Skip to content

Patterns, Places, & Pedagogy

Patterns are everywhere—in nature, architecture, social interactions, and even the way we learn and think. Observing these patterns allows us to gain deeper insights into the world and how we relate to it. This workshop will be an opportunity to critically engage with place-based education that uses the local community and environment as a starting point for learning. We will think about how to encourage our students to observe, analyze, and engage with the world in a way that deepens their understanding. 

This workshop was offered as part of the TLC’s Fall 2024 Programming.

This workshop took place in person on Wednesday, October 23rd, from 4-5:30 PM in front of the Graduate Center and the High Line Park. The workshop and materials were developed by Şule Aksoy.

Materials 

All materials on this page and in the linked Google folder are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 

This folder contains a workshop agenda, handouts, and a slideshow.

Materials Folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1G_sUO4KkOBId9gmGlIxwK3KiBjIzOnvt?usp=drive_link 

Workshop Agenda

Introduction (in front of the GC, 5 min)

Welcome; share your plan and goals for the workshop. Ask everybody to find a walking buddy and have them share the following info as we walk to the high line. 

  • Name, pronouns, discipline/program, what you’ve taught / what you are teaching.
  • What fictional world/place would you like to visit? 

Walk to the High Line (~20 min)

Activity I (in front of the vessel, 8 min)

  • Look around you. What everyday tool can help you to orient yourself in time and space, the moment or place we are currently in? What helps you to understand/remember where you are? What do you notice? Do you move closer to a particular concept or notion of our space? 

Debrief and introduce the map.

  • Have you been here before? What do you know about the space?

Briefly explain: 

The High Line was an abandoned railway and is now an elevated park, starting in Hudson Yards and ending at the Whitney Museum in the Chelsea area. On our tour, we will examine the complexities of urban redevelopment and its economic, ecological, and social equity implications. As we walk through the High Line, we will encourage you to think of it not only as a living classroom but also as a case study of the challenges of urban renewal.

Our theme will be recognizing patterns. When we pay attention, we can recognize patterns—repeating cycles—within us—on a human scale—and on a multiplicity of scales replicated in the universe. They are everywhere around us—in nature, in architecture, in social interactions, and even in the way we learn and think. By observing these patterns, we can gain deeper insights into the world and how we relate to it.

As we walk, please pay close attention to the patterns you see. Look at the way plants are arranged, the architectural design of the walkways, and the interaction between people and the space. Notice the rhythms and cycles in the environment, historical patterns of displacement and gentrification, sensory patterns, etc. 

  • Hand the map and ask them to mark/photograph any patterns they notice while walking. 

Walk (~15 min) 

Activity II (on the 23rd seating steps, in front of the mural, 15 min)

  • What feelings did the walk provoke? When did you feel these feelings? What were you doing/seeing/experiencing? Plot these feelings on the map. 
  • What patterns did you notice? Did you take any pictures? Who wants to share with the group? 

Explain why I did this and how place-based, experiential learning can help us connect theory with practice and see the relevance of our academic pursuits in the real world. 

  • How can you bring your students out into their community, using the environment around them as a resource for learning? 
  • How can you encourage them to observe, analyze, and engage with the world?
  • What skills would you want your students to learn through the visit? 

Share some ideas for implementation (acknowledge the collab with Ana Flavia Badue):

  1. What feelings did the walk provoke? When did you feel these feelings? What were you doing/seeing/experiencing? Plot these feelings on a map of the High Line. This activity aims to reflect on the subjective effects of architecture/urban planning. It can be integrated into social science courses on topics such as surveillance, affect theory and materiality, the social life of emotions, etc.
  2. What’s the history of Hudson Yards? How is it related to the history of the High Line? What existed there before? How is the history of the city shown in the space? What elements of the visit stand out to you as a symbol or a reference to the social life and the political economy of the city? A historical take on the visit is interesting to think of urban changes, tourism’s economic impact, and the financial interests behind the vast investments in the area.
  3. Monuments of capitalism: draw the art pieces, sculptures, and plants you found most interesting. Write your thoughts about what they might represent in terms of their form. Then, try to situate the artwork in the recent history of city transformations. This activity aims to help students think of form and content, which can be done for art history classes, social sciences, English, etc.
  4. Pick three spots on the highline, from Little Island to Hudson Yards, and spend 30 minutes observing XYZ each. This activity can be used in methods classes of different kinds. Would you take pictures? Interview people? Observe? What would be the goal of each of these methods?
  5. Science/Art walk with students. Leaf peeping, bird watching, engineering design (developing a capstone project to mediate the issues in the community). 

Walk & Closing (15 min)