Five Principles of Imaginaria

  1. Imaginaria stimulate fresh thinking about subject content and about teaching and learning. They do this through consideration of recent research in both areas, as well as open-minded and collaborative discussion between professional educators.
  2. Imaginaria are aware of professional constraints imposed on teaching and learning by curricula, syllabi and set texts, but do not foreground these. Instead, subject content and exploration of teaching and learning are put in the foreground on the assumption that this will better enrich a teacher’s professional skills and engagement.
  3. Imaginaria include teachers from differing institutions so as to value the sharing of diverse experiences and expertise beyond the boundaries and usual practices of one’s normal workplace. This means ensuring that each session includes teachers from multiple schools and, ideally, tertiary as well as secondary educators.
  4. Imaginaria have a theme and some structure, but will be actively open to the unpredicted emergence of novel ideas, directions and outcomes that may arise from the collaborative experience itself.
  5. Imaginaria value imagination in all teaching and learning, but are also aware of the important and complicating role of structures and constraints. Imaginaria pursue creativity, but do not forget systems.