitionistic plat-
forms. We wanted to explore ways to move social media actions such as

“liking” and “re-tweeting” from the virtual world to the physical one to
facilitate more enduring connections.

PHYSICAL SPACE. We typically think about a physical space in terms
of its functional utility. Is it big enough? Does it fit our needs? Does it
look okay? We often forget that each space, like a person, has a unique
identity that has been shaped by its physical form, social interactions
and history. While we often connect emotionally to a space’s identity,
we typically only realize it when it ceases to exist. As we were working
with Canada Place’s roof fabric, BC Place, another iconic Vancouver
structure, came to mind as an interesting example of this phenomenon.
Following the transformation of the stadium’s pillowed, inflatable dome
into a crown-shaped, retractable roof, the building felt strange against
the downtown skyline despite the fact that the operations and other
infrastructure remained the same.

KGMS' recent relocation may have resulted in a similar emotional dis-
ruption in the students’ academic life. For children with learning disabil-
ities, such a change can be particularly upsetting as school may already
serve as a source of anxiety. To help the students rebuild their sense of
school community, we brainstormed ideas that would encourage them
to connect not only to each other, but to their physical surroundings as
well. It was imperative that these children felt like they belonged to the
school and that the school belonged to them.

AN ECOLOGICAL SYSTEM. In addition to promoting up cycling, we
wanted to influence how the students related to the environment. We
frequently regard ecology as an abstract thing rather than as living
systems. The danger in this characterization is that it reduces the
environment and its resources to passive commodities for us to trade
and use. We cease holding ourselves accountable to it. To combat

this practice, we explored ways in which the KGMS space could play

a more active role in the students’ daily interactions, increasing their
attachment to their environment.

CO-CREATION

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