Vision Camp

How do we want to learn?

In 2012, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel initiated an open public dialogue on the topic: "How do we want to learn?" We believe that pupils and students are an important driver for the transformation of our education systems and wanted to make these voices audible and visible.

During the Vision Summit 2012, we invited pupils from Berlin and Potsdam, as well as teaching students to a three-day Prototype Design Camp where they could consider this question. Using a Design Thinking process, they developed ideas and recommendations for a sustainable school of the 21st century.

The results of the Prototype Design Camp were presented in plenary of the Vision Summit before 1000 visitors and presented to the public at the Brandenburg Gate during the EDUACTION event. They were then handed over to the experts in dialogue with the chancellor.

The participants of the Vision Camp advocated for a school that

• deals with the changes in our world.
• provides a space for their own questions and for creating self-designed learning environments rather than using preexisting structures.
• takes children and young people seriously as innovators, researchers and designers.
• enables learning with all the senses.
• is open to the world.
• supports project-based learning.
• meaningfully includes new technologies as tools for design and communication.
• makes room for teamwork, developing own ideas and collaborative actions.
• offers possibilities for the students to design the curriculum themselves.
• works in way that is student centered, rather than teacher centered.
• places less emphasis on providing answers to questions, and encourages confidence in the skills of the individuals.

Photo: Elias Barrasch

Vision CampPartners: Genisis Institute, Brandenburg Ministry of Economic Affairs, Google Germany
Location: Potsdam
Format: Multiple day design camp
Period: May 2012
Documentation: http://visioncamp.tumblr.com

---